Gerontology majors study the processes of aging and the resulting biological, behavioural, and social changes that affect older people’s lives. The practical application of gerontology involves providing services to older adults and their families.
The gerontology major prepares you to understand the process of aging and to work for organizations that serve older adults (such as Area Agencies on Aging; family services; long-term-care facilities; federal, state, and local government agencies; retirement communities; and business and industry institutions). If you plan to pursue a career administering or developing programs for a government agency, you should take courses in finance and accounting, and, probably, program planning and evaluation. In addition, oral and written communications skills and computer literacy are essential.
In this major, your course work will include both the liberal arts and preparation for an entry-level practice in human services or advanced work in gerontology/aging studies, social work, public administration, social welfare, or related fields. Your courses in the major are interdisciplinary and cover topics that explore what it is like to grow old, how an individual typically progresses through the life cycle, and what an aging population means to society.
In courses on the aging process, you examine, first, the physical and intellectual changes that occur from middle age to the end of life, including intellectual stability and Alzheimer’s disease. Later courses deal with the influence of family and community on older people’s quality of life; topics include the changing role that families play, ways in which members of minority and ethnic groups experience aging. Your third area of study will focus on the laws, programs, and institution that help or hinder the process of aging in the United States and other countries. You examine programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, and the ways in which government influences private programs through tax incentives and regulation.
Some gerontology programs emphasize research and statistics. Others stress theory. Still others may focus on casework. The traditions of the college, as well as any religious affiliation, will likely determine the orientation of its gerontology program.
The gerontology major is not more, and not less, challenging than most social science programs. The subject matter is generally taught in lecture courses, with opportunities for service learning, internships, special-topic courses, guided independent study, and faculty-student research projects. As a major, you will probably spend substantial time volunteering or interning in both profit-making and not-for-profit agencies that provide services for the elderly in areas like housing, health, mental health, transportation, education, recreation, and social work. for example, you may visit senior citizen centers, volunteer in nursing homes, work part-time in retirement communities, or have field experiences in a government program.
Research gerontologist; geriatric physician; elder law attorney*; gerontology research assistant; long-term care administrator*; advocate for older adults; long-term care caseworker*; area agency on aging staff member*.
Additional employment possibilities for gerontology graduates include program development positions in recreation, education, and social services; administration of nursing homes, housing projects, and government programs; and service roles in multipurpose senior citizen centers, mental health agencies, and human resources departments of corporations and not-for-profit organizations.
Employment prospects are excellent in this field. An aging population with increasing life span ensures continued demand for professionals knowledgeable in gerontology and elder care issues.
Source: CollegeBoard 2012 Book of Majors
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