WHY A GERONTOLOGY MASTER’S DEGREE?

• The “Baby Boom” generation is aging and their aging-related needs are affecting all aspects of society (e.g., the service industry).  Professionals in all fields need to be trained in gerontology to better understand how to better serve a population whose average age will continue to rise until about the year 2030.

WHAT’S A GOOD CAREER FOR THIS DEGREE?

• Fields of study such as psychology, social work, education, counseling, sociology, biology, exercise science, political science, etc., increasingly deal with an aging population and there is a need to understand what “aging” means.

WHAT COURSES DOES THIS DEGREE ENTAIL?
 
 

• The M.A. in Gerontology curriculum consists of 36 credit hours organized into three components:  classroom courses, experiential learning, and independent research. Each of these components provides an opportunity for a specific type of learning; all are intended to be coordinated around the student's focus in the program.

 
• The classroom component will provide the theoretical knowledge and the academic skills necessary for success in the other two.

 
• The experiential component will give students the opportunity to apply, as well as to increase, their knowledge and skills by working in agencies and programs for the elderly in the greater Chicago area.

 
• Finally, the research component allows students to integrate what they have learned from both of the above and to produce a research report that demonstrates their mastery of the interdisciplinary field of gerontology.

 
• See student handbook for courses available.  Courses are offered every semester (Fall, Spring, Summer).

WHERE COULD THIS DEGREE LEAD ME?
 

• To interesting classes and a well-trained career for dealing indirectly or directly with an aging population.