Graduate and Continuing Education Program Directors

Please reach out directly to your graduate or continuing education program director with questions and concerns.

Girard School of Business

Accounting -
MSA (Online)

Annarita Meeker

Assistant Dean & Director of Accounting Programs
meekera@merrimack.edu
978-837-3589

Business Analytics -
Certificate (Online)

Annarita Meeker

Assistant Dean & Director of Accounting Programs
meekera@merrimack.edu
978-837-3589

Management -
MSM (Online)

Annarita Meeker

Assistant Dean & Director of Accounting Programs
meekera@merrimack.edu
978-837-3589

Winston School of Education and Social Policy

Catholic School Leadership -
Certificate (Online)

Russ Olwell

Associate Dean and Professor olwellr@merrimack.edu
978-701-2535

Community Engagement -
M.Ed.

Audrey Falk

Associate Professor, Graduate Education falka@merrimack.edu
978-837-3592

Criminology and Criminal Justice -
MS

Alyssa Yetter

Assistant Professor, Criminology yettera@merrimack.edu
978-837-5266

C.A.G.S. in Educational Leadership -
Certificate (Online)

Marie Galinski

Associate Professor of Practice, Graduate Education galinskiM@merrimack.edu
978-837-5208

Higher Education -
M.Ed.

Elaine Ward

Associate Professor, Higher Education warde@merrimack.edu
978-837-3572

School Counseling -
M.Ed.

Christine Shaw

Associate Professor of Practice, Graduate Education shawc@merrimack.edu
978-837-5074

Social Work -
MSW

James Howland

Assistant Professor of Practice, School Counseling
howlandj@merrimack.edu

Teacher Education -
M.Ed. (Online)

Jessica McCarthy

Assistant Dean of Graduate Programs mccarthyj@merrimack.edu

Teacher Education -
M.Ed.

Jessica McCarthy

Assistant Dean of Graduate Programs mccarthyj@merrimack.edu

Clinical Mental Health Counseling​ -
MS

Michael Mobley​

Director of Clinical Mental Health Counseling
mobleym@merrimack.edu
(O) 978-837-3515 (C) 573-268-4811

School of Nursing and Health Sciences

Athletic Training -
MS

Birgid Hopkins

Associate Clinical Faculty
hopkinsb@merrimack.edu
978-837-5332

Health Promotion and Management -
MS

Allison Higgins

Concentrations in Health Promotion and Program Management, Health and Wellness Coaching (in-person) and Community Health Education.

Assistant Clinical Professor, Nutrition and Public Health Program Director, MS in Health Promotion and Management 
higginsam@merrimack.edu
978-837-3451

Exercise and Sport Science -
MS

Tunde Szivak

Assistant Professor, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, Program Director,
M.S. in Exercise and Sport Science
szivakt@merrimack.edu
978-837-5583

Nutrition and Human Performance -
MS

Elizabeth Natale

Assistant Clinical Professor, Nutrition and Public Health, Program Director, M.S. Nutrition and Human Performance
natalee@merrimack.edu
978-837-5116

School of Arts and Sciences

Spirituality -
MA

Peter Ellard

Director of the Spirituality Program
ellardp@merrimack.edu
978-837-5755

Communications -
MA

Andrew Tollison

Associate Professor, Communication and Media tollisona@merrimack.edu
978-837-5055

Interfaith Spirituality -
Certificate

Peter Ellard​

Director of the Spirituality Program
ellardp@merrimack.edu
978-837-5755

Public Administration and Affairs -
MPAA

Bradley Miller

Director of the Masters in Public Administration and Affairs
millerbj@merrimack.edu
(O) 978-837-5883 (C) 404-234-6683

Spiritual Direction -
MA

Peter Ellard​

Director of the Spirituality Program
ellardp@merrimack.edu
978-837-5755

Applied Chemistry -
MS

Brian Provencher, Ph. D.

Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director, Applied Chemistry
provencherb@merrimack.edu 
978-837-5296

Spiritual Direction -
Certificate

Peter Ellard​

Director of the Spirituality Program
ellardp@merrimack.edu
978-837-5755

Biology -
MS

Josephine Modica-Napolitano

Professor, Biology
modicanapolj@merrimack.edu
978-837-5368

School of Engineering and Computational Sciences

General Student Advising Inquiries

Kathleen Makiver

Academic Program Manager, Engineering makiverka@merrimack.edu
978-837-5464

General Student Advising Inquiries

Lauri Gibbons

Academic Program Manager, Sciences gibbonsl@merrimack.edu
978-837-5284

General Student Advising Inquiries

Torrey DiPalma

Academic Program Manager, Online Programs dipalmat@merrimack.edu
978-837-5752

Product Management -
MS

Product Management Concentration

Jeffrey Hovis

Lecturer and Program Director, Mechanical Engineering
hovisj@merrimack.edu
978-837-5339

Civil Engineering -
MS

Marc Veletzos

Associate Professor and Chair, Civil Engineering veletzosm@merrimack.edu
978-837-5389

Data Science -
MS & Certificate (online)

Jeffrey Hovis

Lecturer and Program Director, Mechanical Engineering
hovisj@merrimack.edu
978-837-5339

Computer Science -
MS (online)

Paulo Fernandes

Director, MS Computer Science & Professor of Practice
fernandesp@merrimack.edu

Mechanical Engineering -
MS

Franco Capaldi

Associate Professor and Chair, Mechanical Engineering
capaldif@merrimack.edu
978-837-5325

Continuing Education

Business Administration -
BS

Concentrations in either Accounting or Management

Andrea Finn

Program Manager, Professional & Continuing Studies
finna@merrimack.edu
978-837-3576

