Competency-Based Education in Health Professions
Our health professions programs are founded upon best practices and integrate academic excellence with rigorous practical and experiential preparation. Clinical and fieldwork-based education provides professional role modeling, direct observation and deliberate feedback, patient and client care, and competency development in various settings and contexts.
The core components of our health professions programs are:
- Cultural Humility
- Clinical and Critical Reasoning
- Patient and Client Centeredness
- Ethical and Compassionate Care
- Evidence-Informed Practice
- Interprofessional Education and Collaboration
Clinical Experience by Department
Behavior Analysis
You will receive comprehensive training on the science of behavior, research methods, evidence-based clinical applications, and ethical service delivery across broad domains of research and practice. Our interactive curriculum, experiential learning, and supervised student research requirements will help you become a scientist practitioner, preparing you for clinical and leadership roles post-graduation.
Nutrition
The Nutrition department offers abundant research and clinical experience opportunities, and our applied training requirements exceed most peer programs. You will learn through simulation, bench-lab training, and clinical skills practice with actual patients in acute care settings.
Physical Therapy
Clinical experiences are planned to coincide with your coursework and level of expertise. As you progress through the clinical education program, you will manage increasingly complex patients in different contexts with increased independence and confidence.
Public Health
We offer the opportunity to participate in internships, service-learning, and research opportunities at both the undergraduate and graduate level, enhancing the in-classroom experience and allowing you to gain a deeper understanding of course concepts. Two in-person immersion courses are available for graduate students, one in Boston focused on racism, oppression, and health, and one in southern Arizona focused on immigration, health, and restoration in the borderlands.
Spotlight on Students and Alums in Health Professions
Six Students Selected for the 2025 Senior Scholar Award
Ginjer Doherty ’25, Aviva Foster ’25, CJ Haggard ’25, Theo Hatfield ’25, Lili Malatinszky ’25, and Grace Walters ’25 have been selected for the prestigious Senior Scholar Award at Simmons University. Sponsored by the Provost’s Office and the Office of Research and Fellowships, the Senior Scholar Award recognizes outstanding scholarly research across different disciplinary fields.
Simmons Student-athletes Excel On and Off the Field
Early mornings and late evenings. Long practices and rigorous academic courses. Team bonding and unforgettable moments. These are just a few of the hallmarks of the student-athlete experience at Simmons, according to field hockey player Sydney Gonyea ’25 and softball pitcher Piper Kinney ’26.
Dietitian Alumna Gives People a ‘Leg Up’ on Nutrition
As the founder and owner of Leg Up Nutrition, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Allegra Egizi ’18, ’20MS helps clients attain a holistic, non-diet-based relationship with food. In honor of National Nutrition Month (March) 2025, she spoke with us about her intuitive approach and how Simmons helped jumpstart her career.
3+3 Exercise Science/PT Student Shares the Gift of Sports
In honor of National Girls and Women in Sports Day, Simmons Shark Lauren Stenmon ’28 ’30DPT shares how she balances the intense studies of her accelerated degree program with her athletics schedule.
Celebrating the 2024-25 Passionate Leaders Scholars
Six Simmons undergraduate scholars from different disciplines have been selected to join the 2024-2025 Passionate Leaders Project cohort.
Simmons Exercise Science Alumnae Share Research at Conference
Health and Exercise Science alumnae Haleigh St.Hilaire ’24, ’26MPH and Caroline Aspinwall ’24 recently presented their respective research at the New England chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine (NEACSM) conference.
Student in Health and Exercise Science and Physical Therapy Accelerated 3+3 Program Publishes Paper in Peer-Reviewed Journal
Amoli Vad ’28 has published her first paper in a peer-reviewed journal. We spoke with Vad about what inspired her research and why she chose the 3+3 accelerated program at Simmons.
Nutrition Alum Receives Award for Article
Jennifer Lerman ’09 received the 39th annual Huddleson Award for the article, “Evaluation of the Healthy Eating Index-Toddlers-2020” which was featured in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.