Adjunct Professor Rosenfeld, Graduate Program Director, (516) 463-5785

This degree program is designed to prepare graduate students to pursue careers which will help older adults make better decisions about their own lives. The education and practical skills gained through this degree program will provide students with an interdisciplinary base of knowledge and experience which will increase their effectiveness in assisting older adults.

Students graduating from this program will have obtained a competency in gerontology with a subspecialty in either Administration of Services for the Aging or Counseling of the Aging. These subspecialties, or tracks, provide students with an opportunity to pursue a program of study that is reflective of their individual needs and interests, as well as the needs and interests of older adults.

Students opting for a concentration in administration are expected to gain the necessary knowledge and skills related to management, public policy, social and health service planning, program development and evaluation of services for the aging. These skills are applicable in a variety of settings including business, education, health care, real estate and public service.

Students concentrating in the counseling subspecialty are expected to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to provide direct therapeutic services to older adults. This would include vocational and health counseling, individual and family counseling and preretirement planning. The program prepares students who work with traditional populations of elderly people, but also includes strategies for counseling the “new old” (e.g. Baby Boomers), as well as the “very old” (e.g. centenarians).