Certificate Programs

GERONTOLOGY

This certificate program is a special course of study in gerontology that compliments undergraduate degree programs in various departments and colleges throughout the University. Individuals who already hold an undergraduate degree may also pursue the certificate. The program represents a concentration involving current knowledge and research in gerontology. It adds another dimension to the knowledge and skills a student is able to offer in the many professions that are becoming specialized in research and service to adults and older adults. This course of study coordinates multidisciplinary training of personnel in adult development and aging and helps to meet the critical shortage of trained individuals in the field of gerontology. The undergraduate curriculum committee of the Institute for Life-Span Development and Gerontology will oversee this certificate program and certify through the director of the institute that all requirements for the certificate have been completed.

A sequence of study is available in Nursing Home Administration through the institute. The undergraduate certificate is included in the Ohio Board of Examiners of Nursing Home Administrators approved course of study in Nursing Home Administration which combines a Bachelor of Science degree in management (Human Resource Management Concentration) with a Certificate in Gerontology. B.S./M.D. students may complete the Practicum/Internship and electives from courses available from the institute or the Office of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology, NEOUCOM.

VICTIM STUDIES

The Department of Sociology and the School of Social Work offer a joint certificate program in Victim Studies. The program prepares students in sociology, social work, and other disciplines who would like to develop a specialization in victimology/ victim studies in their degree program and future work.

WOMEN’S STUDIES

For information, contact the Women’s Studies Office, (330) 972-7008. Interdisciplinary and personalized, the Women’s Studies certificate fosters a critical approach to knowledge about women; at the core of its intellectual agenda is diversity. By focusing on cultural practices that have largely excluded and devalued differences in gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, race, and class, Women’s Studies prepares students to appreciate and act in a pluralistic world. The Women’s Studies certificate integrates scholarship and research on women and gender from literature, psychology, history, sociology, and communication. Students are challenged to debate assumptions, explore divergent viewpoints, and discover the partial and often self-interested emphases of our society’s most powerful institutions – family, church, academia, business, and government. The Women’s Studies Program helps students to evaluate what they have been taught and, most importantly, it empowers them to claim their educations – ones not readily available in the traditional university curricula – and to work for social justice after their educations. Students find their own voices and develop the esteem necessary to articulate their own views. Out of such opportunities, a student culture of respect and tolerance emerges to support lasting communities that value and promote individual worth, collective action, and intellectual courage. Students may enroll in any Women’s Studies courses and/or make an appointment with the director to discuss a plan of study. Students need not be enrolled in the certificate program to take Women’s Studies courses. This certificate may be earned independently of a degree.

PAN-AFRICAN

To satisfy the requirements for the certificate, a student must complete at least 15 semester credits and five courses with a minimum 2.30 GPA from the list of elective courses or other courses identified as acceptable by the director.

PARENT AND FAMILY EDUCATION

This certificate is intended for individuals who wish to enhance their knowledge of parenting and family life, study issues relevant to parenting and family life and develop skills useful in working with parents and families. The certificate may be added to any undergraduate degree program; it may also be completed by nonfamily or non-child development majors.