Aging Law and Policy Graduate Certificate

Improve your understanding of the legal and ethical issues that intersect with caring for an older population and supporting healthy aging

Program Overview

The 100% online Graduate Certificate in Aging Law and Policy:

• 12 credit units, with four courses at three credit units each, which can be completed in less than eight months
• Free to apply
• No admissions test required
• Units earned may be applied to a Master of Legal Studies degree
• You may take one course (three credit units) from any of the courses offered in the three other Graduate Certificates in Health Law, including Health Law for Health Professionals, Regulatory Science, and Health Information Privacy, Compliance, and Data Security.

As the American population ages, there is an increasing need for professionals who work in the aging sector to better understand the legal and ethical issues that surround working later-in-life, long-term care, and the role of technology in changing how healthcare is monitored and delivered to seniors.

These topics and many others are covered in the Graduate Certificate in Aging Law and Policy from University of Arizona Law. 

The aging sector is an area of enormous growth that crosses disciplines, which is why this Certificate coursework reflects an innovative, multidisciplinary collaboration from academics across the University of Arizona in law, the health sciences (medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and public health), social and behavioral sciences, engineering, and psychiatry, along with the UA Center on Aging.

You will gain expertise to support employability and success within this multifaceted, highly regulated field, including the ability to identify areas of potential legal risk and effectively communicate with older adults, legal counsel, regulatory agencies, ethics committees and risk management.

Application Info

Curriculum

Outcomes

Upon completion of the program, you will obtain the following skills:

• Become familiar with the regulatory agencies, laws, and guidance that govern long-term care accreditation and reimbursement from government payors.
• Identify key legal issues when they surface in long-term care, end-of-life care, retirement, and other major life events that primarily impact older adults.
• Understand the principles and theories of moral philosophy, e.g., social contract theory, autonomy, utilitarianism, and how they apply to life value, end-of-life ethics, and other competing moral positions.
• Recognize the scope and force of ethical conflicts in providing healthcare and long-term care for an aging population.
• Gain awareness of emerging topics in elder law and how law can better address a range of issues, including elder fraud, elder representation, age discrimination, loneliness and isolation, addiction, and emergency preparedness.

Career Possibilities

• Administrator roles (Senior leaders, Director, Manager, Coordinator) in long-term care and assisted living communities, hospitals, hospices, and home-and-community-based care.
• Compliance roles that involve billing and reimbursement, risk management, accreditation, and responding to oversight from federal and state regulatory agencies.
• Consulting and entrepreneurial positions in technology designed for older adults’ use, that could support aging in place and delivery of care.
• Policy and regulatory positions from local, state, and federal government agencies, nonprofits, and associations that represent organizations in the aging field.
• Specialized roles that oversee infection control prevention and procedures.

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"I was applying what I was learning immediately. . . . That immediate application of what I was learning was really, really helpful to me."

Natalie Seehausen, LALD, Director of Partnerships at Delaget

Student, Graduate Certificate program in Aging Law and Policy