PASSWORDMANAGEMENT
Certified Wellness Coach
What is a Certified Wellness Coach?
Becoming a lets you play a role in improving mental health and well-being of children and youth in California.
Today’s mental health crisis is negatively impacting children and youth in California. Certified Wellness Coaches can create real change. Coaches can make a positive difference in schools, health care programs, and community organizations because they can help the young people they serve have better, happier lives.
As a program on path towards designation from HCAI (California Department of Health Care Access and Information), the Human Development Department has partnered with the State of California to ensure that students completing our approved Certified Wellness Coach (CWC) curriculum will be able to acquire all the necessary education and fieldwork requirements to be eligible to apply to become a CWC upon graduation.
Want more information and program updates?
Certified Wellness Coach II Hybrid Information Session
Come meet HD faculty and learn more about the program, application process, and requirements! Registration is required for food and/or Zoom access.
- Date: Thursday, Mar. 26, 2026
- Time: 12:00 - 12:50 p.m.
- Location: Hybrid - UNIV 321 (in person) or Zoom
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for in-person or remote attendance. The Zoom link will be sent the week of 3/23. Lunch provided for in-person attendees.
How to Become a Certified Wellness Coach
- Graduate from ÌÇÐÄÉÙÅ® with a BA in Human Development (Counseling) taking Wellness Coach Training Program electives.
- Complete a minimum of 800 hours of supervised field
experience through any combination of hours from field
practicum in their degree, internship hours, or work
experience. (Upon graduation, applications are accepted with 300 hours completed. Any hours not completed during degree program can be completed post -graduation via relevant internship or work experience.) - Watch this 4-minute video for an overview of wellness coaching
Additional Resources
Financial Support is Available!
Medi-Cal Behavioral Health Scholarship Program (MBH-SP)
The is a California-funded program that helps pay for education and training for future behavioral health professionals, including Certified Wellness Coaches. It offers scholarships of up to $120,000 that can help cover tuition, fees, and other education-related costs. After completing training or certification, scholarship recipients agree to work in a community-based or Medi-Cal behavioral health setting (such as clinics or mental health programs). The length of the work commitment depends on the amount of funding received (typically 2–4 years).
The application deadline is March 16, 2026 at 3:00 p.m.
You can learn more using the link below:
Please reach out to wellnesscoach@csusm.edu with any questions!
SWIFT Programs Scholarship
Students who are admitted to a SWIFT Health Program at CSU San Marcos (accelerated, 3-year B.A. in Human Development), may also submit a request for a SWIFT Scholarship.