Institute for Human-Animal Connection Certificate Application


	Animals and Human Health Certificate

Eligibility Requirements

To apply for the Animals and Human Health (AHH) Certificate program, you must have earned a bachelor's degree from an accredited four-year college or university or have the equivalent work experience in a human service field.

Application and Admissions

There is a one-time, non-refundable application fee of $25 due at the time of application.

Enrollment is capped at 13 students per cohort. Due to the format of the program, applicants are placed on an active wait list once their applications are submitted, reviewed, and accepted. Applicants will be notified via email once they are accepted into the certificate program and eligible for enrollment into a cohort and will receive detailed registration and payment information via email.

This application will also be used to provide instructors with student biographical information, so please be thoughtful in your responses.

For More Information

Visit our website.

Please contact Madeline Whitley, IHAC Coordinator, for more information at madeline.whitley@du.edu.


	Canine-Assisted Intervention Specialist (CAIS) Certificate

Eligibility Requirements

Main Requirement: Previous education or experience with human-animal interventions since this program will not cover foundational concepts of human-animal interactions.

Successful completion of one of the following programs:
- IHAC's Animals and Human Health certificate or Equine-Assisted Mental Health Practitioner certificate
- The Graduate School of Social Work Human-Animal-Environment Interactions in Social Work Certificate (previously known as the Animal-Assisted Social Work Certificate) with MSW
If you have not completed one of the aforementioned programs, the application eligibility is a bachelor's degree in a human service, health, or education field with relevant experience in canine-assisted interactions.

Application and Admissions

There is a one-time, non-refundable application fee of $25 due at the time of application.

Enrollment is capped at 20 students per cohort. Due to the format of the program, applicants are placed on an active wait list once their applications are submitted, reviewed, and accepted. Applicants will be notified via e-mail once they are accepted into the certificate program and eligible for enrollment into a cohort and will receive detailed registration and payment information via e-mail.

This application will also be used to provide instructors with student biographical information, so please be thoughtful in your responses.

For More Information

Visit the IHAC website.

Please contact Madeline Whitley, IHAC Coordinator, for more information at madeline.whitley@du.edu.


	Equine-Assisted Mental Health (EAMH) Practitioner Certificate

Eligibility

Eligible applicants to the Equine-Assisted Mental Health (EAMH) Practitioner Certificate program have a master’s or a doctoral degree from a mental health-related program that prepared them to provide psychotherapy as treatment, or are currently a graduate student in such a program.

Mental health-related programs include, among others: clinical social work, mental health counseling, marriage and family therapy, clinical psychology, psychiatry, and psychiatric nursing. Please contact the program coordinator if you are unsure whether your education makes you eligible for the practitioner certificate. Current graduate students must have previous experience in human services and psychotherapy to be eligible for the program.

Prior equine experience is necessary for admission.

Admission Process

The admission process has two steps:

Submission of completed application form
Interview over the phone with program coordinator

Supporting Documents
You will be asked to upload a copy of your master’s diploma (for applicants with master’s or doctoral degrees) or an unofficial copy of your transcript (for graduate student applicants) from a mental health-related program that has prepared you to use psychotherapy as treatment.

You will also be asked to upload your resume/CV.

The application form contains questions about your prior equine experience. There will be further opportunity to discuss your experience during your interview.

Name

*First Name

Middle Name

*Last Name

Preferred First Name (if different from First Name)

Other Last Name Used

Address

*Mailing Address

Country

Street

City

Region

Postal Code

Contact Information

*Email

*Phone Number

Biographical Information

*Birthdate

*Are you a U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident?

*Please list your country of citizenship

Country of citizenship - U.S. (hidden)

Canine-Assisted Intervention Specialist

In order to determine eligibility for the CAIS program, please tell us more about your education and experience.

Education

*Are you a current or former student of the University of Denver (DU) or the Institute for Human-Animal Connection?

Yes

*Please provide more information about your DU attendance (for example, dates and program).

*Have you successfully completed any of the following programs? Please select all that apply.

Animals and Human Health (AHH) certificate with IHAC

Equine-Assisted Mental Health (EAMH) certificate with IHAC

Human-Animal-Environment Interactions in Social Work (previously Animal-Assisted Social Work) with MSW at DU

I have not completed any of these programs

Admission to the AHH program requires a bachelor's degree from an accredited four-year college or university, or equivalent experience in the human-animal interaction field.

