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Creating Healthy Communities

Creating Healthy Communities
Creating Healthy Communities

A liberal arts degree provides a versatile foundation that is highly valuable for a career in health, wellness, or medicine.  

Through its emphasis on critical thinking, communication, and a broad understanding of human behavior and society, a liberal arts education equips you with the skills needed to navigate and address complex health issues. Courses in psychology, sociology, and ethics enhance your ability to understand diverse patient needs, promote effective communication, and approach health challenges with a holistic perspective.

Additionally, the research and analytical skills developed through a liberal arts curriculum prepare you for roles in public health, healthcare administration, and medical research. By integrating interdisciplinary knowledge and a deep understanding of human contexts, a liberal arts degree empowers you to contribute meaningfully to improving health outcomes and advancing wellness initiatives.

A liberal arts degree integrates knowledge of human behavior and societal dynamics, fostering key transferable skills essential for creating healthy communities, such as:

  • Critical thinking
  • Communication
  • Research and analysis
  • Cultural competency
  • Problem-solving
  • Ethical reasoning
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Interested in learning more about what you can do with a liberal arts degree?

Future Students

Majors

Explore our degrees designed for those interested in mental health, counseling, holistic well-being, and medicine. Our programs will equip you with the skills to excel and turn your passions into a rewarding career.

While this page shows many opportunities and examples of what our students and alumni have done related to this area of interest, this is not an exhaustive list of majors or experiences.

Out-of-Classroom Experiences

Education Abroad Destinations

Poland

Students in HIST/JST 426 traveled to Poland for seven days as part of The Holocaust and History program, deepening their understanding of the Holocaust and pre-war Jewish life by visiting key historical sites.
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South Africa

Students in WMNST 399, The Quest for Reproductive Justice in South Africa, collaborated with reproductive justice organizations and conducted research for the South African Women’s Legal Center in Cape Town, examining the history and politics of reproductive justice.
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Netherlands

Ireland

Italy

Spain

Ecuador

United Kingdom

Post-Graduation Opportunities

  • Law school
  • MBA
  • Graduate school to study public health, health administration, clinical psychology, nursing, medicine, biomedical sciences, health informatics, nutrition and dietetics, occupational therapy, and counseling
  • Community Mental Health Counselor
  • Cultural Competency Specialist
  • Public Health Social Worker
  • Behavioral Health Specialist
  • Community Outreach Coordinator
  • Health Equity Advocate
  • School Mental Health Professional
  • Crisis Intervention Specialist
  • Doctor
  • Public Health Analyst
  • Occupational Therapist
  • Bioethics
  • Healthcare
  • Mental Health Services
  • Public Health
  • Social Services
  • Education
  • Corporate Wellness
  • Human Resources
  • Research and Academia
  • National Institute of Mental Health
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • American Psychological Association
  • Mental Health America
  • Kaiser Permanente
  • The Trevor Project
  • The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
  • Educational Institutions (e.g., University Counseling Centers)
Alumni Career Conversations

Careers in...

Headshot of Karen Bierman
Faculty Research

Karen Bierman

Evan Pugh University Professor of Psychology
Evan Pugh University Professor of Psychology
Karen’s decades-long work—including the Head Start REDI (Research-based, Developmentally Informed) initiative—demonstrates the lasting impact of evidence-based programs designed to strengthen school readiness in young children. This early support connects to better outcomes in adolescence. 
Headshot of Katie Burkhouse
Faculty Research

Katie Burkhouse

Associate Professor of Psychology
Associate Professor of Psychology
Katie’s externally funded research explores behavioral and brain-based risk factors for youth depression with a focus on early interventions. She integrates methods such as electroencephalography (EEG), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and behavioral data. She currently leads two major grants from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), totaling more than $7.3 million, and is a collaborator on several other federally and state-funded projects including the $11 million State of Ohio Adversity and Resiliency Study.  
Emily Cotrufello, who graduated Penn State in 2025, smiles for the camera wearing a long-sleeved green shirt.
Student Organizations

Emily Cotrufello

’25
English
|
International Politics
|
Women's Studies (minor)
English
International Politics
Women's Studies (minor)
Days for Girls is an international nonprofit organization that aims to provide sustainable menstrual health solutions and products to menstruators who have to miss school or work during their period. Emily currently serves as the administrator for the Penn State chapter’s executive board. In her position, she handles the organization’s social media, collaborates with other organizations on campus and helps to run events with the chapter such as period product drives.
Nick Hotalen, who will graduate Penn State in 2026, stands before a brown curtain, wearing a blue Penn State shirt.
EconomicsInternship

Nick Hotalen

’26
Economics
|
Mathematics
Economics
Mathematics
Nick interned with the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development in summer 2024. The experience gave him the opportunity to navigate the complexities of public safety and health initiatives and challenged him to adapt quickly. It also solidified his understanding of workplace dynamics.
Cherish Graham, who will graduate Penn State in 2026, wears a turquoise jacket and gold necklace with a continent of Africa pendant.
International StudentPsychology

Cherish Graham

’26
Psychology
Psychology
My biggest goal is to help educate my African American and African brothers and sisters on the true reality and importance of mental health. I would love to be part of a movement that destigmatizes having a mental health disorder and seeking professional psychological help, especially within the Black community.
Cherish Graham, who will graduate Penn State in 2026, wears a turquoise jacket and gold necklace with a continent of Africa pendant.
PsychologyUndergrad Research

Cherish Graham

’26
Psychology
Psychology
Cherish works in an obsessive-compulsive disorder study lab with a team of other assistants under the direction of psychology graduate student Valerie Swisher. In the lab, Cherish is responsible for recruitment and psychological assessments, and she said she is learning a lot about mechanisms that maintain obsessive-compulsive symptoms to inform future research and interventions.