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Gerontology Training and Schools
By Joanna Pelletier, allied health world contributing writer
Published: March 5th, 2010
What are my options for pursuing a gerontology degree online?
Students and professionals can gain their Doctorates, Master's degrees, or certificates through online distance learning gerontology programs. Like the profession they support, a gerontology degree online is highly flexible, and ideal for people who are already working for organizations with elderly clients, want to learn at their own pace, cannot afford to move or commute to school, or want to have unlimited access to their class materials.Gerontology courses online for Master's level students can cost up to $ 40,000, depending on where the student goes to school.
Students in these programs must complete between 28 and 36 credits to obtain their degrees, which takes two to five years to complete. There is no difference in course content with an online Master's degree in Gerontology, nor is there a difference in degree requirements. Students in online programs may pay an additional fee for their online classes, but their remaining costs stay the same as their peers. The difference between traditional classes and gerontology schools online is the way they are delivered and structured. Online learners learn, take tests, participate in discussion threads, watch podcasts, and finish their homework through blackboard or another intranet system. They have little to no physical contact with their instructors and classmates, but they can communicate about different topics and personal issues through e-mail.
Online gerontology schools offering Master's programs also give their students the same internship, research, and specialization opportunities as traditional students. Students who specialize in health care, for example, can take classes in health care administration, health care policy, death and dying, and other field-focused topics. Like traditional certificate programs, certificate programs offered by online gerontology schools take less time to complete than a full Master's degree program. These programs typically consist of three to eight classes on a special topic in gerontology, which can take six to 16 months to complete. Students in these programs do not complete any practicum experience, which contributes to the short time commitment. Online certificate students can also choose to specialize in a specific area of gerontology, like lifespan developmental psychology, lifespan developmental sociology, social policy, health care, or nursing home administration. Programs may vary from university to university.
Students and professionals can prepare for research and study with a gerontology degree online at the Doctorate level, but may find that the selection of programs is limited. Most of these degrees focus on the research and study of epidemiology in the aging process, public policy, and social and cognitive behavioral change.
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