Health and Wellness

Dominican’s health and wellness major powerfully combines the sciences with the hands-on technical training you need to design the next generation of wellness programs—and launch your career changing individual lives and lifting whole communities.

Empowering communities to become—and stay—healthier

The modern health care system relies on more than the frontline nurses and doctors who care for patients once they’ve become ill. In the dynamic health and wellness field, you can educate people on ways to lead healthier lives so they recover faster and, ideally, avoid illness in the first place. Workplace wellness plans, wellness tourism and fitness center health programs are just a few of the critically important tools this sector employs. The benefits extend beyond individuals to society as a whole, by helping lower health care costs, for instance. As a health and wellness major at Dominican, you will prepare for a rewarding career designing such programs and assessing their results.

A powerful curriculum that crosses disciplines

In the health and wellness field, you’ll need to navigate across disciplines and specialties. We’ve designed a curriculum in which you’ll do just that. The major is built on a foundation in the sciences: biology, chemistry, math and psychology. From there, you’ll explore specialty areas like community nutrition, public health, and fitness programming. You’ll choose from electives in biomedical ethics, health informatics, creating mobile apps and more. And you’ll be eligible to take the exam to become a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES), a credential that will make you even more marketable.

"Wellness is much more than just having a normal blood pressure or cholesterol level. It is a way of engaging in the world to enhance one’s social, emotional, spiritual, environmental, and physical wellbeing. As wellness professionals, we get to support the whole person in this exciting journey."
–Joan Cantwell RN, MA, Adjunct Faculty Dominican University

Our connections are your connections

Hands-on experience is built into the curriculum, including through a required internship. You’ll be able to draw upon the Chicago area’s vast range of health care settings and our long-established industry partnerships. You’ll test-drive your dream job, gain invaluable real-world experience and build an impressive résumé. The job market in this field is growing, driven by the urgent need to address rising health care costs, improve worker wellbeing and productivity, and by intense public interest in healthier lifestyles. You’ll be ready to enter the job market directly or, with planning, pursue graduate studies in areas such as public health, occupational therapy and therapeutic recreation.

A relationship-centered learning community

No one is lost in the crowd at Dominican. Our student-faculty ratio is 10 to 1. Your professors won’t just know you, they’ll become your mentors and research partners. The Borra College of Health Sciences strives to produce graduates from diverse backgrounds who can provide compassionate service and leadership in the areas of health care where there is the most critical need. We achieve this by putting the power of relationships at the center of learning and by recognizing the profound value and unique potential of each person.

Special opportunities

• You’re just 10 miles from the heart of one of the world’s most dynamic and creative cities. Around 93% of our students complete internships or other high-impact experiences outside class. We’ll help you unlock all that opportunity.
• In the Mazzuchelli Scholars Honors Program, you can explore life’s biggest questions, conduct research alongside pre-eminent scholars and access rare opportunities, including a chance to study at Oxford.
• Gain a global perspective by studying abroad with short-term and semester-long programs on four continents.
• Prepare for leadership in your chosen field by earning your master’s degree at Dominican. Through our accelerated program, you can earn an MBA or Master of Social Work with just one additional year of study.