Certificate in Health Systems & Design

A key function of the Center is to support graduate student education and research opportunities that lead to the Certificate in Health Systems & Design. The program is available to students in any graduate degree program at Texas A&M University. The Certificate emphasizes a cross-disciplinary perspective yet also ensures that students develop an in-depth understanding and ability within a specific body of knowledge. The certificate was approved by the College of Architecture Executive Committee in 1998.

In 1999, seven students were awarded the Certificate in Health Systems & Design upon completion of their degree programs. By 2019, at least 370 students have received this certificate. The Certificate program appears to be successful in helping advance the career goals of these students. One of the first seven students to receive this certificate was Chanam Lee, who went on to complete her Ph.D. at the University of Washington and is now a faculty member in the College of Architecture and a Faculty Fellow in the Center. Other certificate recipients have gone on to prominent positions in both practice and academia.

The Certificate

The Certificate in Health Systems & Design was approved by the College of Architecture Executive Committee in July 1998. The certificate is awarded after completion of the program, and must be signed by the head of the student's academic department and the dean of the college. The certificate contains the seal of the university. In 2018, the Registrar's office became responsible for issuing the certificates to qualified applicants. This allows for the inclusion on the certificate to be noted on their official transcript. The certificate is prepared and mailed to the graduates after they receive their respective degrees.

Purpose

The Certificate in Health Systems & Design (HSD) provides students in any graduate degree program at Texas A&M University an opportunity to develop a body of knowledge in health design that will further their career goals. The certificate assumes health systems and design is a cross-disciplinary field, and the program is designed to ensure that students gain a sense of mutual respect for others in the field, and appropriate awareness, understanding, and ability within a specific body of knowledge.

The Health Systems & Design Certificate Council

The Council for the HSD Certificate (the Certificate Council) is comprised of faculty with expertise in the field. The Graduate Advisory Committee for each student within the oversight of Degree Coordinators, Department Heads, and the Office of Graduate Studies, is responsible for the academic program of the student. However, the Certificate Council is charged with ensuring that students who have applied for the health certificate have met content standards. The program can usually be accomplished with the minimum number of hours required for the degree; however, additional hours may be required by the student's Graduate Advisory Committee, and students may choose to take additional hours not on the degree plan in order to meet the requirements for the Certificate.

The current Certificate Council is comprised of: Ray Pentecost-Director, Zhipeng Lu-Associate Director, Kirk Hamilton, George Mann, Jay Maddock, Chanam Lee, and Xuemei Zhu.

The Certificate in Health Systems & Design (HSD Certificate)

General Description

The Certificate in Health Systems & Design (HSD) provides students in any graduate degree program at Texas A&M University with an opportunity to develop a body of knowledge in health design that will further their career goals. The Certificate emphasizes a cross-disciplinary perspective, yet also ensures that students develop an in-depth understanding and ability within a specific body of knowledge.

The College of Architecture Executive Committee approved the Certificate in Health Systems & Design in July 1998. The Certificate is awarded after completion of the program and must be signed by the director or associate director of the Center for Health Systems & Design certificate council. The Certificate contains the seal of the university and appropriate text. The Registrar's office will verify that the necessary courses have been completed to earn the certificate and it will then be mailed to the receipient.

The program can be accomplished within the minimum number of hours (16), however, additional hours may be required by the student’s Graduate Advisory Committee, and students may choose to take additional hours not on the degree plan in order to meet the requirements for the certificate.

Application Process

Students are encouraged to meet with a member of the Health Design Certificate Council prior to filing an application and completing a degree plan. We also encourage them to become a member of the Student Organization that is associated with the Center, SHEA –Student Health Environments Association.

Step One:

Application for the Certificate. When the prospective student completes their Application for Admission to the University, they will find a section asking them to identify if they plan to earn the certificate. They should choose the correct certificate so the information will be added to their records. If they are not sure of their choice, they can return to the application at a later time to add their choice. The Certificate Council will review the application for compliance with the requirements for content. It is recommended that students arrange for a consultation with a member of the CHSD council or the CHSD administrative assistant, prior to the formal submission of their degree plan, to confirm that he/she has registered for the appropriate courses to be eligible for the certificate.

Step Two:

Review of the Application. Once a professional study, professional paper, thesis, or dissertation topic is approved by the Graduate Advisory Committee, the student will provide an abstract and supporting justification, if required, to the Certificate Council. In the case of doctoral students, the qualifying exam should be presented to the Certificate Council so that the committee can evaluate its relevance prior to further development of the topic. The Certificate Council will review the application for compliance with the requirements for content.

Step Three:

Issuance of the Certificate. The Director of the Center will review the completed certificate application and approve the issuance of the certificate.

Courses And Requirements

The HSD Certificate Council will make available a list of courses, inside and outside the College of Architecture, that meet the requirements for HSD content. The list, and associated syllabi and names of instructors will be available upon request by the student.

