GERONTOLOGY PROGRAM

Department of Social Work

Gerontology Undergraduate Minor

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 who are 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 focused on aging and older adults.
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Catalog description of program

The mission of the Undergraduate Minor in Gerontology is to introduce students pursuing any major to research and theory on aging and old age, to inspire them to consider a career serving older adults, and to encourage them to think critically about their own futures.

Students will learn to locate information relevant to the aging experience and communicate it effectively to others, describe the variety of aging experiences, and 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.

Overall Requirements

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.

Program Requirements

  • Minimum of 12 credit hours

Required (3 credit hours)

GRO 201 Introduction to Gerontology: Thinking about Aging

Elective courses (9 credit hours)
(Select from the following courses)

  • BIO 425 Biological Clocks
  • BIO 436 Biology of Aging
  • CSD 452 Communication and Aging
  • CSD 487 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, Rituals and  the Art
  • SWK 470 Social Services for the Aging

Graduates may be interested in the Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Gerontology or MS in Gerontology. For questions about UNCG Gerontology curriculum, contact the UNCG Undergraduate Gerontology Coordinator Dr. Rebecca Adams at r_adams@uncg.edu.