Key Takeaways:
Rutgers University–New Brunswick is investing in wellness education with the launch of a new minor in holistic wellness, designed to provide students with practical skills and credentials to design and lead wellness programs or pursue wellness-focused job opportunities.
To teach students how to cultivate wellness in themselves and others, the minor includes experiential and interdisciplinary courses centered on the eight dimensions of wellness: emotional, environmental, financial, intellectual, occupational, social, physical, and spiritual.
The 18-credit minor was developed by a Rutgers–New Brunswick wellness initiative committee called ScarletWell. The program is unique in its broad approach to wellness, defining it beyond the constraints of physical nutrition or fitness and uniting those disciplines with coursework in the arts, emotional health, policymaking, and the environment.
“Minors elsewhere are mostly theoretical,” said Joshua Langberg, a professor of psychology at the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology and the university’s Chief Wellness Officer, in a press release. “Our courses focus more on skills and strategies for deliberately fostering wellness in all areas of our lives.”
The minor requires students to take a “Wellness Learning Community” course co-taught by ScarletWell’s Senior Program Director Amy Spagnolo, and Director of ScarletWell Peggy Swarbrick, who developed the course framework. Teachings include nature journaling, personal finance, nutrition, and wellness communication. Another available elective, “Horticulture Therapy: Concepts and Skills,” explores how nature and horticulture therapy promote wellness.
“Nature has a rhythm to it, which can provide predictability, especially when you're feeling uncertain or anxious,” said Gary Altman, a teaching instructor, in a press release. “In horticulture therapy, we can use the predictability and stability of nature, like a garden space, to practice being present and grounded.”
In addition to hands-on courses, Swarbrick notes that the minor prepares students to foster wellness in their future workplaces. According to the McKinsey Health Institute, enhanced employee health and well-being could generate an estimated $11.7 trillion in global economic value, as it is linked to improved retention and productivity.
“These skills will make Rutgers students more attractive for jobs, regardless of their career or discipline of focus, because they will be able to work with leadership to improve sense of community and belonging and overall health of the workforce,” according to ScarletWell’s program summary.
Other universities offer similar opportunities. Western Michigan University features a minor in Holistic Health and Contemplative Well-Being; Northeastern University offers minors in Wellness Studies and Mindfulness Studies; and The Ohio State University provides a minor in Integrative Approaches to Health and Wellness, to name a few.
At Rutgers–New Brunswick, however, the holistic wellness minor is just one part of the university’s broader commitment to mental and behavioral health resources. Students can also engage in a range of wellness-focused activities, including student-led pickup sports, arts programs, and peer-support leadership initiatives.
Together, these efforts aim to strengthen community and connection across campus while equipping students with tools to support wellness in both their personal lives and future careers.
