Gerontology, Graduate Certificate*

General Program Information

Roger Blackwell, DrPH MPH, Graduate Coordinator
PO Box 70674
Lamb Hall Room 306
Office: (423) 439-4915
Fax: (423) 439-6570
email: blackwer@etsu.edu

The Gerontology Graduate Certificate Program is an interdisciplinary 16-credit-hour program of study designed to provide the learner with specific leadership and management tools for the health care environment. The focus of the program is to educate students who will be leaders in improving the quality of life for older individuals and their families in Tennessee, the nation, and the world.

Admission to the Program

The criteria for admission to the Gerontology Graduate Certificate Program include:

1. A bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution.
2. A minimum undergraduate grade point average of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale.

Application materials which must be submitted to the School of Graduate Studies include:

1. an application;
2. a résumé demonstrating interest and/or experience in gerontology;
3. three (3) letters of recommendation; and
4. transcripts from all colleges attended.

All applications will be evaluated by an admission committee composed of representatives from the Gerontology Steering Committee.

Course Requirements

The Gerontology Graduate Certificate will only be awarded to students who have been officially admitted to the program and successfully completed the sixteen (16) credits of approved coursework. A student may transfer up to nine (9) credits of approved coursework into the program. In the final semester, a student must complete a culminating experience as part of the Advanced Interdisciplinary Seminar in Gerontology. The time limit for use of credit toward the certificate is six (6) years from the date of enrollment in the earliest course applied toward the certificate, including transferred courses. In order to receive the certificate, a student must earn a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or above on coursework.

A student may simultaneously pursue both the certificate and a graduate degree program if duly admitted to both programs. However, being admitted to a degree program and successfully completing coursework typically required for the graduate certificate does not automatically qualify a student for the certificate.

For more information and application materials, write or call:

East Tennessee State University
College of Public Health
Gerontology Graduate Certificate Program
P.O. Box 70624
Johnson City, TN 37614
Phone: (423) 439-4332

or

East Tennessee State University
School of Graduate Studies
P.O. Box 70720
Johnson City, TN 37614
Phone: (423) 439-4221

Program of Study

Each student, with the assistance of an assigned advisor, will design a program of study to include ten (10) credits of core requirements and a minimum of six (6) credits of guided electives to be selected from listed courses.

Note: Some clinical/discipline specific courses will have prerequisites that must be met.

Gerontology, Graduate Certificate Requirements: 16 credits

Required Courses: 10 credits

• HSMP 5535 - Health Policy, Politics, and Analysis (3 credits)
• COBH 5607 - Gerontology and Health (3 credits)
• COBH 5500 - Advanced Seminar in Gerontology: An Interdisciplinary Approach (4 credits)

Advisor Approved Electives: 6 credits

Choose 6 credits from the following:

• NRSE 5013 - Health Promotion, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Clinical Management: Nurse Practitioner II (3 credits)
• NRSE 5021 - Life Span Assessment and Clinical Management: Women’s Health (2-3 credits)
• CDIS 6310 - Rehabilitative Audiology for Adults (3 credits)
• PEXS 5977 - Exercise Management (3 credits)
• COBH 5110 - Community Health Assessment Research (3 credits)
• Other electives as approved by the graduate faculty advisor (3 credits)

Gainful Employment

*This is a Gainful Employment Program. For information about Gainful Employment programs, please see https://www.etsu.edu/gradstud/documents/gainfulemployment/gerontology
_graduate_certificate.pdf