Graduate Gerontology Certification Program

Courses

The stand-alone certificate could be completed in one academic year or added to degree-seeking students’ degree plans NURS 5329

This is a 12-hour certificate program.

• NURS 5356 Global Health Policy, Health Literacy, and Models of Care for Older Adults is a required course for every student and offered every fall semester. All other courses are electives and based on student interests and course availability.

Other possible nursing courses include:

• NURS 5348 Nursing Care at the End of Life
• NURS 5357 Advanced Clinical Management of Older Adults with Complex Multimorbidity
• NURS 5358 Advanced Clinical Management of Older Adults with Complex Multimorbidity During Acute Illness Crisis
• NURS 5395 Heart Failure Pathophysiology and Exercise Rehabilitation
• NURS 6321 Epidemiology

As part of this certificate, students can also choose from courses offered in other departments such as:

• HEED 5320 Healthy Aging
• SOCW 5318 Death and Dying
• SOCW 5335 Aging in American Society
• SOCW 5333 Aging Policy and Social Justice
• SOCW 5334 Family Caregiving and Aging

Admission Requirements

Basic admission requirements must be met before a student can be accepted. Prospective students must apply to the university through the Office of Admissions, pay the application fee, and submit official transcripts to the UT Arlington’s Graduate Admission’s Office. The Graduate Admission’s Office is also responsible for calculating the admission GPA. All steps necessary to complete an application (i.e. submitting transcripts, paying fees) must be completed prior to progressing in the application process.

Prospective students should review of the College of Nursing and Health Innovation (CONHI) graduate program specific requirements. A CONHI Graduate Academic Advisor will review the application file for nursing specific requirements. Specific program requirements can be found in the University Catalog - Nursing, Graduate Programs.

If accepted, applicants will receive an acceptance form that must be signed and returned. If an applicant is denied, the option to appeal the decision is available.

Once the acceptance form has been completed and returned, an official email notification will be sent from the University to the student’s personal email. Accepted students with transfer credit should submit the transfer request form to the CONHI Academic Advisor during this time. 

An additional welcome email from an Academic Advisor will be sent with more information about the program orientation and next steps.

Note: Some graduate programs have required courses and events scheduled on Saturdays. Please consult with the director of the program you are interested in, before applying for admission.

Resources

Policies:

While University faculty and staff members give students academic advice and assistance, each student is expected to take responsibility for his or her education and personal development. The student must know and abide by the academic and disciplinary policies given in the catalog and MSN handbook, including rules governing quantity of work, the standard of work required to continue in the University, scholastic probation and dismissal, and enforced withdrawal.

Students will not be relieved of their responsibility to know the policies, deadlines and rules of the University on the grounds that they were not told. If students have questions regarding policies, it is the University’s expectation that the student will consult his/her academic advisor for guidance and resolution.

All students are expected to be familiar with the following sources of information.

• MSN and PMC Handbook
• Graduate Nursing Student Complaint and Grievance Procedures
• Graduate Nursing Clinical Clearance Requirements

Course Load

Graduate nursing education requires students to have dedicated time to devote to studying, completing assignments, preparing for, and completing clinicals and other course work. Students are encouraged to consider their work schedules and commitments considering the demands of the MSN/PMC program and adjust accordingly.  Commitments which compete with graduate study may result in suboptimal academic performance and place the student in academic jeopardy.

Study Time Recommendations

In general, for every-one graduate nursing semester credit hour of enrollment a student should allocate 5 hours of study time outside of class. For example, a 3 semester credit hours course, may reasonably require 15 hours of work, outside of class, plus anytime needed to complete clinicals.

Employment Recommendations

It is recommended that a student’s employment not exceed 16-20 hours per week in either regular or summer semesters.  Students are encouraged to evaluate their energy level, familial and personal obligations, and school commitments before starting their degree program.

Tuition

Program costs

Financial aid is not available to students enrolled in certificates programs. However, students seeking financial aid assistance, should review the Scholarships and MAV ScholarShop resources.

Academic Calendar

Students should review the academic calendar prior to enrolling and prepare accordingly.

Student Success

MSN Student Success resources are available to all students achieving academic success at UT Arlington. Our dedicated faculty make every effort to assist students in meeting their academic goals across a wide variety of subject areas.

UTA CONHI is unique among many comparable universities for the remarkable amount of resources dedicated to student success. Learn more about our offerings on help with courses and writing/speaking.