*Do you have a bachelor's degree?

Yes

*Please tell us about your education by listing the name of the institution, your degree(s) and/or certification(s) with subject area(s), and year of completion.

*Please describe other education or relevant experience.

Experience

*Current Place of Employment

*Position/Title

*Is this certification required, recommended, or urgently needed for your current employment?

Yes

Animals and Human Health Certificate

*Please tell us about your professional work experience (and/or licensing) within the past 5-10 years (what you do for a living—not limited to experience working with animals).

*Please tell us about your experience with animals (and which species) including current companion animals, activities and/or organizations with whom you’ve been involved, and past involvement.

*What are your goals in enrolling in this program (just a few sentences to let us know what you are working toward in this program)?

*Please tell us about your place of residence/location during the program—for example, city, state, country (if outside the U.S.), and whether you are in an urban area or rural area. The AHH curriculum integrates several community assignments (interviews, observations, etc.), so it is helpful for us to know about your place of residence and ability to access local human-animal interaction programs.

*Are you planning any extended vacations or trips outside your country during your time in this certificate? If yes, please describe.

Feel free to share any additional information you think we should know about you.

*Please tell us about your professional work experience and/or licensing within the past 5-10 years. This is not limited to experience working with dogs but should include any professional work experience integrating animals into your practice.

*Please tell us about any volunteer experience you have in human-animal interactions.

Canine-Assisted Intervention Specialist Essay Questions

Answer the following questions to the best of your ability. In addition to admission, this application will be used to provide instructors with student biographical information, so please be thoughtful in your responses. Thank you!

*Please tell us about your experience with dogs. This can include dogs currently in your life, dogs who made a significant impression on you (as a child or as an adult), and activities and/or organizations you’re currently involved with or were in the past. (This is not limited to professional work experience.)

*Please tell us about dog-related seminars you’ve attended. Seminars may be about dog behavior, sports, health, training, etc., yet the focus must have been about dogs rather than about human mental health or education.

*What are your goals in enrolling in this certificate? Please give just a few sentences to let us know what you are working toward in this program.

*Please tell us about your place of residence/location while you will be taking the CAIS certificate (for example, city, state, country if outside the US, and whether you are in an urban area or rural area).

*Are you planning any extended vacations or trips outside your country during your time in this certificate? If yes, please describe.

Feel free to share any additional information that you think we should know about you.

Education & Resume/CV Submissions

Eligible applicants to the Equine-Assisted Mental Health Practitioner Certificate program have a master's or doctoral degree from a mental-health related program preparing them to provide psychotherapy as treatment, or are currently a graduate student in such a program. Prior equine experience is necessary for admission.

Please upload a copy of your diploma and a copy of your resume or CV here; original or scanned copies saved as PDFs work well. If you are a graduate student, you may upload an unofficial transcript in lieu of a diploma.

*Diploma/Transcript

*Resume/CV

Equine Knowledge & Experience

Please rate your level of knowledge and experience in the following categories:

*Equine herd behavior

*Equine conflict behavior

*Managing risk in human-horse interactions

*Working with horses on the ground

*Mounted work with horses

Please rate the level of importance of the following areas for therapists who incorporate equine interactions in psychotherapy:

*Equine herd behavior

*Equine conflict behavior

*Managing risk in human-horse interactions

*Working with horses on the ground

*Mounted work with horses

Equine-Assisted Mental Health Practitioner Certificate Essays

Please answer these questions to the best of your knowledge in a short paragraph. You may want to save your answers in a Word document and copy/paste to this form.

*What constitutes a healthy equine living environment to you?

*What are ways you would manage actual risk in a psychotherapy session with clients and horses?

*Describe three things that you would do to help a therapy horse stay physically and mentally sound.

*Describe how you would teach a horse to understand human voice or gestural cues.

Online Learning Experience

*Do you consider yourself to be computer literate?

Yes

*Do you have access to high-speed computing?

Yes

*Have you used online education tools before (for example, Canvas)?

Yes

Referral Source

How did you hear about this program? Please select all that apply.

Other referral source

IHAC Application Fee

There is a one-time, non-refundable application fee of $25 due at the time of application. Please enter your payment information below before you submit your application.

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Institute for Human-Animal Connection Certificate Application

Animals and Human Health Certificate

Canine-Assisted Intervention Specialist (CAIS) Certificate

Equine-Assisted Mental Health (EAMH) Practitioner Certificate