Senior Living Management

Excel in a Growing, Vital Industry

Do you want to be a part of a rewarding industry that is growing rapidly and in high demand? As the percentage of our population entering retirement age continues to grow over the coming decades, the need for savvy professionals to lead in the senior living industry has sharply increased. Don’t miss your chance to take advantage of this opportunity and enter a career field that is secure, essential, and highly satisfying!

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Why Pursue a Career in Senior Living Management?

In the next eight to 10 years, 75 million Americans will reach retirement age. As this vast number of retirees enter senior living communities, the demand for professionals in this field is will skyrocket, according to projections from Argentum, the nation’s largest senior living association.

To create an environment that promotes overall well-being for their residents, retirement and senior living facilities must provide recreational, culinary, housekeeping, and other quality of life services—this is the purview of the senior living management professional. Combining compassionate care for our aging population with various aspects the hospitality industry, this career field is not only essential and in high demand, but also provides a work environment that is fun and emotionally rewarding.

What You’ll Learn

WSU’s senior living management major, offered entirely online, combines specialized knowledge applicable in senior living and retirement communities with wide-ranging training in the broader hospitality industry. Acclaimed WSU faculty members bring extensive, hands-on industry experience to the curriculum, with an emphasis on practical skills and knowledge.

You will gain expertise in operations, management, service, planning, finances, and leadership in the senior living space. As part of the hospitality business management degree program, the senior living management major provides skills and knowledge that will also apply to careers at hotels, restaurants, sports and convention centers, and tourist destinations, both in the U.S. and around the world.

WSU Senior Living Management Major Strengths

This major’s four-year plan is based on consultation with the Granger Cobb Institute for Senior Living (GCISL) Steering Committee members, numerous industry operators/vendors/trade associations, and a sub-committee of GCISL Faculty Fellows (from across the WSU system) doing work in the aging space.
As part of WSU’s online hospitality degree program, students in the Senior Living major work 1,000 paid hours in the senior living or hospitality industry, providing career connections and raising their profile for corporate recruiters.
WSU’s hospitality program was established in 1932, making it the third-oldest such program in the U.S. It consistently ranks among the nation’s top 10 hospitality programs and is part of WSU’s AACSB-accredited Carson College of Business.

Courses Designed for Flexibility

The Carson College of Business offers its upper division courses in a 7-week format. Several required upper division courses are offered only once per year. Students will be required to take some courses during the summer.

The 7-week sessions allow students to complete two or four 7-week courses during a traditional 16-week semester and can be taken concurrently with 16-week non-business courses. The 7-week courses are accelerated and require about 15-20 hours of work per week but allow for a more flexible schedule suited for working students. The current 7-week course rotation schedule is provided below in the Program of Study under SLM Core Requirements and Course Rotation Schedule.

Program of Study

All courses are available online

University Requirements

All WSU undergraduates must complete a minimum of 120 semester credits of which 40 credits must be at the 300 – 400 level. Students must also complete the University Common Requirements (UCORE). These can generally be satisfied with a direct transfer degree. For a list of direct-transfer agreements, visit WSU’s Transferring an Associate Degree web page.

Students must also complete the College of Business graduation requirements and the hospitality business management degree program requirements.

College of Business Requirements and Course Rotation

Admission to the Major

To be eligible to be admitted to a WSU Carson College of Business major, students must meet the following minimum requirements:

Complete ECONS 101 or 102, Math 201 or 202, BA 100, BA 102 and HBM 101 with a C or higher
Complete the applicable portion of the Carson Career Amplifier Program (Tier 1 or Crimson Pathway 1)
Have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.5 and not be on academic probation
Complete at least 27 credit hours

Students Must Complete the Courses Below as Required by the Carson College of Business

FULL SEMESTER COURSES: Offered Each Term	Spring Semester (Jan. – May)	Summer Session (May – July)	Fall Semester (Aug. – Dec.)
ECONS 101 [SSCI] – Fundamentals of Microeconomics	Yes	Yes	Yes
ECONS 102 [SSCI] – Fundamentals of Macroeconomics	Yes	Yes	Yes
MATH 201 – Finite Math for Business	Yes	Yes	Yes
MATH 202 [QUAN] – Business Calculus	Yes	Yes	Yes

7-WEEK COURSES: Offered on a Rotation Schedule	Spring Session 1 (Jan. – Feb.)	Spring Session 2 (March – May)	Summer Session 1 (May – June)	Summer Session 2 (June – Aug.)	Fall Session 1 (Aug. – Oct.)	Fall Session 2 (Oct. – Dec.)
B_A 100 – Introduction to Business (may be waived for qualifying transfer students)	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
B_A 102 – Exploring Careers in Business (may be waived for qualifying transfer students)	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
HBM 101 – Professional and Career Development for the Business World (may be waived for qualifying transfer students)	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
ACCTG 230 – Financial Accounting	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
ACCTG 231 – Managerial Accounting	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
B_LAW 210 – Business Law	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
B_A 212 – Decision Analysis, Spreadsheets and Data Visualization	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
MGTOP 215 – Business Statistics	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
MIS 250 – Managing Information Technology	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes

