Gerontology programs teach people about the aging process and the needs of older people. Students learn the social science, psychology, and biology of aging. They also learn about policies that affect the aged.
Imagine that you were born in 1900. From the day of your birth, you would only be expected to live until you were 47 years old. Forty-seven! That's young, you think. Today, if you hear of someone who unexpectedly died at this age, you are shocked. Yet, just 100 years ago that was normal.
Today the average life span is about 77 years. Depending on your lifestyle and a little luck, you can live much longer. This also means that more older people are part of the population than ever before. In fact, the second fastest growing age group in the U.S. consists of people 85 years and older! For those living longer, what is their life like? What health problems do they face? How will they pay for their living expenses once they retire? How do government programs such as Medicare and Social Security work? These are questions that gerontologists study. Gerontologists analyze the process of aging and help older people maintain a good quality of life.
With a degree in gerontology, you can work for businesses, nursing homes, community education centers, or social service agencies. You can become a retirement planner, home health aide, or a recreation director. Or, you can deliver meals and services to homebound senior citizens. For active seniors, you can even coordinate extensive trips to Egypt and other exciting, faraway places!
In gerontology programs, you take courses in many different areas, such as sociology, psychology, and biology. Often you take accounting and economics courses to learn about retirement and financial planning. You study how people deal with death and grief and society's ideas about what older people should be like. You can also take courses in nutrition, literature about aging, health insurance, and how men and women view aging differently. Often you are required to take courses in social research methods and statistics.
Over 100 four-year colleges and universities offer bachelor's degrees in gerontology. In many cases, you can earn a minor in gerontology while earning your bachelor's degree in a related field, such as nursing or sociology. Typically you finish your bachelor's degree in four years.
About 60 schools offer graduate degree programs in gerontology. Many schools offer a minor or concentration at the graduate level. For instance, you can pursue your master's in nursing and minor in gerontology. This would allow you to focus your professional work on caring for older people. Graduate degrees take from two to five years after you finish your bachelor's degree.