Introduction

The Leonard Davis School of Gerontology at USC's Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center's online division makes its quality graduate program available over the internet. This interactive web-based Master of Arts in Gerontology (MAG) is specifically designed to meet the needs of busy professionals involved in the care of elderly.

America's older population is rapidly expanding, making gerontology one of the fastest growing fields today. Research in areas such as psychology, health care, social work, public policy and pharmaceuticals are vital to the growing elderly population. Our online graduate program allows these working adults to acquire the education and training they need in order to keep pace with the rapidly changing world of gerontology. Students have the convenience of attending class from their own homes on their own schedules.

The Leonard Davis School is distinguished leader in the field of gerontology. Founded in 1964, it has consistently pioneered innovative educational programs including the world's first Ph.D. in Gerontology, the first joint Master's degree in Gerontology and Business Administration, and the first undergraduate Health Science Track in Gerontology. Following in this tradition of leadership and innovation, the internationally recognized faculty of the Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center have developed our online graduate courses.

Our online students are an integral part of the Andrus community, interacting with classmates and faculty in one-on-one and group discussions. Our faculty and staff are available throughout the program to discuss the lecture topics and class work, and to assist with any technical problems that may arise.

USC Ageworks is run by a diverse group of multimedia programmers and designers under the leadership of Maria Henke, M.A. (left). Ms. Henke is the Communications Director of the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and the Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center.  She received her Master’s Degree in Communications Management from the USC Annenberg School of Communication. She has been instrumental in the development of several websites promoting healthy aging including ageworks.com, stopfalls.org, as well as, homemods.org,  the largest website devoted to home modification in the world. In addition she has developed the first accredited online graduate program in the Western United States. She also produced several multimedia educational programs including an online master’s degree in long-term care administration. She has written several articles related to distance learning and older person’s use of the Internet. Currently, she is a co-investigator with the Falls Prevention Center of Excellence.