7-WEEK COURSES: Offered on a Rotation Schedule, and Require that Students are Admitted to the Major	Spring Session 1 (Jan. – Feb.)	Spring Session 2 (March – May)	Summer Session 1 (May – June)	Summer Session 2 (June – Aug.)	Fall Session 1 (Aug. – Oct.)	Fall Session 2 (Oct. – Dec.)
B_A 211 - Business Ethics, Teams, and Innovation	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
FIN 325 - Introduction to Financial Management	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
MKTG 360 - Marketing	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
I_BUS 380 - International Business	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes

The course rotation schedules are provided for planning purposes. New students should refer to their personal planning worksheet created by their Global Campus academic advisor for initial planning. Once admitted to the major, students should refer to their Academic Progress Report in myWSU to track their academic progress.

Carson Career Amplifier Program

The Carson Career Amplifier Program is a co-curricular program that complements what students are learning in the classroom. Students will develop professional skills through engaging, hands-on experiences.

For more information, visit the College of Business Carson Career Amplifier Program and watch a brief overview on YouTube: Career Amplifier Program Overview.

SLM Core Requirements and Course Rotation

7-WEEK COURSES: Offered on a Rotation Schedule, and Require that Students are Admitted to the Major	Spring Session 1 (Jan. – Feb.)	Spring Session 2 (March – May)	Summer Session 1 (May – June)	Summer Session 2 (June – Aug.)	Fall Session 1 (Aug. – Oct.)	Fall Session 2 (Oct. – Dec.)
HBM 101 – Professional and Career Development for the Business World (required for all SLM majors)	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
HBM 280 – Hospitality Systems	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes
HBM 358 – Foodservice Systems and Control	No	No	No	No	Yes	No
HBM 375 – Intro to Senior Living Management	No	No	Yes	No	No	No
HBM 381 [M] – Hospitality Leadership and Organizational Behavior	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
HBM 401 (1 cr) – Career Management	No	No	No	No	Yes	No
HBM 470 – Living Management Operations Analysis	No	No	No	No	No	Yes
HBM 475 [CAPS] – Senior Living Capstone	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
HBM 494 [M] – Service Operations Management	No	Yes	No	No	No	No

The course rotation schedule is provided for planning purposes. New students should refer to their personal planning worksheet created by their Global Campus Academic Advisor for initial planning. Once admitted to the major, students should refer to their Academic Progress Report in myWSU to track their academic progress.

Additional Senior Living Management Requirements

The Senior Living Management program requires coursework in Biology, Psychology, Physical Science, Humanities, and Aging/Gerontology.

The required Biology and Psychology courses are:

BIOLOGY 140 [BSCI] – Nutritional Science
PSYCH 105 [SSCI] – Introductory Psychology

The required Physical Science course is:

SOE 101 [PSCI] – Introduction to Geology

The required Humanities course is:

PHIL 365 [HUM] – Biomedical Ethics

The required Aging/Gerontology course is:

PSYCH 363 – Psychology of Aging

Students must choose a Senior Living Management track:

Management and Leadership Track
- Choose two courses from the following: CPT_S 485, H_D 360, PSYCH 320, PSYCH 485, PSYCH 490
Programming Track
- Choose two courses from the following: CPT_S 485, CPT_S 486, PSYCH 485, PSYCH 486, PSYCH 490

SLM Electives

The Courses Below Require Students are Admitted to the Major

6 credits of upper division business courses, 12 credits outside the major. All upper division business courses are 7-weeks.

Upper-division electives include courses from ACCTG, B_LAW, ENTRP, HBM, I_BUS, MGMT, MGTOP, MIS, MKTG.

University Writing Requirements

Students must complete the University Writing Portfolio, and two Writing in the Major [M] courses. For online SLM majors, the Writing in the Major requirement will be fulfilled with HMB 381and HBM 494.

Additional College of Business Graduation Requirements

*6 credits of additional social sciences or humanities coursework: [SSCI], [HUM], or ANTH, ASIA, CES, CRM_J, DTC, ECONS, ENGLISH, FINE_ART, HISTORY, HUMANITY, PHIL, PSYCH, SOC, H_D, POL_S, or WOMEN_ST
One of the following Communication courses:
- COM 102 [COMM] – Public Speaking in the Digital Age
- H_D 205 [COMM] – Developing Effective Communication and Life Skills
3 credits Written Communications: ENGLISH 402 [WRTG] [M] – Technical and Professional Writing OR ENGLISH 403
2.5 cumulative grade point average in all business courses
Nine upper division (300- and 400-level) courses must be taken at WSU
6 credits International Experience Requirement: A variety of options exists to fulfill this requirement, including study abroad, international internships, and approved coursework.

*Cannot be used for any other requirement

Industry Experience Requirement

As part of the hospitality business management program, students work 1,000 paid hours in the senior living or hospitality industry, providing career connections and raising their profile for corporate recruiters. Visit Carson College of Business Industry Experience Requirement for details.

Please review the online WSU Catalog for additional information about specific degree requirements.