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 research implementation and dissemination programs have found employment in a diverse number of fields, including clinical research, data analysis, program management, learning and development, strategy, laboratory research, and more.

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.

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.