Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy (InCHIP)

Program Overview

The Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate in Obesity Prevention and Weight Management is designed to educate and equip graduate students from a wide range of educational backgrounds for the joint mission of understanding, preventing, and treating obesity through clinical care, interdisciplinary research, and cross-functional collaborations. Given that there are multiple drivers of the obesity epidemic, the program will challenge students to explore solutions for obesity at various levels and settings including from prevention to treatment, from childhood to adult, and from individual to policy.

Upon completion of the program, students will:

• Describe the antecedents and consequences of the obesity epidemic across the lifespan, including risk factors, social and physical determinants, health disparities, etc.
• Demonstrate a basic knowledge of the physiology of diet, hunger, physical activity, energy consumption, and weight management principles.
• Analyze and apply evidence-based dietary and physical activity guidelines and behavior modification principles.
• Organize the research literature related to obesity prevention/management using the socio-ecological model.
• Apply systems thinking to obesity prevention and treatment.
• Evaluate policies with the potential to impact obesity.

Requirements and Courses

Students are required to take CHIP 5000: Obesity from and Interdisciplinary Perspective, plus three additional elective courses (3 credits each), one from each of the three areas below, as approved by the Interdisciplinary Certificate in Obesity Prevention and Weight Management Committee. Students are allowed, but not required, to take one elective course in their home department. The certificate requires completing all four courses while maintaining a GPA of 3.0 or higher in each required course. All classes will be administered in-person.