When a student wishes to select a course which is not on the list or wishes to transfer a course from another institution, the syllabus and specific reference to health design content MUST be submitted to the HSD Certificate Council in writing for review and approval before it can be applied to meet the certificate requirements. Courses not accepted for use toward a graduate degree at Texas A&M University may not be used toward the certificate.

When a course has a generic topic (for example a design studio in architecture, or a capstone studio course in land development or planning) the HSD content and the student’s specific role in working with that content, must be stated in a supporting letter from the student submitted with the application. The letter should be co-signed by the Instructor of the course.

The following summarizes the minimum requirements for the certificate in Health Systems & Design. Currently 16 credit hours are required. Although these hours will qualify the student to receive the CHSD certificate, students are encouraged to take as many courses as possible.

Required

ARCH 675 (3 cr) Health Design and Research

ARCH 681 (1 cr) Architecture-for-Health Lecture Series

Final study (6 cr) ARCH 608, ARCH 693, LAND 693, PLAN 693, COSC 693 (depending on major) LDEV 665/693

ELECTIVE Courses (M.Arch and PhD - 6 credit hours; M.S.Arch – 9 credit hours)

Two/three courses (depending on the degree) must be taken, one elective from outside of the student’s department is encouraged but not required. The course within the student’s department should be taken with a faculty member who is also a faculty fellow in the Center for Health Systems & Design. If the student wishes to take a second course within their department, they should talk with their committee chair to determine if the course would serve their study intent. Most programs allow graduate students to include two 300-or 400-level courses in their graduate degree plan. Such courses should be outside of the student’s major.

In order to qualify for the Certificate as an architecture student:

M.ARCH or PhD		M.S. Architecture
Final Study/Thesis	6 cr hrs	Thesis	3 cr hrs

ARCH 675	3 cr hrs	ARCH 675	3 cr hrs
ARCH 681	1 cr hr	ARCH 681	1 cr hr
	10 cr hrs		7 cr hrs

2 Electives	6 cr hrs	3 Electives	9 cr hrs

TOTAL	16 cr hrs	TOTAL	16 cr hrs

This is just a sample list of some of the electives available at this time. There are many other electives that are suitable if they are in line with your final study. Other courses not listed below may be chosen if they satisfy the health content for inclusion. Please discuss with your faculty advisor.

ARCH 624	Theory of Placemaking
ARCH 6+60	Design Programming
ARCH 674	Typologies of Contemporary Hospital Design
CARC 602	Research Foundations
EPSY 647	Adult Development and Aging
HLTH 334	Women’s Health
HLTH353	Drugs and Society
PHPM 601	Rural Public Health Systems
PHPM 605	Introduction to Health Policy and Management
PSYC 607	Experimental Psychology
PSYC 307	Developmental Psychology
PSYC 320	Sensation and Perception
PSYC 340	Psychology of Learning
PSYC 360	Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine
PSYC 610	Organizational Psychology
SOCI 489	Special Topics in Social Gerontology

PLEASE NOTE: Summer internships or international study tours ARE NOT accepted as qualified electives for the certificate.

Application

Even though you check your certificate selection on your college application, we would also like you to complete the following application for our files which helps us ensure you are taking the necessary courses to qualify for the certificate.

Students/CHSD Certificate/CHSD-certificate-app-fillable1.pdf

Comments from previous students:

My CHSD certificate has been a benefit since graduation. It provided me with a portfolio of work showing expertise in healthcare and validated my knowledge of medical design. It also showed that I was up to date with current research and trends in the field. 13 years later I still see the benefit. Research from the professors at Texas A&M are cited at conferences all over the country and we have been able to reach out to them on projects where their research findings have informed our overall design.

Tiffany Robinson Long, AIA, ACHA, RID, EDAC, NCARB, LEED AP, Associate Partner, Marmon Mok

"I’m very proud and thankful for the Certificate in Health Systems & Design from Texas A&M where I was able to learn from some of the top thinkers in the field of healthcare design and springboard this knowledge into my professional career as a healthcare architect." Brian Briscoe, AIA, ACHA, EDAC, LEED AP, +C, Vice President, HKS,Inc.

“There is an abundant advantage to going through the CHSD’s certificate program – it prepare you to train faster in the real world because you have stronger context on the healthcare industry than your peers.” Ashley Dias, Director of Healthcare Strategies, Associate Principal, Perkins&Will

“The CHSD certificate program allowed me to pursue and refine my passion for health design under the hands-on mentorship from the leaders in the field. Early on, the certificate was a catalyst for getting my foot in the door at a great firm. Now, the passion and relationships that grew as a result of my time at A&M continue to help me make an impact in the industry.” Southern Ellis, AIA, LEED AP, Associate, HKS, Inc.

"It is not too much to say that the CHSD program changed my life. CHSD is an amazing academic family, and provided a solid platform of knowledge and a way to understand problems that serves me every day."Erin Peavey, AIA, NCARB, EDAC, LEED AP BD+C, Architect & Design Researcher, Associate, HKS, Inc.