Health and nursing

This program provides context for understanding human behavior and achieving peak performance in domains, such as sport, exercise and competition. You’ll develop practical skills for enhancing performance and well-being in yourself and others, whether you’re an athlete, coach, parent or simply interested in the intersection between psychology and sport.

In your courses, you’ll learn about a variety of topics in psychology from the lens of sport and counseling performance, including:

• Anxiety and stress management.
• Counseling theories and techniques.
• Foundations in sport psychology.
• Human development across the lifespan.
• Motivation and confidence in athletes.
• Multicultural research, theory and practice.
• Performance enhancement.
• Psychological factors of injury and rehabilitation.
• Team dynamics.

What fields can I go into after graduating from this program?

The knowledge you’ll gain in this sport and performance counseling degree concentration applies to fields in sport and beyond. The military, health and wellness, K-12 coaching, performance arts and emergency services are examples of industries that require mental preparation and resilience for success.

Additionally, the psychological dynamics at play in sport are also relevant to wellness within organizations and the workplace. From increasing motivation to perform at optimal levels to reducing stress in high-pressure situations, you can apply sport counseling techniques to roles in the public, private and nonprofit sectors.

Can I become a sport psychologist with this degree?

No. This degree doesn’t lead directly to a career as a sport psychologist or any profession that requires graduate education and professional licensure to practice. However, as a graduate, you’ll be equipped for advanced studies in a variety of areas, such as sport psychology, kinesiology, athletics and physical therapy.

Global health studies encompasses the sociocultural and evolutionary roots of disease and its effects on the world’s population. Beyond medical treatment, global health studies focuses on creating effective, sustainable and culturally appropriate approaches to prevent, assess and mitigate disease.

In this program, you’ll use analytical measures to formulate research questions and examine drivers of health inequities. You’ll also consider the contexts that influence morbidity and disease trends, including ecological, political, cultural, institutional, historical, evolutionary, social and technological factors.

What’s the difference between a BA and BS in global health?

In our Bachelor of Arts in global health and Bachelor of Science programs, you’ll gain an understanding of the global burden of disease and the social and environmental determinants of health. When you choose the BA program, you also learn about building community partnerships to tackle health challenges.

This BS in global health is unique because you’ll focus on developing quantitative abilities, preparing you for research and scientific contribution to preventing disease. Upon graduation, your quantitative toolkit will consist of a variety of skills, such as:

• Applying public health sciences, such as biostatistics, epidemiology and environmental public health in a global context.
• Calculating and interpreting measures of disease frequency, effect and public health impact.
• Differentiating between causation and association.
• Explaining the advantages and limitations of observational research in epidemiology.
• Identifying observational and experimental study designs in scientific literature.
• Managing, evaluating and interpreting large amounts of data.

Who’s a good candidate for this program?

You’re an ideal candidate for this program if you’re motivated to address health inequities and engage in international collaboration. You should also be interested in health beyond the physical aspects of disease. In this program, you’ll focus on a scientific approach to solving global health issues, while keeping sight of social, cultural and evolutionary perspectives.

This program is suitable if you want to pursue health-related roles in settings such as departments of health, federal government agencies, international agencies, nonprofits or private organizations. Upon graduation, you’ll also be prepared to pursue graduate studies, which can lead to health careers in education and research.

Additionally, this bachelor’s degree can be completed as part of an Accelerated Master’s program. When accepted, you can earn a master’s degree in as little as one year after completing your undergraduate degree. Applicable master's degrees with this opportunity include the Master of Science in global health.

Administrators are critical in all settings that address mental and physical health. Administrative work centers on meeting patient needs, evaluating key services, budgeting, improvement and daily oversight of operations. Health care policy involves collaborating with leaders to establish industry standards, develop standard operating procedures, advocate for key issues and work with the government to create or amend regulations.

In this program, you’ll gain the competencies to achieve management or administrative roles within the health care system. You’ll also be equipped to work at the local or federal government level to shape laws and policies or advocate for meaningful health policy changes through nongovernmental organizations. Additionally, if you’re a practitioner, this program can help you develop the skills to effectively manage your practice.

The knowledge and skills you’ll develop

The curriculum covers the history and current implementation of policies, as well as the organization of various parts of the U.S. health care delivery system. This program offers you more flexibility if you're unsure whether you want to pursue a career path in the administration, operations or policy side of health care. You’ll also gain specialized skills related to:

• Budget and finance processes using Excel.
• Cultural humility.
• Data analysis and visualization with Excel.
• Economic analysis.
• Ethical decision-making.
• Leadership and professionalism.
• Knowledge of U.S. health care system organization.
• Policy analysis.
• Population health management.
• Process engineering/quality improvement.

