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Senior adults director education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a senior adults director. Senior adults directors usually study occupational therapy, nursing, or psychology. 48% of senior adults directors hold a bachelor's degree, and 26% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 249 real senior adults director resumes to see exactly what senior adults director education sections show.
The most common colleges for senior adults directors are the Ithaca College and the Ithaca College.
There are also many online senior adults director courses to help get the education required to be a senior adults director.
What education do you need to become a senior adults director?
What degree do you need to be a senior adults director?
- Bachelor's, 48%
- Master's, 26%
- Associate, 13%
- High School Diploma, 5%
- Other Degrees, 8%
What should I major in to become a senior adults director?
- Occupational Therapy, 15%
- Nursing, 14%
- Psychology, 14%
- Social Work, 12%
- Other Majors, 45%
Most common colleges for senior adults directors
| Senior adults director common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| Ithaca College | 11.76% |
| Arizona State University | 9.80% |
| Dominican University of California | 5.88% |
| Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey | 5.88% |
| Utica College | 5.88% |
Best majors for senior adults directors
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Occupational Therapy | 14.8% |
| 2 | Nursing | 13.9% |
| 3 | Psychology | 13.9% |
| 4 | Social Work | 12.3% |
| 5 | Education | 6.6% |
Best colleges for senior adults directors
The best colleges for senior adults directors are University of Pennsylvania, Johns Hopkins University, and Boston College.
A senior adults director with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for senior adults directors. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become senior adults directors.
1. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
2. Emory University
Atlanta, GA • Private
In-state tuition
$51,306
Enrollment
6,975
3. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$8,987
Enrollment
18,946
4. Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,464
Enrollment
9,639
5. Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, OH • Private
In-state tuition
$49,042
Enrollment
5,131
6. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$55,695
Enrollment
6,596
7. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
In-state tuition
$53,740
Enrollment
5,567
8. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN • Private
In-state tuition
$14,760
Enrollment
31,451
9. Liberty University
Lynchburg, VA • Private
In-state tuition
$22,584
Enrollment
45,370
10. George Fox University
Newberg, OR • Private
In-state tuition
$36,020
Enrollment
2,669
20 best online courses for senior adults directors
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1. Health After Cancer: Cancer Survivorship for Primary Care
This course presents basic principles of cancer survivorship to primary-care physicians. Developed by a team of experts in caring for cancer survivors, and narrated by a primary-care physician, this course provides practical tips and tools that can be easily integrated into medical practice. You will learn about the complex physical and psychosocial needs and concerns of the growing number of cancer survivors, along with the key role that primary care physicians have in guiding these patients...
2. Prehospital care of acute stroke and patient selection for endovascular treatment using the RACE scale
Acute stroke is a time-dependent medical emergency. In acute ischemic stroke, the first objective is to restore brain flow using sistemic thrombolytic treatment and, in patients with large vessel occlusion, by endovascular treatment. In hemorrhagic stroke there are also specific treatments that can improve the clinical outcome. The sooner the initiation of all these therapies the higher the clinical benefit. Thus, the organization of Stroke Code systems coordinated between emergency medical...
3. Providing Trauma-Informed Care
Exploring psychological trauma and how to provide care and compassion to trauma survivors...
4. Coping Skills and Self-Care for Mental Health
Essential skills to manage intense emotions and develop a self-care practice to promote mental health...
5. Health for All Through Primary Health Care
This course explores why primary health care is central for achieving Health for All. It provides examples of how primary health care has been instrumental in approaching this goal in selected populations and how the principles of primary health care can guide future policies and actions. Two of the most inspiring, least understood, and most often derided terms in global health discourse are “Health for All” and “Primary Health Care.” In this course, we will explore these terms in the context...
6. Palliative Care Always Capstone Course
The Palliative Care Always Capstone course is designed to let you test your knowledge about palliative and help others understand the value of palliative care, while showing your creative side. In this course, you will impact community awareness about palliative care, promote self-care and wellness, show-off your communication skills in a virtual environment, and finish the course off by proving your thoughts on ways to offer psychosocial support to a patient and family...
