Faculty of Behavioural and Cultural Studies Gerontology, Health, and Care
Students of the department of Gerontology, Health and Care take a multidisciplinary approach to the general and specific issues of ageing and old age as well as the ethically and professionally sound care of people in need of care.
The field of study of Gerontology, Health and Care comprises interdisciplinary professional and methodological examination of the disciplines and related sciences of gerontology (science of age and ageing), nursing science and care, geriatrics, and (geronto-)psychiatry (geriatric medicine) as well as health promotion, prevention, and rehabilitation. In light of legal and socio- or health-political framework conditions and developments, the subject deals with the working fields of gerontology and the profession of rehabilitative, curative, and palliative nursing, support, and care for people who require nursing and people with chronic illnesses in different phases of life.

Special Features and Characteristics
The Bachelor’s degree programme B.A. Gerontology, Health, and Care can be studied in the teacher training version with a subject ratio of 67% or as a supplementary subject without teacher training with a subject ratio of 25%. Furthermore, it can be chosen as a degree programme component of the Master of Education (M.Ed.) programme for a higher teaching degree at vocational schools with the vocational subject areas of Gerontology, Health and Care.
The teaching offering is structured in modules, comprising the following in the Bachelor’s degree programme:
1. in the teacher training version at 67% subject ratio, the field of study of Gerontology, Health and Care at a scope of 95 CP, a minor subject at a scope of 59 CP, including 2 CP in specialised didactics, education studies, vocational education, and specialised didactics in the care professions as cross-disciplinary skills (Übergreifende Kompetenzen; ÜK) at a scope of at least 20 CP (teaching degree option) as well as a Bachelor’s thesis at a scope of 6 credit points, to be completed in the field of study of Gerontology, Health and Care. The minor subject may be any field of study for which a corresponding offering (33% subject ratio, 59 CP including 2 CP in specialised didactics) is available.
2. in the version with a subject ratio of 25% in the field of study of Gerontology, Health and Care as supplementary subject at a scope of 35 credit points, combined with another field of study as the major subject and cross-disciplinary skills as well as a Bachelor’s thesis to be completed in the major subject.
The overall scope of the Master’s degree programme is 120 CP, broken down into 47 CP in the subject of Gerontology, Health and Care; 31 CP in the minor subject; 11 CP in education studies shares; 16 CP in the school placement, and 15 CP for the Master’s thesis.
The Bachelor’s degree programme in the teacher training version has an integrated practice module that comprises various subject-specific placements in the care professions. Students who have successfully completed a three-year training in nursing or a professional license under the Nursing Professions Act (Pflegeberufegesetz) may have this be credited as equivalent to a module result for this module.
The Master’s degree programme in Gerontology, Health and Care requires, amongst other things, a successfully completed three-year training in nursing or a professional license under the Nursing Professions Act.
The Institute of Gerontology has a comprehensive institute library. The students will also be able to use a well-equipped PC pool for their research and PC work.
Research
Using a vast range of social science methods, the research portfolio at the Institute of Gerontology primarily focuses on the following subjects in connection with demographic change and the ageing society:
- Potentials and resources of old age for social and cultural development, intergenerational solidarity, and intergenerational justice.
- Interactions between physical, mental-spiritual, and social ageing processes to facilitate a detailed understanding of ageing and old age and to develop a comprehensive system of intervention strategies.
- Quality of life of people who suffer from (physical and mental) illnesses.
- Development of intervention strategies in alignment with objective and subjective criteria of quality of life.
Practical relevance is achieved in a number of projects by way of the involvement of institutions of care for the elderly, nursing homes, health insurance companies, municipal authorities, and political decision-makers.
Occupational Areas
The Bachelor’s degree in the department of Gerontology, Health and Care qualifies for further education within the scope of Master’s degree programmes, such as the Master’s degree programme Master of Education Gerontology, Health and Care at Heidelberg University, which permits admission to the preparation phase (teacher training) and subsequent teaching work at vocational schools.
If a professional licence in accordance with the Nursing Professions Act or a valid professional licence recognised as equivalent with it can be documented prior to the Bachelor’s degree programme, the course of studies will qualify students to plan, organise, and perform practical instruction in the scope of practical training in nursing professions as well as to assess and determine individual nursing needs. Furthermore, the course of studies will enable such students to organise, design, and manage complex and highly complex care processes via various methods as well as to evaluate and document them.
The course of studies also qualifies graduates for work in many professional fields in science, in management in the care and health sector, in the public sector, e.g., in the areas of urban and neighbourhood development or sport and exercise in old age, as well as in the private sector, e.g., in the context of teaching and lecturing in adult education or in training and continuing education in the professional field of care.
Insights

I am a trained health care specialist and nurse and would like to teach in this area. Gerontology, Health and Care is the ideal complement to my Bachelor’s degree in psychology.
Claudia Wolff, 28, Gerontology, Health and Care, 1st semester Bachelor