online
Master of Family and Consumer Sciences with specialization in Gerontology
Gerontology is the multidisciplinary study of the aging processes and individuals as they grow from middle age through later life. As the number of older persons increases, the need for workers in this field increases. Some people work directly with older persons in a wide variety of programs and services in the community. Others work in areas such as research, advocacy, and teaching about aging. The goal in both types of work is to increase the quality of lives of older people.

People enter this diverse field from many educational levels and disciplines such as social work, nursing, counseling, recreation, public policy, long-term care administration, medicine, architecture, psychology, adult education, and rehabilitation therapy.

Iowa State joined other universities to create an interinstitutional master's and certificate in gerontology. The program meets the core competencies identified by the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE). You seek admission and are granted a degree from one of the participating institutions. Iowa State, North Dakota State, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Colorado State and Texas Tech contribute online courses. The Web-based master's program was first offered fall 2003.

The master's program is 36 credits with 24 credits in core courses. The other 12 credits include electives and specific courses required by the institution awarding the degree. Electives may include topics such as grandparent-grandchild relations, leadership in aging organizations, intergenerational issues, and mental health. FFP 540 Estate Planning for Families and FFP 545 Retirement Planning and Employee Benefits may be used as electives.

Certificate in Gerontology
The graduate certificate is 21 credits of the master's program. Five courses make up the core credits. The remaining six credits may be other core courses in the master's program or approved elective courses.

Program of Study
24 core credits (each course is 3 credits)
*Geron 530 Perspectives in Gerontology
*Geron 534 Adult Development
*Geron 540 Nutrition and Physical Activity in Aging
Geron 545 Economics, Public Policy and Aging
Geron 563 Environments for the Aging
Geron 577 Aging in the Family Setting
*Geron 584 Program Evaluation and Research Methods in Gerontology
*Geron 594 Professional Seminar in Gerontology
* courses for the certificate program of study

For more information contact
Peter Martin
1096 LeBaron Hall
Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa 50011-1120
(515) 294-5186 or (877) 891-5349
e-mail: mfcsinfo@iastate.edu
Reasearch and Graduate Education: Gerontology

Iowa State offers the online family and consumers sciences master's degree with a specialization in family financial planning as well as gerontology.
The Great Plains Interactive Distance Education Alliance (Great Plains IDEA) is a consortium of 11 universities.
www.gpidea.org/index.html