The Gerontology minor is designed for undergraduates with any major who are interested in a career in aging or personally interested in the topic. This minor should be of special interest to undergraduates planning to pursue careers in the allied health fields, with businesses or non-profits providing services or products to older adults and their families, or after attending graduate school, as researchers in their respective fields.

Students will learn to locate information relevant to the aging experience and communicate it effectively to others, describe the variety of aging experiences, analyze current opportunities and constraints on how people age, and interpret data and apply theories of aging to gain perspective on their own futures as older adults and to identify areas for change.

Working with the Gerontology Undergraduate Coordinator and their major advisors, students will have an opportunity to complete a program of study customized to help them meet their own career or personal goals.  Many of the courses, including GRO 201 Introduction to Gerontology: Thinking about Aging (the only required course), are offered online and, with planning, it is possible to complete the minor entirely online.

Program Requirements

•  Minimum of 12 credit hours.
  • The Gerontology minor consists of four 3-credit courses, one of which is required (GRO 201) and none of which can count as credit towards the major.

Course List

Code	Title	Credit Hours
Required		3
GRO 201	Introduction to Gerontology: Thinking about Aging
Select 9 credits from the following: *		9
BIO 425	Biological Clocks
CSD 452	Communication and Aging
CSD 487	Introduction to Adult Language Disorders
CTR 214	Inclusive Recreation
GRO 411	Silver Industries
or ENT 411	Silver Industries
GRO 444	Baby Boomers
GRO 451	Gerontology Independent Study
HDF 111	Human Development Across the Life Span
HDF 204	Adult Development
KIN 479	Exercise and Older Adults
NTR 313	Nutrition Throughout the Life Cycle
NUR 481	End-of-Life Care
PHI 275	Philosophy of Aging
PSY 375	Psychology of Aging
REL 104	Religion, Ritual, and the Arts
SWK 470	Social Services for the Aging

*

Chosen from the courses listed or other courses with a focus on aging under advisement from the Gerontology Undergraduate Coordinator.  

GRO courses at the 100- and/or 200-level.

Note: Some of these courses require prerequisites or permission of the instructor, but it is possible to complete the minor without taking any of those courses.