Frequently Asked Questions

This certificate program is designed to provide a flexible, highly accessible educational training opportunity to help individuals develop and maintain professional competencies and competitiveness in the workforce. Graduates of thanatology programs have found employment in a diverse number of settings, including hospices, hospitals, clinics, and agencies that serve dying and bereaved individuals. Other participants have used the training to enhance their skills and roles as physicians, nurses, hospice staff, clergy or spiritual care workers, educators, counselors, social workers, and civil servants, such as police, firefighters, and paramedics.

Participants can complete the certificate in as little as one year. There are four courses – two courses are offered during the spring semester and two courses are offered during the fall semester.

No. Participants have three years to complete the program.

We recognize that many of you may never have taken a class online. You may be wondering if this program is the right choice for you. This is a valid concern and one that we carefully considered as we developed this program. We want technology to enrich your experience rather than be a hindrance, and we’ve put the support and resources in place to make that happen.
  
Upon enrollment, we will send you a packet of information clearly outlining how to access and use the online classroom system. You will also have access to our Information Technology online support staff, should you ever encounter a problem, as well as the contact information for each of your instructors and the program director.

We know it can be difficult to attend classes while also working, whether that be in the workplace or at home, as well as balance your busy personal life. That’s one of the main reasons we decided to offer this program completely online.  You will not need to attend any sessions onsite, nor will you need to ‘attend’ a lecture online at a set time.
  
This built-in flexibility allows you to complete the coursework when it is convenient for you, perhaps first thing in the morning before you go to work or late at night after your children have gone to bed.
  
That being said, we know people are more likely to reach their goals if they have some structure in place. To help you stay on track each 8-week course is divided into 8 modules. You will have one week to complete each of the class modules. Within each week, you get to decide when you want to engage with the course material.
  
We believe this provides you with the best of both worlds— flexibility and structure—setting you up to successfully complete the program in one year. We have also done our best to schedule classes around the major holidays and to give you some time off between each class.

Yes! Although your interaction will not be face-to-face, we have designed the courses in such a way that you will have ample opportunities to interact with your instructors and one another, particularly through online discussion forums. Many participants have said that interacting in this way has made their learning experience richer than a conventional classroom-based program.
  
Offering the program online also means that participants across the nation, as well as across the world, can participate. This creates a wonderfully diverse context for learning and discussing topics in thanatology.

1. Winter/Spring: Psychosocial Perspectives of Aging  – THAN 609 (3 credits) 
2. Winter/Spring: Death and Dying: Legal and Ethical Considerations  – THAN 604 (3 credits) 
3. Fall: Palliative Care – THAN 605 (3 credits) 
4. Fall: Caring for the Bereaved – THAN 606 (3 credits) 

Do you work at UMB? Apply for Tuition Remission!

If you are a faculty member, staff, or post-doctoral fellow at UMB you can apply for tuition remission. Tuition remission is a waiver of tuition and is available to benefit-eligible employees and their eligible family members who qualify and are admitted to schools within the University System of Maryland. The benefit applies to tuition only; all non-tuition expenses and fees are the responsibility of the student. To verify your benefits, please call UMB HR benefits at 410-706-2606 to see if you’re eligible for remission depending on your employee status. Please note that part-time/contractual employees do not receive the tuition remission benefit. Post-docs and employees can utilize the tuition remission benefit for up to 8 credits per semester. The program consists of 6 credits per semester, so you can have the whole program covered.

No. Each course can stand alone (i.e., independent of each other) and, therefore, participants can elect to take these courses in any order and start the program in either the Fall or the Winter/Spring.

No. Since the program is entirely online, international participants are not eligible for F-1 participant visa sponsorship from the University of Maryland, Baltimore. However, participants can participate in the program from outside the US without a need for a US participant visa.