Graduate Certificate in Life Span Studies (CLSS)

About the Program

The objective of this program is to train both traditional and non-traditional graduate students, so their career opportunities are increased in both for profit and non-profit settings, including governmental agencies, academia, and companies in the health, service, and manufacturing sectors by providing them the ability to earn a certificate in life span studies. This program will foster interdisciplinary education and it will support a national demand to deal with changes in demographics around the US. This program is aimed to attract premier researchers and students to Louisiana and retain them.

The students participating in this certification program will come from traditional departments within LSU’s College of Human Sciences and Education, and College of Humanities and Social Sciences, as well as departments within other Colleges of LSU. Furthermore, the program also serves non-traditional students from local agencies in the service and health sectors and companies in these sectors and in the manufacturing sector. This program is highly interdisciplinary, involving faculty who are affiliated with the Life Course and Aging Center at LSU  and whose tenure resides in the Department of Psychology, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, School of Kinesiology, and School of Social Work.

Student Profile

This program trains health and social science professionals to increase career opportunities in for-profit and non-profit settings including governmental agencies, academia, and companies in health, service, and manufacturing sectors.

Course Requirements

The program consists of 18 credit hours of course work in methodology and research design, psychological aspects of aging and development, human motor behavioral aspects of aging and development, and communication aspects of aging/development.

clss table

 *If COMD 4380/LSS 4380 is part of the program of study the maximum for section topic 3 is 7 credit hours and the total credit hours for the certificate is 19 instead of 18, so the amount of credit hours taken from the sections 1 – 4 is 16 instead of 15.

Seminar in Experimental Psychology (PSYC 7938/LSS 7938) only counts toward this certificate, if the special topic is “cognitive aging” or has comparable developmental focus pending faculty approval.

Courses in the section topics 1, 2, 3, and 4 can be substituted upon approval of the LSS graduate program committee.

Courses chosen by the student to fulfill the requirements for the LSS graduate certificate that have prerequisites not met by the student need approval of the instructor on record.

Admission

Traditional students already enrolled in Communication Sciences and Disorders, Child and Family Studies, Psychology, or Kinesiology:

The student needs to write a memo indicating their wish to pursue a degree with a LSS graduate certificate. This memo should be submitted first to the LSS graduate advisor of the major department of the student. The LSS graduate advisor advises whether the student should move forward pursuing the LSS graduate certificate. The LSS graduate advisor works together with the student to set up a preliminary program of study.

The maximum amount of courses counting towards the major/minor of the student and the LSS graduate certificate is three. The student can count a research methods course and two additional courses toward the major/minor of the student and the LSS certificate. The remaining 9 credit hours can only count toward the LSS certificate and cannot be counted towards the requirements and/or electives of the major/minor of the student.

The advice of the LSS graduate advisor, the memo of the student indicating the wish to pursue the LSS graduate certificate, and the preliminary program of study needs to be submitted to the LSS graduate certificate coordinator who will share it with the LSS graduate program committee. After approval of enrollment by the committee, the LSS graduate program coordinator forwards the name of the student to the graduate school to get the student coded for an additional enrollment in the CLSS curriculum.

When all requirements are complete the student will file documentation with the LSS graduate program coordinator that all requirements are met. The coordinator will, after approval, forward the name of the student to the graduate school who will put them on the graduation list.

Traditional students not enrolled in Communication Sciences and Disorders, Child and Family Studies, Psychology, or Kinesiology:

The student needs to write a memo indicating their wish to pursue a degree with a LSS graduate certificate. This memo should be submitted the LSS graduate program coordinator. The LSS graduate program coordinator advises whether the student should move forward pursuing the LSS graduate certificate. The LSS graduate program coordinator works together with the student to set up a preliminary program of study.

The LSS graduate program coordinator determines if the research methods requirement can be satisfied in the major department of the student. The student can only count after approval the research methods course of the home department toward the major/minor of the student and the LSS graduate certificate. The remaining 15 credit hours can only count toward the LSS graduate certificate and cannot be counted towards the requirements and/or electives of the major/minor of the student.

The advice of the LSS graduate program coordinator, the memo of the student indicating the wish to pursue the LSS graduate certificate, and the preliminary program of study will all be considered by the LSS graduate program committee. After approval by the LSS graduate program committee, the LSS graduate program coordinator forwards the name of the student to the graduate school to get the student coded for an additional enrollment in the CLSS curriculum.

When all requirements are complete the student will file documentation with the LSS graduate program coordinator that all requirements are met. The coordinator will, after approval, forward the name of the student to the graduate school who will put them on the graduation list.

Non-Traditional students:

The prospective student needs to apply online at the LSU graduate school.

The applicant needs to go through the following steps:

Enrollment Type: select “Degree”

This populates the next question.

Curriculum: select (alphabetically listed) “Life Span Studies – Certificate CLSS”

Requirements to enroll in the LSS graduate certificate program:

  • A bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited U.S. 4-year institution (or the International equivalent) with at least a 3.00 GPA.
  • A satisfactory score on the GRE/GMAT.
  • International Applicants: A score of 550 (paper-based), 213 (computer-based) or 79 (internet-based) on the TOEFL or a score of 6.5 on the IELTS or a score of 59 on the PTE.
  • Official transcripts from each college or university you have previously attended.
  • A completed Application for Admission to Graduate Degree Program submitted through the virtual application portal.
  • A statement of purpose.
  • A resume with highlighted previous experience related to the LSS certificate program.
    Note: meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee acceptance in the LSS graduate certificate program.
    Note 2: in exceptional circumstances the GRE/GMAT requirement could be waived.

Please see http://www.lsu.edu/gainfulemployment for Gainful Employment Disclosure. 

Contact

For additional information, please contact the LSS Graduate Program Certificate Coordinator

Dr. Arend W. A. Van Gemmert at gemmert@lsu.edu