Health is shaped by more than biology alone. How we think, behave, cope with stress, sleep, exercise, eat, and interact with the world around us can all influence health and illness.
In this Specialization, you’ll explore health through a psychological lens, beginning with the foundations of health psychology, research methods, and the biological systems that support health. You’ll then examine stress and coping, behavior change, prevention, and positive psychology before turning to everyday health behaviors such as exercise, sleep, nutrition, and substance use.
Along the way, you’ll consider how social conditions and health disparities affect well-being and use research evidence to evaluate health-related claims and behaviors.
The specialization’s three-course structure intentionally progresses from scientific foundations to stress and prevention and then to lifestyle behaviors.
Applied Learning Project
Throughout the Specialization, you’ll apply health psychology concepts to questions and situations that connect research with everyday health. You’ll evaluate health-related claims and research evidence, examine sources of stress and strategies for coping, and analyze how behavior can increase or reduce health risks.
You’ll also explore practical topics including exercise, sleep, injury prevention, nutrition, weight and eating disorders, and substance use and addiction. Applied examples will help you connect psychological and biological concepts with health disparities, prevention strategies, and behavior change.