7. The Key to Happiness: Self Care
Discover Self Care as a tool for creating positive change in your mental health, behaviours, and well-being...
8. Emergency Care: Pregnancy, Infants, and Children
Welcome to the final course of lectures in your quest to master EMT basics. In this course, we will cover some of the highest-stress patient populations: pregnant patients and kids, also known as pediatrics. To wrap up your EMT knowledge we will end this course with information about hazmat situations, extricating patients from tight spots and finally how you write a note about your patient care. You will learn to ensure it communicates what your assessment of the patient was, what...
9. Trauma Emergencies and Care
Welcome to Trauma Emergencies and Care. In this course, you will learn about some of the mechanics and physics of trauma on the human body, and how this can cause injury. You will continue to expand your new vocabulary with medical terminology, and learn how to describe the different injuries you may see. You will also learn about the trauma system itself- and when it is important to transport patients to a trauma center. Then we will dive into specific injuries based on what part of the body...
10. Traditional herbal medicine in supportive cancer care: From alternative to integrative
Please join us for an exciting and innovative journey, examining one of the most important and often overlooked aspects of the oncology setting: Traditional Herbal Medicine in Supportive Cancer Care. This course is presented with short lectures offering a wide range of issues related to the principles and practice of herbal medicine in cancer care. The course includes interviews with leading world experts from the field of Integrative Oncology, from the U.S. and Canada, as well as Europe, the...
11. Pain Management: Easing Pain in Palliative Care
In this course, you will be able to develop a systems view for assessing and managing pain in the palliative care setting. By the end of the course, you will be able to: 1) Describe the pain problem in the palliative care setting; 2) Assess a person’s pain, 3) Explain the benefits of integrative therapies and pharmacologic strategies to manage pain...
12. Health Care Delivery in Healthcare Organizations
Have you ever needed health care and thought that there must be better ways to get or deliver health care? For example, have you found yourself thinking that there should be a way to get a diagnostic test or treatment at home? Or do you work in a healthcare organization and find yourself thinking that there must be better ways to deliver health care? If you have, this course is for you. Course content includes an overview of health care delivery including healthcare consumerism, the patient's...
13. Palliative Care Always
Palliative Care Always is a specialization for health care practitioners, patients and caregivers. We’ve designed this specialization to demonstrate how palliative medicine integrates with patient care, and to help you develop primary palliative care skills. Over the next five courses, you will develop skills in symptom management, goals of care and effective communication to improve the quality of life for patients and families suffering with serious illness. Our hope is that you feel...
14. Value-Based Care: Managing Processes to Improve Outcomes
COURSE 3 of 7. This course is designed to introduce you to critical office-based processes that a value-based practice must manage in the drive towards improved patient outcomes. In Module 2, we’ll focus on office-based and clinical patient-based supporting functions. At every level in healthcare, guidelines, processes, and functions exist to improve outcomes, and following a consistent process will return the best effect. Refine your understanding of value and learn strategies to provide real...
15. Strategies for Senior Housing Communities during COVID-19
SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, poses a high risk for senior housing communities and the people who live and work there. The COVID-19 response has largely focused on nursing homes, leaving independent living communities serving older adults in the United States with fragmented guidance on how to respond to COVID-19 challenges. This course provides comprehensive instruction and resources for property owners and managers, senior housing staff, service coordinators and providers,...
16. Health Care IT: Challenges and Opportunities
A strong argument can be made that the health care field is one of the most information-intensive sectors in the U.S. economy and avoidance of the rapid advances in information technology is no longer an option. Consequently, the study of health care information technology and systems has become central to health care delivery effectiveness. This course covers the modern application of information technology that is critical to supporting the vision and operational knowledge of the health care...
17. The Business of Health Care
This Specialization was designed to help you keep pace with the rapidly changing world of health and health care. Through partnership with Wharton and Penn Medicine, you’ll learn from experts in business acumen, health care management, and health care policy to develop the skills you’ll need to successfully navigate the quickly evolving landscape of this fast-growing field.* By the end of this specialization, you will have a strong foundational understanding of the American health care system,...
