Animal Assisted Therapy Certificate

Individuals interested in completing the certificate must first complete the application found here.

The application will be reviewed by the program director. If approved, she will notify applicant as to whether or not they have been approved for admission into the program. She will then share registration information in a future email about 2 months prior to the start of the first course.

Note: Registration for the 2022/2023 cohort will close on August 31, 2022.

Please contact the program director Lois Harrison at lois.harrison@cuw.edu with any questions.

The certificate is designed for maximum flexibility for working professionals. It consists of four courses, three of which are completed online. The online courses will have identified deadlines and due dates for readings and assignments, as well as structured opportunities for interaction and collaboration among participants.

One course (the third in the sequence) consists of online prep work, followed by a weekend intensive experience that requires participants to come to Concordia’s Mequon, WI campus. The dates for that course will be coordinated around the availability of the cohort

The courses are sequential in nature, where foundational concepts are built upon and expanded in future courses. Participants move through the courses as a cohort, with structured interactions built into each course to enhance the experiential and collaborative nature of the courses. This will begin the development of a network of AAT professionals who can collaborate and support one another in future AAT practice.

Each cohort will begin on September 1 and complete the courses by the end of August the following year. Workload is designed to be realistic for the working professional (approximately 2-3 hours of work per week for the fully online courses).

Courses will be offered as continuing education through Concordia University Wisconsin. Participants will earn CEUs for each course completed. Upon completion of all four courses, participants will earn their Animal Assisted Therapy Certificate and a digital badge from Concordia University Wisconsin.

Cost per course will be $450 per course ($1800 total for all 4 courses). A 10% discount can be applied if students pay up front for all 4 courses ($1620).

To learn more, please view the following video from our Program Director, Lois Harrison.

Introduction to Animal Assisted Therapy (online) - September through November

This online course will introduce participants to the specialized knowledge needed to understand Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT), with an emphasis on evidence based practice and core Animal Assisted Intervention (AAT) competencies. Students will gain ethological knowledge about dogs, animal psychology, and methods of animal training. Students will explore the social and cultural factors relevant to AAT practice, as well as the implications of human-animal interactions, while they discuss how to maximize the potential for safe interactions between clients and animals in our professional settings. No prerequisite coursework; must be accepted into the certificate program.  
24 contact hours/2.4 CEUs.

Standards of AAT Practice (online) -  December through February

This online course will introduce students to the essential components to administer a safe, effective and ethical AAT program. Students will gain knowledge in animal advocacy, risk management, liability and legislative considerations; learn how to plan and maintain safe animal/human interactions; become knowledgeable about how to ensure animal welfare and health; learn how to ensure human welfare; and become aware of animal characteristics to consider to determine animal suitability for AAT practice. Students will also explore the ethical considerations of AAT, and the impact of AAT on treatment. Prerequisites: Successful completion of all previous AAT certificate coursework. 
24 contact hours/2.4 CEUs. 

Applied Practice (online and face to face) - March through May

This blended course will require some online prep prior to a face to face experiential learning weekend with the entire cohort on the Concordia University campus in Mequon, WI. During that weekend, participants will actively plan and carry out AAT interventions using simulated cases appropriate for their discipline, while applying principles for safe, effective and ethical AAT practice from previous coursework. These simulated sessions will include registered/certified therapy dog teams from the Milwaukee area, coordinated by the course instructor. This will provide participants with the opportunity to also learn how to effectively provide direction to the handler of a therapy dog, contributing to their competency in AAT practice. Over the course of the weekend, participants will receive instructor and peer feedback/input to further develop competency.    
24 contact hours/2.4 CEUs.  

Capstone (online) - June through August<

This final online capstone course will require the participant to develop a full proposal for an AAT program that is of interest to them. Structured units within the course will provide a step by step guidance to include relevant content to the proposal, which will then be appropriate for submission to the participant’s place of employment to be considered for implementation.
24 contact hours/2.4 CEUs.