Gerontology Minor (Aging Studies Program)

Sociology and Anthropology
Director: J. Brandon Wallace

The Aging Studies Program offers an interdisciplinary minor in Gerontology designed to meet the needs of students interested in pursuing a career working with or for the older adult population. The minor provides students the opportunity to examine the biological, psychological, sociological, and cultural perspectives which influence the status of the aging individual in society. Students who complete the Gerontology minor will be exposed to the basic social policies and personal skills required for working effectively with older persons.

Interdisciplinary Minors

Interdisciplinary minors require the student to complete a minimum of 15 to 21 hours from a list of specific courses. Unless otherwise noted, a student may take no more than 6 hours of courses from a single department until he or she surpasses the required minimum number of hours necessary for completing the minor. Exceptions to this rule may be found within the discussions of several of the minors. In most cases, a student is also limited to just 3 hours of credit toward the minor in the same department or discipline in which he or she is taking a major. Except for the Paralegal Studies minor, no course may be counted both for major and minor credit. Students must fulfill all departmental prerequisites for any course within an interdisciplinary minor. In some cases, advisors may approve course substitutions within these program requirements.

Program Requirements

The minor requires the successful completion of 15 semester hours. All students are required to take GERO 2600 . The remaining 12 hours must be selected from other interdisciplinary Gerontology courses or approved departmental courses. The general requirement for an interdisciplinary minor is that students may not take more than six hours from a single department. To strengthen research or applied skills, students are encouraged to complete either GERO 4800 or GERO 4900 .

Interdisciplinary Gerontology Courses

GERO 2600 - Introduction to Gerontology 3 credit hours
GERO 4030 - Topics in Gerontology 3 credit hours
GERO 4800 - Special Projects 1 to 6 credit hours
GERO 4900 - Practicum 3 to 6 credit hours

Departmental Courses

CDFS 3300 - Caring Across Generations 4 credit hours
CDFS 4390 - Families in Later Life 3 credit hours
CDFS 4391 - Aging Health and Development 3 credit hours
CDIS 4800 - Speech and Language Disorders in the Adult Population 3 credit hours
NFS 4210 - Nutrition in Aging 3 credit hours
NURS 3580 - Health and Gerontology 3 credit hours
PSY 4610 - Adult Psychology and Aging 3 credit hours
PSY 4630 - Death and Dying 3 credit hours
LSTS 3380 - Disabilities and Diversity in Leisure, Sport, and Tourism 3 credit hours
LSTS 4470 - Leisure and Aging 3 credit hours
SOC 4020 - Sociology of Aging 3 credit hours
SOC 4040 - Health Care Delivery Issues 3 credit hours
SW 3170 - Family Caregiving Across the Life Span 3 credit hours
SW 4430 - Social Work with the Terminally Ill 3 credit hours