Certification

• ISQOLS members can take the course for certification for $700.
• Non-ISQOLS members can take the course for certification for $900.
• Benefits include:
• • Access to the lecture slides
  • Access to the lecture videos
  • Discount from Springer to purchase the textbook that supports the course
  • Direct communication with the instructor by e-mail and/or video conferencing
  • Certification upon demonstrated learning (evaluated through successful completion of several exams)

Audit

• ISQOLS members can audit the course for $50.
• Non-ISQOLS members can audit the course for $200.
• Benefits include:
• • Access to the lecture slides
  • Access to the lecture videos
  • Discount from Springer to purchase the textbook that supports the course

No. However, to make the most out of the material provided in this course, it is recommended that the applicants have at least some background in social sciences and rudimentary knowledge of population statistics.

• Tuesday, October 18th, 2022, 10-11:30 AM (EST): Module 1 (Introduction: philosophical foundations; definitions and measures of wellbeing; positive outcomes of wellbeing; etc.)
• Tuesday, October 25th, 2022, 10-11:30 AM (EST): Module 2 (Objective Reality and Wellbeing: effects of technological, economic, political, and socio-cultural factors on wellbeing; effects of resources on wellbeing; effects of demographic factors on wellbeing; effects of personal and consumption activities on wellbeing; effects of biology, drugs, life events, and the environment on wellbeing; etc.)
• Tuesday, November 1st, 2022, 10-11:30 AM (EST): Module 2 (Objective Reality and Wellbeing – continued: effects of technological, economic, political, and socio-cultural factors on wellbeing; effects of resources on wellbeing; effects of demographic factors on wellbeing; effects of personal and consumption activities on wellbeing; effects of biology, drugs, life events, and the environment on wellbeing; etc.)
• Tuesday, Novebmer 8th, 2022, 10-11:30 AM (EST): Module 3 (Subjective Reality and Wellbeing: effects of personality on wellbeing; effects of affect and cognition on wellbeing; effects of beliefs and values on wellbeing; effects of needs and need satisfaction on wellbeing; effects of goals on wellbeing; effects of self-concept on wellbeing; effects of social comparisons on wellbeing; etc.)
• Tuesday, November 15th, 2022, 10-11:30 AM (EST): Module 3 (Subjective Reality and Wellbeing – continued: effects of personality on wellbeing; effects of affect and cognition on wellbeing; effects of beliefs and values on wellbeing; effects of needs and need satisfaction on wellbeing; effects of goals on wellbeing; effects of self-concept on wellbeing; effects of social comparisons on wellbeing; etc.)
• Tuesday, November 22nd, 2022, 10-11:30 AM (EST): Module 4 (Domain Dynamics: work wellbeing, residential wellbeing, material wellbeing; social, family, and marital wellbeing; health wellbeing, leisure wellbeing; etc.)
• Tuesday, November 29th, 2022, 10-11:30 AM (EST): Module 4 (Domain Dynamics – continued: work wellbeing, residential wellbeing, material wellbeing; social, family, and marital wellbeing; health wellbeing, leisure wellbeing; etc.)
• Tuesday, December 6th, 2022, 10-11:30 AM (EST): Module 5 (Population Segments and Wellbeing: the wellbeing of children, the wellbeing of older adults; the wellbeing of women, the wellbeing of geographic population segments, the wellbeing of specialty population segments; etc.)
• Tuesday, December 13th, 2022, 10-11:30 AM (EST): Module 5 (Population Segments and Wellbeing – continued: the wellbeing of children, the wellbeing of older adults; the wellbeing of women, the wellbeing of geographic population segments, the wellbeing of specialty population segments; etc.)
• Tuesday, December 20th, 2022, 10-11:30 AM (EST): Module 6 (Wrapping Up: integrative models of wellbeing; philosophy and public policy issues related to wellbeing)

To pass the course and receive an official certification, registered students must pass a series of exams. Each exam will involve a set of take-home essay questions provided after each webinar (10 webinars = 10 exams). Students will be required to provide answers to the essay questions and submit their answers before the beginning of the next webinar (i.e., students will have 7 days to complete each exam). Each exam will be graded on the traditional A-F academic scale. A minimum of a total grade of C- is required to pass the course. Students will be provided the option to list the actual letter grade (A-F) on their official certification letter or a designation of Pass/Fail (a minimum of C- constitutes a Pass). The webinars will be recorded and posted on a YouTube site. As such, students missing a live webinar can catch up by watching the completed webinar on YouTube and submit their answers to the questions of their missed webinar before the next webinar. Students who do not receive a passing grade can repeat the course, which will be offered toward the end of the year (2022).

ISQOLS can provide educational credit in terms of Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for the Psychology of Well-Being Certification Program. 1 CEU is equivalent to 10 contact hours. The Psychology of Wellbeing Certification Program involves 10 webinars, 1.5 hours each, or 15 contact hours total. This translates into 1.5 CEUs. As such, the program provides 1.5 CEUs (or 15 contact hours total).

Those interested in receiving the CEUs should provide enough information to their own educational institution about the ISQOLS certification program and their own institution would determine if they would accept these CEUs.

Many occupations require CEUs to stay licensed in their profession (counselors, life coaches, teachers, etc.). Those who wish to use the certification program for CEUs in meet continuing education requirements of their profession should contact their state/country licensing board and submit information about the course.

This certification is provided by the International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies (ISQOLS), a global organization with a mission to promote and encourage research in the field of quality-of-life (QOL), happiness, and wellbeing studies. ISQOLS has members all throughout positioned in academic institutions as well as stakeholder groups, and are well-respected for their contributions to QoL. As such, an official certification would be beneficial to anyone who wants to apply psychological science of wellbeing to guide academic research projects, policy making, managerial decision-making, population statistics, and/or coaching and counseling.

The principal benefits you will obtain from the certification course are:

• a philosophical and academic foundation of much of the research on wellbeing and positive mental health, showing the beneficial effects of happy people at work, in terms of health, and to society at large;
• understanding how sociocultural factors, income factors, other demographic factors, and biological and health conditions influence wellbeing and positive mental health;
• knowledge of how individuals process information from their objective environment, and how they manipulate this information to influence wellbeing and positive mental health;
• insights into how psychology of wellbeing applies to various life domains and special populations such as women, children, and elderly;
• a foundation in theories and models of wellbeing and positive mental health that integrate and unify disparate concepts and programs of research.

This course is administered by a world-renowned QoL researcher, Dr. M. Joseph Sirgy. All the webinars will be available for the student to review, and they will additionally gain access to the textbook, an excellent resource, at a discounted price from Springer.