Child, Family and Community Studies -
BS

Concentrations in Early Childhood Leadership and Administration, Family and Community Engagement, Teacher Education Preparation Leading to Licensure in Early Childhood PreK-2, Elementary Education (Grades 1-6), or Moderate Disabilities (PreK-8)

Patricia Howson

Associate Professor of Practice, Education
howsonp@merrimack.edu
978-837-5521

Child, Family and Community Studies -
BS

Concentrations in Early Childhood Leadership and Administration, Family and Community Engagement, Teacher Education Preparation Leading to Licensure in Early Childhood PreK-2, Elementary Education (Grades 1-6), or Moderate Disabilities (PreK-8)

Erika Rinaldi

Senior Program Manager, Professional & Continuing Studies
rinaldie@merrimack.edu
978-837-5484

Liberal Arts -
BA

Concentrations in Communication and Media, Philosophy, Religious and Theological Studies, Sociology, or a Minor in Business Administration

Andrea Finn

Program Manager, Professional & Continuing Studies
finna@merrimack.edu
978-837-3576

Psychology -
BA

Erika Rinaldi

Senior Program Manager, Professional & Continuing Studies rinaldie@merrimack.edu 978-837-5484

Curriculum and Degree Requirements

This master’s program is comprised of eight courses, field-based experience and a capstone project (32 credits total). The interdisciplinary major includes coursework in the School of Nursing and Health Sciences and School of Business.

The program is designed to give you a foundation in theory and research, as well as provide an emphasis on practical applications. The required capstone project will be selected by you in collaboration with your advisor. You will have opportunities to interact with faculty from both health and business fields, as well as to engage in real-world wellness management projects through your field-based experiences and capstone.

Required Courses

HSC 5350G Research Methods - 4 credits

This course will provide an overview of quantitative and qualitative research methods that are commonly used in the field of exercise and health science. The course will focus on acquainting students with skills to identify the questions to address the research questions or real world problems, to understand and apply different study designs, to design different approaches to evaluate a real world program, and to collect, analyze, integrate, and report data.

HSC 5320G Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion - 4 credits

This course is designed to provide the graduate student with an overview and understanding of the significant issues and trends in chronic disease. Topics include: heart disease, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, cancer, chronic lung diseases, and musculoskeletal diseases will be studied. In addition, risk factors, extent, and modern public health approaches to prevention and control of major chronic diseases will also be covered.

HSC 6900G Capstone - 4 credits

The capstone seminar provides guidance and assistance to graduate students in designing and implementing their capstone project, through group or one-on-one meetings with the course instructor. It also creates a learning community in which students will share their capstone work with others to gain constructive feedback and to generate ideas about the best ways to complete the capstone project. The seminar format of the class means that students should come prepared to discuss their own work as well as carefully consider the work of their peers so they can offer insights as to how projects can be improved. The capstone advisor will provide feedback on student work, answer questions, provide advice, and facilitate successful planning and implementation of the capstone project.

HSC 6875G Health Sciences Organizational Leadership - 4 credits

This course examines both the theoretical and practical aspects of leadership and business concepts focusing on the role of the leader within health science organizations. Topics to be discussed include personal leadership preferences, leadership theory and practice, organizational communication, developing teams managing change in organizations, financial leadership, basic marketing concepts, and program development. How these theories and concepts are practically applied in the field will be a major focus of this course.

HSC 6500G Public Health Policy and Management - 4 credits

This course describes the health policy development process, including problem conceptualization, agenda setting, role of interest groups and public opinion, needs assessment, analysis of alternatives and policy selection and evaluation. Topics to be discussed include healthcare system structure, management and leadership in organizations, health policy, law and healthcare reform, issues of diversity and international policies.

GMGT 5100 Management Planning and Control - 4 credits

Management has a number of tools at its disposal to utilize in analyzing various managerial decisions. This course introduces the student to a range of these tools. The course has four primary elements: cost behavior, relevant costs for decision making, product costing, and financial statement analysis for strategic decision making. The course will provide the student with an understanding of the use of a number of tools related to making decisions to manage and control costs in a business environment as well as an understanding of financial statement analysis from a risk perspective.

GMGT 5160 Marketing Analysis and Decision Making - 4 credits

Marketing combines an understanding of strategy, human behavior, creativity, and research skills. This course covers the art and science of marketing. Launching, growing, or sustaining products (i.e., goods or services) demands in-depth knowledge of the competitive landscape, insights into consumers’ needs and responses, and a keen sense of emerging trends. This course both introduces marketing concepts, theories, and models to students and develops an in-depth understanding of specific, key topics: new product development and branding, consumer decision-making and advertising, marketing research design, and corporate marketing strategy. In this course, students apply strategic marketing analysis to identify and address a business challenge or problem. Students use facts, data analysis, projections, and inferences to make managerial decisions and recommendations. By the course conclusion, students have an understanding of marketing’s role in impacting business performance and gain in-depth understanding of specific marketing topics.

HSC 5310G Health Promotion Programs: Planning, Implementation and Evaluation - 4 credits

In this course, students will learn to systematically assess and analyze the health promotion needs of a specified target population, at the individual, community and organizational levels. Students will learn to develop a holistic, theoretically based and culturally appropriate comprehensive program to address identified health needs of a population, create thorough program implementation plans and systematic methods to evaluate the effectiveness of the health promotion program. Students will also gain an understanding of effective health communication strategies used in health promotion programs with an opportunity to practice these communication skills.

Sample Schedule – Jan. 2022 to Dec. 2022

Spring 

  • Research Methods
  • Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
  • Marketing Analysis and Decision Making

Summer 

  • Health Science Organizational Leadership
  • Capstone

Fall

  • Health Promotion Program: Planning, Implementation and Evaluation
  • Public Health Policy and Management
  • Management Planning and Control
Academics
Admission
Student Life
About