Graduate Certificate in Aging and Geriatric Practice

Graduate Certificate in Aging and Geriatric Practice

The Graduate Certificate in Aging and Geriatric Practice is a 15-credit-hour program that provides the foundational knowledge of geriatric medicine students need to advance their careers in the field of aging.

Overview

By the year 2025, the U.S. will need 33,200 geriatricians. Yet there are only about 7,000 geriatricians in the nation, despite these professionals reporting high salaries and levels of career satisfaction. The workforce will desperately need physicians who specialize in the care of older adults, especially in the years to come. Fortunately, our graduate certificate program is helping to train the next generation of geriatricians.

Our graduate certificate program is affordable, asynchronous and entirely online — like our master’s degree program. However, our graduate certificate program is designed specifically for students who aspire to enroll in health-profession school. In as little as one year, students can improve their resumes, differentiate themselves from their competitors and impress admission committees at the medical school of their choosing. No clinical experience is required to apply.

All 15 credit hours earned in this graduate certificate program can be applied to the MS in gerontology, so long as you are accepted and earn a “B” or higher. Completion of our graduate certificate program does not guarantee admission into our master’s degree program, but it may help satisfy admission requirements.

Admission Requirements

To be admitted to the UF Graduate Certificate in Aging and Geriatric Practice, applicants must meet the following minimum requirements and submit all necessary supporting documentation:

• Bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution or equivalent
• An upper-division GPA of at least 3.0 (Grade B). Upper-division GPA (also called last 60 credits) can be calculated using this form: admissions.ufl.edu/pdf/worksheet.pdf

Tuition

Tuition is $550 plus $35.75 student fees per credit hour. This tuition rate is subject to change. This program does not accept the UF EEP or Florida State Tuition Waiver. Students may pay tuition via credit card, electronic check or paper check. Please note that there is a processing fee for credit card payments.

Financial Aid

Financial aid is not available for graduate certificate and non-degree seeking students but students may be eligible for private loans.

Tuition Reimbursement

Tuition reimbursement is a form of tuition assistance offered by many employers to employees who are looking to gain job-related skills and advance their careers within the company. UF’s online graduate programs in gerontology can be instrumental for professionals working in hospitals, outpatient centers and assisted living facilities, and there are many employers who see an education in gerontology as an investment, especially as aging populations grow.

If you are interested in tuition reimbursement, you should first verify whether your employer has an existing tuition reimbursement policy. From there, you can determine your eligibility and work with your employer to receive benefits. 

Additional Costs

There is a $30 application fee for master’s degree and graduate certificate applications, to be paid at the time of submitting the online application. There is no application fee for non-degree seeking students.

Graduation Requirements

To earn this graduate certificate, students must complete the required 15 credit hours and have an overall GPA of 3.0.