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Undergraduate Course Catalog 2015-2016

College of Health and Human Services

» http://www.chhs.unh.edu/

Disabilities Minor

About the Program
The purpose of the interdisciplinary disability minor is to prepare undergraduate students to apply their unique disciplinary skills to work with and support individuals with disabilities and their families to become fully engaged members of their communities, and to improve their quality of life. The minor also helps to prepare students to work in an interdisciplinary service delivery environment. A secondary purpose is to create a core group of interdisciplinary faculty to work collaboratively with students on issues related to disability. The 20-credit hours curriculum consists of five to eight courses including a writing intensive course from the student’s major. The minor offers students a unique opportunity to explore disability from several vantage points, including an overview of the disability experience, societal barriers individuals face, service delivery systems, disciplinary perspectives, current research, and relevant legislation.

Required Course: One of the following courses is required from the students major or any other disability-related intensive course outside of the major with permission.

Four to seven elective courses totaling 16 credits are required from the following:

COMM 536, Introduction to Deaf Studies  
COMM 575, Fundamentals of Hearing and Hearing Loss   
EDUC 556, Transition to Work: Mentoring Adolescents with Disabilities (2 Credits)  
EDUC 750, Introduction to Exceptionality 
EDUC 754, Contemporary Issues in Developmental Disabilities 
EDUC 760,: Introduction to Young Children with Disabilities
HHS 740, Collaborative Services for Children with Special Health Care Needs 
INTR 438, A Sociocultural Perspective
KIN 781, Inclusion in Physical Education 
NUTR 740, Nutrition for Children with Special Needs (2 credits)
OT 444, Living and Doing with Technology 
OT 610, Occupation, Identity, and Disability 
OT 685, Psychosocial Disorders and Everyday Life 
OT 722, Introduction to Assistive Technology  
OT 724, Assistive Technology and Physical Disabilities 
OT 726, Assistive Technology and Sensory, Cognitive, and Communication Impairments 
RMP 444, Perspectives on Disability 
RMP 501, Recreation Services for Individuals with Disabilities
SW 712, Social Work and Developmental Disabilities
SW, OT, EDUC, KIN, NUTR, RMP Independent Study with a disability focus (2-4 credits)*

*Independent Study (2-4 credits). The purpose of the independent study is to explore a topic that provides a detailed focus on an important issue related to individuals with disabilities. A student may also choose to engage in a small-scale research project to investigate an issue that affects individuals with disabilities. Each project will be negotiated with the student’s departmental faculty adviser and the coordinator of the minor program.

Please Note: Additional elective courses may be added in the future as deemed appropriate and approved by disabilities studies coordinator.

Also Note: Students must achieve C- or better and a 2.00 grade-point average in courses that the minor department approves. Courses taken on a pass/fail basis may not be used for a minor. No more than 8 credits used to satisfy major requirements may be used for a minor. There is no limit on the number of overlapping credits allowed between minors. Students should declare the intent to earn a minor as early as possible and no later than the end of the junior year. During the final term, an application should be made to the dean to have the minor shown on the academic record.


Gerontology Minor

The gerontology interdisciplinary minor provides students with the opportunity to examine and evaluate the aging process as it affects the individual and society within the United States. Through a multidisciplinary course selection, students develop an understanding of aging from a variety of perspectives with a focus on how people age physically, cognitively, emotionally and socially. Students are encouraged to analyze the historical and philosophical foundation from which policies, programs, and professional activities affecting the aged are developed, implemented, and evaluated. The purpose of this minor is to prepare students as they enter their career fields on the effects that the growing elderly population will have in every component of modern life.

Students wishing to minor in gerontology are required to take a minimum of 20 credits (five courses) from an approved list; two of which must be GERO 500, I'm Old, So What! An Introduction to Gerontology, and KIN 607, The Biology of Aging.

GERO 795, Independent Study, is not a required course but is used by students and faculty as an option for creating an individual experience relating to aging. GERO 795 must have a faculty person approve and oversee (mentor) the student’s work. Additionally, the GMM Coordinator must also approve of the proposal and retain a copy. A copy of the proposal and the final copy will be kept in the student’s major academic folder.

Other courses available to students are courses within the various University colleges containing a 50 percent focus on aging in the United States and approved by the GMM Coordinator with reviews by the Gerontology Minor Advisory Board.

Students who wish to discuss or find out more about the minor may make an appointment with the GMM Coordinator, College of Health and Human Services, Department of Social Work.

Required
GERO 500, Introduction to Gerontology. Fall Semester only
KIN 607, Biology of Aging. Fall and Spring Semesters

Some of the accepted courses are:
NURS 535, Death and Dying
OT 501, Developmental Tasks of Adulthood
PSYC 582, Adult Development and Aging
PSYC 741, Cognitive Aging
SW 625, Social Welfare Policy Analysis in the Global Context
SW 701, Women and Aging

An updated list of University-wide approved courses may be picked up in the Gerontology Minor Coordinator's office, College of Health & Human Services, Department of Social Work, Pettee Hall.