Health Coach

The Health Coach Certificate complements your degree(s) in the Departments of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Kinesiology and/or Psychology. Many organizations and agencies offer a health coach certificate, but our program provides you with a more comprehensive foundation in nutrition, exercise, and motivational coaching which helps you better compete for employment opportunities after graduation. You will also be able to choose to sit for the American Council on Exercise exam.

Health Coach Certificate requirements

Required coursework (23 credits), plus pre-requisites
A minimum of 12 credits are taken at Iowa State University.
A minimum of 9 credits are not used to meet any other department, college, or university requirements for the bachelor’s degree except to satisfy the total credit requirement for graduation and to meet credit requirement in courses numbered 300 or above.
A cumulative grade point average of at least 2.00 in courses taken at Iowa State University for a certificate.

Required courses

Food Science and Human Nutrition

View FSHN course catalog

FSHN 265: Nutrition for Active and Healthy Lifestyles (3 credits)
- Pre-requisites: FSHN 264 (Pre-requisites FSHN 167, CHEM 163/163L, BIOL 211)
FSHN 364: Nutrition and Prevention of Chronic Disease (3 credits) OR FSHN 365 Obesity and Weight Management (3 credits)
- Pre-requisites: BIOL 256/256L
FSHN 361: Nutrition and Health Assessment (2 credits)
- Pre-requisites: FSHN 265

Kinesiology

View KIN course catalog

KIN 458: Principles of Fitness Assessment and Exercise Prescription (4 credits)
- Pre-requisites: KIN 258, KIN 358
KIN 467: Exercise and Health: Behavior Change (3 credits)
- Pre-requisites: KIN 366 or equivalent

Psychology

View PSYCH course catalog

PSYCH 422: Counseling Theories and Techniques (3 credits)
- Pre-requisites: 3 courses in psychology
PSYCH 485: Health Psychology (3 credits)
- Pre-requisites: Junior classification; 6 credits in psychology
Practicum experience from FSHN 495 OR KIN 494A and KIN 494B (2 credits)