Gerontology Degrees in Alabama - AL

If you want to get a gerontology degree in Alabama, the place to start is by looking into the state’s numerous gerontology degree programs. In Alabama, the most common ways to earn this degree is either online, or at a college or university campus. Both types of schools have their advantages, but because gerontology is such a broad base of study, online schools are fast becoming the norm, because of their flexibility and diverse educational offerings.

Whether you choose an online or campus-based school, your gerontology curriculum will probably follow the same general shape. Initially, you’ll begin a well-rounded academic liberal arts program that will include English, science, math, and literature. Gerontologists have to be able to communicate effectively, and perform a number of tasks, so this general education is important.

Soon, though, you’ll move into more focused gerontological topics, such as the effects of ageing on the body and the bodies various systems, how the brain and chemistry changes with time, and what the social, psychological, and economic effects are that come with being elderly.

Because it is possible to get a gerontology degree in Alabama at the associate’s, bachelor’s, and master’s level, different degree programs will be more, or less, in depth on different areas. Your chosen career path will also shape your curriculum to a large extent; a social workers education will emphasize sociological, legal, and ethical impacts of aging, while direct caregivers will find themselves in more of a standard medical program geared towards caring for elderly patients.

Internships, usually vital to an allied health education, are less prevalent here. Bachelor’s programs, and those programs geared toward training caregivers, will generally require almost an entire year of mixed internships and externships, and work experience opportunities should not be hard to come by. The two to three years spent earning your master’s is generally spent in intensive study, and gerontologists who will not being dealing directly with patients generally aren’t required to complete any sort of practicum.

Gerontologists in Alabama go on to do all sorts of things. You might, after graduation, become an assistant caregiver in the elderly ward at a facility like the Huntsville Hospital, or help physical therapists meet the specific needs of older patients at the Mobile Infirmary Medical Center. Gerontology is a wide-ranging field, and depending on the choices you’ve made in school, you’re career as a gerontologist in Alabama could take nearly any shape you can think of.