Where Health and Wellness Graduates Work
Health and wellness graduates prepare for work in:
- Corporate and community wellness programs
- Hospitals and health systems
- Public health departments and schools
- Fitness and recreation organizations
- Health informatics and health services
Department of Health and Human Performance graduates direct fitness programs at Professional Fitness Management, and graduates of its earlier health and wellness concentration teach health at Gwynn Park Middle School and train clients at The Exercise Coach.
Health and Wellness Salary and Job Outlook
U.S. News & World Report ranks High Point University #1 among Regional Universities in the South for Earnings by Major in Best Colleges 2027, a factor that measures what graduates earn four years after leaving campus.
Across all majors, 99% of High Point University’s Class of 2025 was employed or continuing their education within 180 days of graduation, 13 points above the national average, measured by National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) standards. The Princeton Review ranks HPU #14 for Best Career Services in its 2027 guide.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, health education specialists earned a median of $64,070 in May 2025, with 6% projected growth from 2025 to 2035. Medical and health services managers earned a median of $123,860 with 24% projected growth, epidemiologists earned $87,220 with 19% growth, and fitness trainers and instructors have about 68,000 openings a year.
Job Titles Department Graduates Hold
- Fitness Program Director (Professional Fitness Management)
- Health Teacher (Gwynn Park Middle School)
- Fitness Specialist (The Exercise Coach)
Roles Health and Wellness Graduates Can Pursue
- Health and Wellness Coach
- Health Educator
- Fitness and Wellness Coordinator
- Health Services Manager
- Health Informatics Specialist
- Community Health Worker
- Epidemiologist, after graduate study
Student Organizations for Health and Wellness Majors
- Exercise Science Club partners with HPU Employee Wellness on a 5K that benefits D-Up, a High Point nonprofit that promotes physical activity and healthy nutrition for children, and volunteers in D-Up’s afterschool program.
- Healthcare Management Club
- HPU Student Emergency Medical Services
Research and Conferences
Students join faculty research through the CSHS Summer Research Fellowship and have attended the American College of Sports Medicine conference during an exercise physiology Maymester in Denver.
Graduate Outcomes
Graduates of the department, including those who completed its earlier health and wellness concentration within exercise science, have gone on to:
- Hanna Callahan, Fitness Program Director, Professional Fitness Management
- Monet Gilmore, Health Teacher, Gwynn Park Middle School, and Master of Public Health, Tulane University
- Jessica Koppy, Fitness Specialist, The Exercise Coach
- Olivia Raulf, Accelerated BSN, Duke University School of Nursing
- Alex Hank, Graduate study in cardiovascular perfusion, Medical University of South Carolina
- Sam Brown, Physician Assistant Program, Rutgers University
- Wesley Whan, Master of Science in Management, University of Notre Dame
- Kenzie Kulina, Master’s in Occupational Therapy, Messiah College
- Jordan Hutcheson, Master’s in Occupational Therapy, Lenoir-Rhyne University
- Erika Peoples, Master’s in Health and Human Performance, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Graduate Study
The major prepares students for graduate programs in public health, health administration, nutrition and related fields.
Work Experience on Campus
Students build experience through HPU Recreational Services, personal training and intramural programs, and through internships in health and fitness settings such as Novant Health.
Health and Wellness Graduate Stories
Department graduates credit campus jobs, wellness work and the freedom to shape their own degree for the careers that followed.
Christopher Ehren
Exercise Science Graduate, Master’s in Physical Activity and Health, Leeds Beckett University
“A big moment for me was being included in the strategic planning process for the Employee Wellness Department.”
Hanna Callahan
Fitness Program Director, Professional Fitness Management
“Encouraging myself to get an on-campus job is 100% what continued to lead me down my path of staying in the world of fitness.”
Courtney Morris
Health and Wellness Concentration Graduate, Bookkeeper, Borland Groover
“HPU gave me the flexibility and confidence to take my education into my own hands.”
Start Your Wellness Career at High Point University
See the courses behind these careers and the program’s awards.
Accreditation & Awards Curriculum & Research
Questions about the program? Email Dr. David Bazett-Jones at [email protected].