Certificate Requirements

FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS & PROFESSIONALS

The certificate program is designed for graduate students enrolled at UNC-CH or elsewhere, professionals with graduate level credentials or the equivalent, and faculty members interested in expanding their knowledge in aging. It requires fifteen credit hours of study, and six categories of classes/study must be completed:

• A health course (three credits)
• A human behavior course (three credits)
• A policy course (three credits)
• An approved elective (three credits)
• A practicum, field instruction, or research project appropriate to the student's objectives (three credits/150 hours)
• A monthly seminar over two semesters (no credits)

The practicum, field instruction or research project is a departmentally-approved aging residency, field practicum, or supervised research project. Current offerings as part of degree programs may apply, including theses or dissertations. Community professionals may meet this requirement through approved work experience.

Graduate school students can meet the requirements through their own programs or through approved course offerings in other programs. At least one course (in addition to the health course) must be an interdisciplinary course. Refer to the list of Approved Courses.

FOR FACULTY

The certificate program is well-suited for faculty interested in studying aging-related topics to expand or refocus their coursework offerings, their public or clinical service activities, or their research studies.

Faculty applicants must meet requirements equivalent to those of the graduate students and practitioners, but there is flexibility in tailoring the program to reflect individualized needs. For example, whereas the student component of the certificate program requires the equivalent of fifteen hours of study in credit-bearing graduate-level courses (focusing on aging and health, human behavior and aging, aging policy, and a practicum), faculty members have the option of auditing these specific courses (meeting regular course requirements) or arranging for independent study in comparable subject areas with faculty colleagues who are expert in aging.

Similarly, the faculty practicum might entail a joint research application venture or development of a new aging-related course with a faculty member who has a scholarly record in gerontology or geriatrics; also current clinical-educational work in aging can be considered for fulfillment of the practicum.

Further, faculty members are strongly encouraged to attend the Certificate's monthly seminar series on aging-related issues that is intended to facilitate the networking of interested scholars in aging. However, this requirement may be tailored to accommodate parallel activities such as participation in aging-related conferences, gerontological or geriatric association meetings, or aging-related public policy events.