Gerontological Studies Certificate

Specialization Areas

For the Certificate in Gerontological Studies, areas of specialization include Nursing and Generalist.

Program Admission

In addition to university requirements for admission to the Graduate School, all applicants for regular admission to the Certificate Program must meet one of the following criteria:

1. A minimum undergraduate grade-point average of 2.75 or a minimum 3.0 on the last 60 semester hours of undergraduate or combined undergraduate and graduate course work; or
2. A score of 400 on the Verbal portion and a score of 400 on the Quantitative portion of the Graduate Record Examination; or
3. A total of at least 1900 points determined by multiplying the cumulative overall undergraduate grade point average by the Graduate Record Examination General Test score (Verbal plus Quantitative).

In addition, students must take the Graduate Record Examination prior to, or within their first semester, of graduate enrollment.

Applicants who fail to meet the above standards may be admitted on conditional status as recommended by the Gerontology Admission Committee and approved by the Dean of the Graduate School.

Program Requirements (CERT)

Undergraduate requirements are a bachelor’s degree from an accredited university. Students may be required to make up undergraduate deficiencies in the Generalist and Nursing areas before taking the basic core requirements (nine semester hours) depending on the student’s prior academic preparation and/or work experience.

Basic core requirements for the Certificate in Gerontological Studies are: 

• GERO 5010 - Biology of Aging
   
• GERO 5012 - Social Gerontology
   
   
• CMST 5026
   /
  GERO 5026 - Communication in Gerontology
    or
• Counselor Education 6050A

Additional requirements for Generalist are: 

• Nine semester hours of Gerontology electives.

Each student’s credentials will be evaluated by the Head of the Program at the time of admission.

Additional requirements for Nursing are nine semester hours from the following:

• NURS 4033 - Nursing Intervention in the Care of the Aged
   
• NURS 4035 - Health Assessment and Health Maintenance of the Aging Patient
   
• NURS 4036 - Practicum in Health Assessment and Health Maintenance of the Aging Patient
   
• SOCL 4025 - Seminar in Death and Dying
   

Nursing 4036 will be required for persons without prior experience in a gerontology setting. Each student’s credentials will be evaluated by the Head of the Program at the time of admission.

Graduate Courses

Note: To receive graduate credit for a 4000-level course designated ‘For Undergraduate and Graduates,’ a student must be in graduate admission status at the time credit is earned in the course. Credit earned in undergraduate admission status cannot be changed to graduate credit.