18. Addiction Treatment: Clinical Skills for Healthcare Providers
This course is designed with a singular goal: to improve the care you provide to your patients with substance use disorders. By delving into a model case performed by actors, seven Yale instructors from various fields provide techniques to screen your patients for substance use disorder risk, diagnose patients to gauge the severity of their use, directly manage treatment plans, refer out to treatment services, and navigate the various conditions that may limit your patient’s access to treatment...
19. Thinking About Care
Although all humans require care to develop and thrive, it is rarely the focus of academic studies. This course enriches learner’s understanding of this critical yet underappreciated facet of their lives by addressing such questions as: What is care? Who has traditionally provided it? How valued is care work? Does money take the care out of care work? In addition to advancing learner’s knowledge of the place of care in modern society and controversies surrounding it, Thinking About Care will...
20. Newborn Baby Care
A newborn baby is an amazing beautiful life filled with hope. Unfortunately, many babies die or experience preventable harm even in 21st century. It is imperative that babies who are born healthy get off to a healthy start in the first month of life. There are some easy tenets of care to implement that help ensure that babies and families get off to a healthy start no matter where they are in the world. In this specialization learners will acquire the skills necessary for newborn baby care to...
Top 10 most affordable universities for senior adults directors
The most affordable schools for senior adults directors are Hunter College of the City University of New York, brigham young university, and california state university - long beach.
If the best universities for senior adults directors are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for senior adults directors.
1. Hunter College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,182
Cost of attendance
13,998
2. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
In-state tuition
$5,620
Cost of attendance
18,136
3. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,798
Cost of attendance
18,306
4. Luther Rice College and Seminary
Lithonia, GA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,616
Cost of attendance
8,720
5. California State University - Fresno
Fresno, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,587
Cost of attendance
16,915
6. Florida International University
Miami, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,556
Cost of attendance
19,434
7. Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$5,656
Cost of attendance
21,623
8. California State University - Fullerton
Fullerton, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,886
Cost of attendance
17,645
9. Minot State University
Minot, ND • Private
In-state tuition
$7,064
Cost of attendance
15,576
10. California State University - Dominguez Hills
Carson, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,942
Cost of attendance
14,469
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for senior adults directors
The hardest universities for senior adults directors to get into are University of Pennsylvania, Johns Hopkins University, and Boston College.
Some great schools for senior adults directors are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for senior adults directors based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.
1. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,492
2. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,513
3. Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA • Private
Admissions rate
28%
SAT average
1,429
4. Emory University
Atlanta, GA • Private
Admissions rate
19%
SAT average
1,449
5. Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, OH • Private
Admissions rate
29%
SAT average
1,443
6. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
13%
SAT average
1,445
7. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
Admissions rate
9%
SAT average
1,516
8. Yale University
New Haven, CT • Private
Admissions rate
6%
SAT average
1,517
9. University of Rochester
Rochester, NY • Private
Admissions rate
29%
SAT average
1,422
10. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Private
Admissions rate
23%
SAT average
1,398
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for senior adults directors
The easiest schools for senior adults directors to get into are Nyack College, wayland baptist university, and barry university.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a senior adults director without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for senior adults directors.
1. Nyack College
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
98%
SAT average
999
2. Wayland Baptist University
Plainview, TX • Private
Admissions rate
98%
SAT average
1,003
3. Barry University
Miami, FL • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,006
4. Oklahoma Wesleyan University
Bartlesville, OK • Private
Admissions rate
68%
SAT average
964
5. Rochester University
Rochester Hills, MI • Private
Admissions rate
100%
SAT average
1,002
6. Fresno Pacific University
Fresno, CA • Private
Admissions rate
85%
SAT average
1,053
7. Kean University
Union, NJ • Private
Admissions rate
86%
SAT average
991
8. Mount Saint Mary's University
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
84%
SAT average
1,031
9. Felician University
Lodi, NJ • Private
Admissions rate
81%
SAT average
999
10. Washington Adventist Hospital
Takoma Park, MD • Private
Admissions rate
52%
SAT average
958
Average senior adults director salary by education level
| Senior adults director education level | Senior adults director salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $76,653 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $62,477 |
| Some College/ Associate Degree | $62,715 |
Senior adults director education FAQs
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025