Health care administration roles are in demand and well paid

The need for a nonclinical professional workforce continues to grow due to a rise in chronic conditions, changes in technology and increasingly complex regulations. This demand creates various opportunities for those passionate about working to ensure providers can deliver top-quality patient care. In this program, you’ll learn through a multidisciplinary approach taught by a diverse group of experienced faculty members. You’ll graduate prepared to become an administrative leader or team member in health care facilities, private practices, hospitals and more.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in health care occupations is projected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations from 2023 to 2033. Medical and health services managers are especially in demand, with projected job growth of 29% in the same time frame. Additionally, the median annual pay for the role was more than $110,000 as of 2023.

Applied psychological science connects theory to hands-on counseling practice. In this substance abuse and addictions degree concentration, you'll focus on learning how to counsel clients experiencing forms of addiction.

As an ideal candidate, you’ll be interested in learning a combination of psychological theory and practice related to addiction. This concentration is an especially good fit if you have an associate degree in psychology and are looking to focus your upper-division studies on substance abuse and addiction counseling.

The skills you’ll develop in this program

In this program, you’ll acquire skills in screening, assessing, diagnosing, and developing treatment plans for patients afflicted with substance abuse or related addictions. Upon graduation, you’ll be equipped with a range of skills that can apply to many career paths in behavioral health, including:

• Applying counseling theory to practice.
• Counseling microskills.
• Cultural sensitivity.
• Foundational knowledge of substance abuse and addiction patterns.
• Research methods.
• Understanding group dynamics relevant to substance use and addictions.

Does this lead to substance abuse counseling licensure?

Although earning a bachelor’s degree is the first step towards licensure, this degree won’t qualify you to become a licensed professional counselor. However, this program provides preparation for the master’s degree that leads to the licensed professional counselor credential.

Additionally, the coursework in this program meets the requirements for the Licensed Addiction Counselor Technician (LACT) credential in Arizona. Note: Licensure requirements differ in every state, so it’s important to determine your career goals and the educational requirements needed to achieve them.

State authorization:
We strongly recommend you visit our state authorization page to learn how ASU is authorized to operate in your state, policies for out-of-state students and program exceptions.

This counseling and applied psychological science degree equips you with foundational training in trauma, lifespan development, group counseling and professional ethics. A unique aspect of this program is its attention to cultural diversity, which focuses on age, gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion and socioeconomic status. In addition, you’ll also gain transferable skills that will prepare you for many roles, including:

• Adaptability
• Analytical skills
• Cultural sensitivity
• Interpersonal skills
• Leadership
• Problem solving
• Research methods
• Understanding group dynamics

Tailor your studies to fit your career goals

In this program, you’ll learn the foundational principles of counseling and explore strategies that promote psychological well-being in others. Ideal candidates include those interested in improving behavioral health among individuals and families. This program is beneficial if you have an associate degree in a related field or are working in human services roles, such as care coordinator, caseworker and clinical school liaison.

Interested in exploring specific areas of counseling and applied psychological science? Check out the three online concentrations available:

• Counseling military members and veterans.
  • In this concentration, you’ll explore the distinct challenges that military members and veterans encounter. You’ll also learn how to effectively address these issues, enabling you to make a meaningful impact in their lives.
• Sports and performance counseling.
  • In this concentration, you’ll discover the psychological challenges athletes face after a major injury or retiring from their sport. You’ll also examine why humans are captivated by sports and how games bring people together.
• Substance abuse and addictions.
  • In this concentration, you’ll focus on counseling strategies for clients experiencing addiction. You’ll learn how to screen, assess, diagnose and treat those with substance abuse problems, behavioral addictions or other related conditions.

Does this program lead to counseling licensure?

While this program doesn’t lead to counseling licensure, it’ll prepare you for graduate programs and other advanced training. Upon graduation, you’ll feel confident supporting licensed counselors in behavioral health care delivery settings or beginning a graduate degree program in a counseling-related field. As part of the program, you’ll also participate in a hands-on internship where you may shadow a licensed therapist and practice counseling theory in a supportive training environment.

Please note: Only the BS with a concentration in substance abuse and addictions offers a pathway to licensure in Arizona as a Licensed Addiction Counselor Technician (LACT).