Specialist Certificate in Ageing (SC-AGEING)

Intended learning outcomes

The SC-AGEING is designed as an initial step to prepare students to become leaders in the emerging field of Ageing. The learning outcomes reflect this aim by providing graduates with a background in the interdisciplinary nature of ageing in order to highlight the knowledge and skills needed to respond to the complexity involved in an ageing worldwide population.

Upon completion of this Master of Ageing, graduates will be able to:

• Describe and appraise systems, structures and policies in Australia and other countries that address ageing;
• Describe and critically access strategies aimed to promote healthy and productive ageing across the lifespan (i.e. legislation, policy and community development);
• Identify and discuss current and key challenges in ageing from a global perspective;
• Apply comprehensive knowledge of the ageing experience from conceptual and practical dimensions of the course to develop solutions to complex ageing issues.

Generic skills

Students who complete this course should develop a number of generic skills that will enhance their capacity in:

• Integrating a range of disciplines to take a comparative and global perspective;
• Research through competent use of advanced information sources and retrieval of appropriate information;
• Critical and theoretical thinking through presentations, research papers, conceptualising theoretical problems, forming arguments from conflicting evidence, and by critical analysis;
• Time management and planning through organising workloads and substantial projects;
• Team work through team projects, online discussions and peer feedback.

Graduate attributes

Students will embody a number of the key graduate attributes of the University of Melbourne. In particular, they will develop an understanding of their social and civic responsibilities in the domain of public policy, health care provision and as private individuals. With the ability to recognise, explore and critically analyse issues of ageing and their proposed solutions from an informed perspective, students will be more confident in contributing to a meaningful public discourse in this field.

Academically excellent across disciplines
Similar to the Master of Ageing, the Specialist Certificate in Ageing (SC-AGEING) will be subject to a continuous cycle of review through constant refinements in teaching and learning principles and approaches, particularly in adapting to the latest technical advancements in online learning design. Subject coordinators for the SC-AGEING subjects are members of the Master of Ageing Steering Committee, which meets regularly to ensure appropriate integration and complementary teaching and learning approaches. In addition, the subjects offered are taught by several different faculties at the University of Melbourne, which leads to a strong interdisciplinary experience. All of the instructors involved with the SC-AGEING bring outstanding pedagogical skills, substantive knowledge and practical experience.

Leaders in communities
The SC-AGEING facilitates the development of excellent interpersonal and communication skills through subject content and assessment practices, and through commitment to small-group interactive teaching and learning environments. The provision of research and knowledge transfer opportunities enables the development of public discourse skills and an extensive awareness of community issues and global needs.

Attuned to cultural diversity
The SC-AGEING offers students education in aspects of cultural diversity and identity. One of the subjects offered in the course, Ageing in Society, is concerned specifically and analytically with cross-cultural perspectives on how prevailing social contexts shapes ideas, relationships and practices with implications for older people. In addition, the subjects offered in the SC-AGEING include international examples of policies, case studies and strategies as well as plan to include students from different parts of the world. Students will have ample opportunity to learn from experiences outside their own immediate cultures.

Active global citizens
SC-AGEING graduates will be equipped to be active global citizens by virtue of their academic excellence, their interdisciplinary knowledge, their community leadership capabilities and their cultural awareness.