The graduate academic certificate, specialist in aging, is designed for health and human service professionals who wish to complement their existing knowledge and skills with an understanding of aging and services for the aged. Faculty of two- and four-year colleges and universities and doctoral candidates in other fields may also find the specialist certificate a valuable adjunct to their academic credentials. The specialist in aging certificate offers an opportunity to extend multidisciplinary practice to significant issues, problems and concerns facing today’s older populations.

The 15-semester-hour program includes 12 semester hours of core courses covering social, physiological and psychological aspects of aging as well as government programs for the elderly, plus 3 elective hours of applied gerontology. For students who have successfully completed the Coalition for Leadership in Aging Services certification program jointly sponsored by the Department of Sociology and the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, the 3 elective hours will be waived.