Gerontology major?

[Anonymous]

My DD has started thinking about majors based on her volunteer activities. She really enjoys working with senior citizens leading activities.

Can someone tell me about gerontology as a field and where to find programs? I’m trying to do some preliminary research to get ahead of the questions.

I don’t see her going into counseling, and those are the results I am seeing when googling.

[Anonymous]

What are her grades?

Is she into the philosophical and moral questions that come along with an aging population?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD has started thinking about majors based on her volunteer activities. She really enjoys working with senior citizens leading activities.

Can someone tell me about gerontology as a field and where to find programs? I’m trying to do some preliminary research to get ahead of the questions.

I don’t see her going into counseling, and those are the results I am seeing when googling.

USC hands down

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD has started thinking about majors based on her volunteer activities. She really enjoys working with senior citizens leading activities.

Can someone tell me about gerontology as a field and where to find programs? I’m trying to do some preliminary research to get ahead of the questions.

I don’t see her going into counseling, and those are the results I am seeing when googling.

USC hands down

Also Santa Clara.

[Anonymous]

What does a gerontologist do?

It's awfully specific to major in right out of high school.

[Anonymous]

Is she interested in health sciences, like public health? Otherwise, I think many jobs working with seniors are at the local government level so perhaps something like public administration or public policy would fit. It really depends what she wants to do.

This is something (“working with seniors”) where I don’t think you necessarily need to specialize to go into the field. Plenty of liberal arts programs will probably get the college education needed and then perhaps she’d be ready to specialize more at the graduate school level.

[Anonymous]

Locally, I know Towson has a program.

https://www.towson.edu/chp/departments/health-sciences/undergrad/gerontology/

[Anonymous]

I wonder if she might be interested in something more broad like sociology or anthropology, which would give her research skills, or public health...these could potentially with a gerontology minor....but the broader major might be more marketable should she decide to do something else.

[Anonymous]

I think the best thing would be do double major in something else and then add a gerontology specialization to that whether it's financial planning, social work, architecture, etc.

[Anonymous]

All I can say is major congratulations, OP, both to your DC and to your family. Working with those who are aging is a genuine calling, and requires an immense amount of energy, creativity, and compassion, no matter what the precise specialization. There is a massive shortage of people who do this well. I don't care how your DC gets there, but the world needs more people like your kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the best thing would be do double major in something else and then add a gerontology specialization to that whether it's financial planning, social work, architecture, etc.

+1 she needs to figure out what aspect of working with seniors is appealing. Beyond health fields, I'd think social work would be the other big area to consider.

[Anonymous]

I started my career working as a case manager at an elder care agency. Actually I guess I started earlier, during college, working as an elder companion. I provided respite care for care givers or just company for lonely or homebound elders (and did grocery shopping, mopped floors, found lost remote controls). Most of my coworkers were working on MSW degrees in the evenings. I eventually went on for a MPH and now work in a different area of public health. I was an English major with a community health certificate. Gerontology is generally a PhD level area of study, I think, and if your daughter is interested in practice I think other disciplines would be the more practical entry point.

[Anonymous]

Human Development/Developmental Science is slightly more broad, but those keywords will help her search for programs/majors.

[Anonymous]

Social work...and if she does a 3-2 or 4/1 program she can get a masters with a specialization in georontology

[Anonymous]

Would she be open to med school? My bff practices geriatric medicine- my dh (whom I met when he was in her med school class) always joked back then that she would be yapping with all the old folks on her rounds. She very much felt a calling to that type of work!