Health and Wellness

To learn more, visit: https://www.morainepark.edu/academics/programs/health-and-wellness/

Program Number: 10-546-3
Associate of Applied Science Degree
Campus: West Bend
This program is eligible for financial aid

Pursue your passion for helping people promoting health and fitness—become a wellness coach, personal trainer or chiropractic technician in two years or less with a Health and Wellness degree from Moraine Park Technical College.

About the Program

Whether you have a passion for helping people or want to make the gym your office, a career in the health and wellness industry is calling your name.

Moraine Park’s Health and Wellness associate degree program is designed for students who want to learn how to coach clients in developing healthy lifestyle habits through proper nutrition, managing daily stress and becoming more physically active. Students can choose career pathways as a wellness coach and personal trainer or chiropractic technician.

Upon completion, students can become certified as an American Council of Exercise (ACE) Personal Trainer, ACE Group Fitness Instructor and/or become Wisconsin state certified in the chiropractic health setting in therapies and radiography.

The best part? You can begin a career with a faster than average job growth rate in two years!

What You’ll Learn

In Moraine Park’s Health and Wellness program, students gain hands-on experience and learn up-to-date practices from instructors who currently work in the industry. Students learn how to create a culture of wellness within an organization, use holistic wellness strategies to guide behavior and lifestyle change in clients, and lead and evaluate personal and group fitness and strength training exercise sessions.

Upon completion of the Health and Wellness program, students will know how to plan, implement, and evaluate corporate, community, or individual wellness plans, assess personal fitness levels and prescribe exercise intervention plans, develop, deliver, and evaluate health and wellness educational sessions to small and large groups.  Students will also learn to analyze key behaviors and implement social marketing campaigns designed to promote healthy lifestyles.

The program also prepares students with the knowledge they need to explain the known causes of chronic disease and how to prevent and manage chronic disease through lifestyle and behavior changes, assist in patient education and office operations, and administer therapeutic modalities and radiographic imaging.

Transfer Opportunities

Additional Information

State Certification Disclosure: Moraine Park’s Health and Wellness program prepares students to obtain the educational requirements to pursue certification to be employed/practice in the state of Wisconsin. No determination has been made if the curriculum matches the educational requirements for preparation, examinations, or certification for other states. Visit the Accreditation page for more details about certification.

Admission Process

Standard Admissions steps details

This program also requires:

• Criminal Background Check

Credit for Prior Learning

Earn college credit outside the classroom through Moraine Park’s Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) opportunities. Credit opportunities are available for:

•   Previous college coursework from prior institutions
•   Military training and experience
•   Passing of MPTC or national exams
•   Skills or knowledge developed on the job or through other life experiences

Visit MPTC’s Credit for Prior Learning page for more information.

Approximate Costs

Financial Aid

Financial Aid is available for associate degree and technical diploma programs (those that are 2 semesters in length and typically with 28 credits or more). Processing can take 4-5 weeks after a student's completed Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is received. Visit the Financial Aid page to learn more.

Course Requirements 

Additional Program Requirements

First aid and BLS/CPR needs to be completed before taking Health and Wellness Internship.

Program Outcomes

• Perform health and wellness assessments
• Implement health coaching
• Prescribe exercise programming
• Plan and implement corporate and community wellness plans
• Deliver health and wellness informational sessions
• Design a health and wellness promotional campaign
• Demonstrate workplace operation
• Administer therapeutic modalities and radiographic imaging (Chiropractic emphasis)

Pathways 

Earn a certificate, technical diploma and associate degree along this pathway. Start with some courses for entry-level employment, and continue with additional courses for higher wages and job advancement.

Career Opportunities