The Online Graduate Certificate Program in Sleep and Sleep Disorders in Health and Disease

A graduate online certificate program designed to address the urgent need for clinical training in sleep and chronobiology

• One of the few clinically-focused online programs available nationwide.
• Designed to educate practicing health professionals in the areas of sleep and sleep disorders.

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Critical relationships exist between sleep and medical/psychiatric diseases. Understanding these relationships and having state-of-the-science knowledge related to sleep, sleep assessment and intervention in sleep dysregulation provides clinicians with essential clinical skills. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - National Institutes of Health (NIH) has identified chronic insomnia as a major public health problem affecting millions of individuals, along with their families and communities.†

UMass Lowell’s Online Graduate Certificate in Sleep and Sleep Disorders has been designed to address the need for clinical training in sleep and chronobiology for students and practicing healthcare professionals across a wide range of clinical disciplines.

The program consists of four courses geared towards providing critical knowledge related to sleep and clinical practice.

Each course is a 3-credit, graduate-level course and the courses are offered sequentially. As of November 2012, graduate online tuition is $530 per credit hour, which brings the total cost of a 3-credit online graduate course to $1590 , plus a $30 registration fee each semester.

  

Program Outline

Required Courses (4 courses; 12 credits):

33.686 Clinical Dimensions of Sleep and Chronobiology - Available Spring 2012!
33.687 Diagnosis and Differential Diagnosis Across Sleep Disorders - Available Spring 2012!
33.688 Clinical Assessment & Intervention in Sleep Dysregulation - Available Spring 2012!
33.689 Scholarly Project/Capstone
For more information on this new Graduate Online Certificate Program in Sleep and Sleep Disorders, email continuing_education@uml.edu

Audience

The certificate program is appropriate for clinicians from various areas of clinical interest and from various disciplines who seek to expand their knowledge in the area of sleep and its relationship to health and disease.

Admission Requirements

Applicants should have already earned a Bachelor's of Science Degree in Nursing, Social Work, Psychology, as a Physician Assistant, or other health-related disciplines such as Medicine.

Applying Into the Program

To apply into this certificate program, please fill out the graduate application form. For questions regarding your application status, contact the Graduate School at (800) 656-GRAD.

Please note: Graduate students will be assessed a "First Year Student Services Fee" upon matriculation into a graduate degree or certificate program. Please see the Accounts Receivable website for more information.

Registering for Courses

New Students: Print and complete the Non-Degree Course Registration Form(pdf) and fax it to 978-934-4076 or mail it to: University of Massachusetts Lowell, Enrollment Services/Continuing Studies, Dugan Hall, Room 102, 882 Broadway Street, Lowell, MA  01854-5104.

Current Students: Register online using your UML student account at http://isis.uml.edu

Course Descriptions

33.686 Clinical Dimensions of Sleep and Chronobiology

Through lecture-accompanied slide presentations, readings and web-based assignments, participants in this course will learn about normal sleep and its variations. The human circadian timing system will be explored to understand the physiologic dimensions of sleep and relationship of sleep and wakefulness to environmental cues. 3 credits.

33.687 Diagnosis and Differential Diagnosis Across Sleep Disorders

Building on knowledge of normative sleep and chronobiology, this online course addresses sleep-related pathology. In addition to formal sleep disorder diagnoses covered in the International Classification of Sleep Disorders, this course specifically focuses on medical and psychiatric comorbidity related to insomnia and sleep dysregulation: hypertension and cardiovascular disease, obesity, endocrine dysregulation, inflammatory disease, cancer and a large number of psychiatric diseases. 3 credits. Prerequisite: co- or Pre-requisite: 33.686 (or by permission of instructor)

33.688 Clinical Assessment & Intervention in Sleep Dysregulation

This online course requires the application and synthesis of content from previous courses to apply clinical assessment strategies to normative and pathologic sleep. Discussion of intervention strategies bifurcates between behavioral and pharmacologic strategies used in clinical practice. Evidence based approaches endorsed by practice guidelines from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine form the foundation for the intervention strategies discussed. 3 credits. Prerequisite: co- or Pre-requisite: 33.687 (or by permission of instructor)

33.689 Scholarly Project/Capstone

The capstone project affords the student the opportunity for further knowledge development in an area of interest and learning need. The faculty-guided online experience involves the development of a scholarly project which may involve a number of options: a scholarly review of the literature in a specific area; development of clinical teaching materials related to some dimension of sleep and/or sleep disorders; or a translational research project whereby a body of current research is interpreted for application to practice. The project will be negotiated with the faculty of record to meet the objectives of the course. 3 credits. Prerequisite: Pre-requisite: 33.688

†Source: NIH 2005 State-of-the-Science Conference Statement on "Manifestations and Management of Chronic Insomnia in Adults"

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