Thanks to a surge in student interest in undergraduate classes on aging, the UMass Boston Department of Gerontology has created a minor in Aging Studies. The program is open to students from all majors and is offered entirely online.
“As the population ages, an understanding of the challenges—and the potential—of an aging society will only become more important across basically every field and profession,” says Jeffrey Stokes, PhD, assistant professor of gerontology and director of the undergraduate program. “It is truly impossible to consider a career in healthcare, finance, politics, management, or any other field without grappling with our changing demographics. With the Aging Studies minor, we are hoping that students whose primary interests lie elsewhere can benefit from a strong foundation in gerontology and better understand how their own interests intersect with aging.”
Stokes says the minor was designed to be flexible—students can earn the minor by taking any four courses in the Aging Studies curriculum. Course choices include Diversity and Aging, Sexuality and Aging, Death and Dying, Policy and Aging, Mental Health and Aging, and more.
Gerontology courses already count for general education requirements, notes Gerontology Chair Edward Alan Miller, PhD. “With this new minor, students can earn a credential in this increasingly important and timely sector, giving them a leg up as they pursue employment or graduate school,” he says. “Population aging impacts everyone. The minor helps students across the spectrum of majors at UMass Boston stand out in their chosen profession with solid grounding in one of the most pressing issues of our time, locally and globally.”
The undergraduate Aging Studies major and minor are part of UMass Boston’s globally renowned Department of Gerontology, which features one of the oldest doctoral programs in the world. The program provides advanced training and research in gerontology within an interdisciplinary framework, bridging theories, concepts, and research methods drawn primarily from the social and behavioral sciences. The department also offers an online Management of Aging Services masters degree, a graduate certificate, and an undergraduate Frank J. Manning Certificate. Gerontology students at all levels have access to research and community engagement opportunities through the Gerontology Institute and its four related centers.
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