Career Concentration in Gerontology
Administered by the Departments of Psychology
Effective: Spring 2014
This program is designed to help prepare students for careers in aging and advanced or graduate training in gerontology. The program emphasizes core information as well as content and process knowledge necessary to work with older adults. It also consists of an internship or field experience that provides first-hand opportunities for students to interact with older adults. Settings for these experiences may include hospitals, retirement communities, assisted-living centers, nursing homes, area agencies on aging, therapeutic day-care programs, and community family counseling centers.
Due to the wide variation of possible career objectives held by students entering the concentration, options have been given in each course category. Students are asked to identify their interests in each category prior to taking any courses, so that their faculty advisor can make recommendations that will complement their career objectives. Students may make changes as they progress through the program with their advisor’s approval. For example, as new courses and/or special topical seminars with a focus on aging are developed, students may make substitutions in the appropriate category with their advisor’s approval.
Courses as well as the internship or field experience are drawn from a variety of University departments, including Biological and Allied Health Sciences, Exercise Science, Nursing, Psychology, and Sociology, Social Work and Criminal Justice. The program consists of 30-36 credit hours: 27 credit hours of course work and 3-9 credit hours of field experience. Options are available in all category areas, so that students may personalize their gerontology career concentration program.
I. Core courses: 12 credits
Two (2) required courses:
PSYCH.101 General Psychology
PSYCH.210 Life Span Psychology (Nursing Majors ONLY) or PSYCH.218 Principles of Gerontology
Choose any two (2) courses from the following:
BIOLOGY.107 Medical Terminology
BIOLOGY.231 Biology of Aging
PSYCH.131 Psychology of Adjustment
SOCWORK.133 Introduction to Social Work and Social Welfare
SOC.211 Principles of Sociology
II. Content courses: 9 credits
Choose any three (3) courses from the following:
BIOLOGY.205 Introduction to Nutrition or NURSING.211Nutrition
ECONOMIC.317 Population and Resource Problems
EXERCISE.321 First Aid and Safety
NURSING.213 Foundations of Nursing Practice
NURSING.307 Contemporary Health Issues of Aging
PHIL.290 Medical Ethics
PSYCH.335 Psychological Disorders
SOC.213 Contemporary Social Problems
SOC.231 Marriage and Family
SOCWORK.456 Social Work and Issues of Aging
III. Methods, skills, or process courses: 6 credits
Choose any two (2) courses from the following:
Courses (below) marked with an * (asterisk) must have prior approval in order to fill the requirement for this concentration. Approval will be given to seminars and research projects that are focused on aging issues or older populations.
EXERCISE.397 Adult Health Development Program
NURSING.410 Community Health Nursing
NURSING.411 Psychological Mental Health Nursing
*PSYCH.406 Psychology Seminar
PSYCH.430 Community Psychology
*PSYCH.466 Independent Study
PSYCH.476 Principles of Behavior Modification
*SOC.466 Social Research
SOCWORK.334 Social Work with Individuals and Families
SOCWORK.450 Social Work with Groups and Groups at Risk
SOCWORK.452 Social Work with Organizations and Communities
IV. Internship or field experience: 3- 9 credits
Choose one (1) course from the following:
Courses (below) marked with an * (asterisk) must have prior approval in order to fill the requirement for this concentration. Approval will be given to all field experiences that are focused on aging issues or older populations.
*BIOLOGY.490 Internship in Biology and Allied Health Sciences
*EXERCISE.498 Internship in Exercise Science
NURSING.311 Adult Health Nursing
*PSYCH.497 Practicum in Psychology
*SOC.496 Sociology Internship Program
*SOCWORK.497 Social Work Internship