Graduate Degrees

Arts in Health is an interdisciplinary field that integrates arts and cultural practices into healthcare, public health, and community settings to support individual and collective wellbeing. It encompasses clinical practice, health promotion, prevention, research, and policy, using creative engagement as a strategy to improve physical, mental, and social health outcomes.

The field includes work by artists-in-residence in hospitals, community-based arts initiatives that address public health challenges, arts-based research, and programs designed to reduce loneliness, support chronic disease management, strengthen resilience, and advance health equity. Arts in Health draws from disciplines such as medicine, public health, psychology, social work, education, and the arts.At its core, Arts in Health positions creativity not as a luxury, but as a meaningful contributor to health across the lifespan.

Arts in Health (also called arts in medicine) is a broad interdisciplinary field that integrates visual arts, music, dance, theater, writing, and design into healthcare and public health settings to support wellbeing. It includes clinical programs in hospitals, community-based initiatives, public health partnerships, research, and policy work. Arts in health professionals facilitate creative engagement to enhance patient experience, reduce stress, foster connection, and promote individual and population health outcomes.

Arts Therapies—such as art therapy, music therapy, dance/movement therapy, and drama therapy—are licensed mental health professions. Arts therapists receive specialized clinical training and use the creative process as a psychotherapeutic intervention to assess, diagnose, and treat mental health and behavioral conditions.

In short, arts therapies are clinical treatment modalities delivered by credentialed therapists, while arts in health encompasses a wider range of non-clinical and system-level practices that use the arts to support health, wellbeing, and community resilience.

• Applicants with a regionally accredited U.S. bachelor’s degree (or international equivalent)
• Individuals from any academic background, including the arts, medicine, public health, nursing, mental health, humanities, business, education, social work, and related fields
• Proficiency in at least one form of creativity/artistry and/or a desire to engage others in artistic experiences (any undergraduate major accepted)
• Professionals at any career stage—from recent graduates to experienced practitioners and retirees
• Artists, innovators, leaders, and lifelong learners committed to advancing health and wellbeing through the arts

NO GRE required!

Online Master of Arts in Arts in Medicine (MA)

• $695.75 per credit hour 
• $25,047* across 5-6 semesters (2 years)
• Eligible for FAFSA & scholarship

Online Graduate Certificate in Arts in Medicine 

• Eligible for scholarship
• $673.32 per credit hour
• $8,079.84* across 3 (~10 months)

Federal financial aid is available at the University of Florida for Master’s students only. Please visit FAFSA.gov to apply for federal financial aid as early as possible. Graduate Certificate students do not qualify for federal financial aid. Students must apply or update their FAFSA applications every year.

Applications are accepted once per year. Application materials for a Fall (August) start cohort are due by July 1^st.

Transfer Credits from Other Schools/Programs 

• Up to 6 credits of arts in health–related graduate coursework may be transferred with director approval. 
• Submit course syllabi to CAMadmissions@arts.ufl.edu after receiving your UF admission decision for review. 

Transfer Credits to Other Schools/Programs 

• UF graduate and doctoral students may count CAM courses as electives or cognates, pending approval from their advisor or committee. 

Students at other institutions should consult their home program regarding eligibility and approval. 

Yes, you can complete the program on a schedule that meets your needs. Our core courses are subdivided into 8-week half-terms so you can easily take one class at a time and still finish 6 credit hours every 16-week semester.

Please be advised that MA students using federal financial aid should always ​consult their financial aid advisor before choosing their course schedule to ensure the satisfaction of any particular credit-hour requirements for financial aid.