Course Petition Policy for Graduate Gerontology Credit

Center on Aging and the Life Course, Purdue University

 

Purdue University regularly offers graduate courses related to aging and strongly encourages students seeking a gerontology credential to complete courses with a priori approval for gerontology credit. Many graduate courses in CALC’s gerontology curriculum are offered every other year; thus, it is wise to develop a tentative plan of study during the first year after matriculation. The plan should include multiple doctoral seminars (600-level).

We also acknowledge that there are Purdue courses, especially new courses, beyond the approved gerontology curriculum that may merit gerontology course credit. In addition, students entering with prior post-baccalaureate coursework may have taken courses that are eligible for gerontology course credit. Thus, to create customized plans of study that accommodate student interests and experiences, this document describes the essential criteria and expectations for requesting gerontology credit hours for courses beyond the approved gerontology curriculum. There are two types of requests.

I. Gerontology Credit for Purdue University Courses Beyond CALC’s Approved Gerontology Curriculum

CALC students in either the dual-title PhD or the Gerontology minor may petition for gerontology credit hours for any course that contains adequate aging or life course content. Requirements for petitioning one or more courses include:

  • Endorsement of the petition by the student’s major professor.
  • A maximum of seven credit hours may be obtained via petition during the course of a student’s enrollment in the Gerontology Program.
  • Independent studies may be petitioned for gerontology credit hours, especially when completed under the direction of a CALC Faculty Associate.
  • Publications, in and of themselves, and dissertation hours are not eligible for gerontology credit hours.
  • A maximum of three credit hours from 400-level courses. Per the Purdue University Graduate School, 400-level courses require a grade of B or above to count towards the gerontology degree.
  • 500- and 600-level courses require a grade of C or above.
  • Course petitions should be submitted on the CALC Petition for Gerontology Course Credit form, and relevant products from the course should be attached (e.g., syllabus, manuscripts, slide shows, or videos developed during the course).
  • Evaluations of course petitions will occur during the Purdue academic year only (students may submit a petition during summer, but action will not occur until the fall semester).
  • Most course petitions will be reviewed by the CALC Steering Committee or a subset of its members. If a course was previously approved by petition, however, the CALC director may adjudicate based on precedent.

Expectations for petitioning one or more courses include:

  • The course title should contain words indicative of the study of aging and/or the life course.
  • The syllabus should contain multiple references to publications related to gerontology and/or the life course (i.e., gerontology journals or books). 
  • Methods courses may be considered for gerontology credit hours, but it is unlikely that courses focused on cross-sectional analysis will suffice. Methods courses that focus on analyzing Page 2 of 2 longitudinal data are more relevant for potential gerontology credit, provided that a paper related to aging was written for the course.
  • Course content should not be redundant with approved course offerings.
  • There should be sufficient rigor commensurate with the number of credit hours requested.
  • Although the Graduate School permits 3 credit hours from 400-level courses, we expect that most CALC students will not need any credit hours at the 400-level.
  • If a student believes that the course merits inclusion in the approved CALC curriculum, the student should notify CALC personnel for further investigation.
  • Students will receive timely feedback on the petition, typically within one month of its submission.
  • Although students may petition more than once, we encourage students to bundle petitions with their plan of study.

II. Transfer Credit for Gerontology Courses

Incoming CALC students in the dual-title PhD or the gerontology minor may petition for up to seven hours of transfer credits, provided they meet the following conditions (per the Purdue University Graduate School):

  • Courses must be graduate level and taken from an institution regionally accredited at the graduate level.
  • A minimum of B was earned in the course.
  • The course was not used for a degree elsewhere.
  • The gap between the student’s last graduate registration (elsewhere) and the beginning of the student’s graduate program at Purdue must be less than 5 years. 

Exceptions to the above stated conditions will require the consent of the CALC director, the major professor, and the Purdue University Graduate School.

Planning Communication

Petitions must be received by CALC personnel via email at least one week before the Steering Committee meeting at which the petition will be reviewed. Tentative Steering Committee dates may be obtained by emailing mebner@purdue.edu.