Program Overview

Introduction to the Doctor of Philosophy in Social Gerontology

The Doctor of Philosophy in Social Gerontology is a doctoral program designed to encourage students to integrate knowledge and research methods from a range of behavioral and social sciences in their study of social gerontology. This program aims to build scholars and educators who can meet the challenges, demands, and opportunities presented by global aging.

Program Overview

As a graduate of the doctoral program, students are prepared to teach and conduct research in institutions of higher education, and hold positions in policy or service organizations. The program is open to students from a range of disciplines, and faculty will work with each student to determine the necessary core courses to be taken as part of their doctoral studies.

Application Requirements

Required application materials include:

• Academic transcripts
• Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores
• A letter or statement describing career objectives and areas of interest in gerontology
• An interview
• Letters of recommendation Applications may be submitted by those who have earned a bachelor's degree and those who have earned or are in the process of completing a master's degree.

Program Requirements

In addition to the general requirements specified by the Graduate School, requirements for the Ph.D. in Social Gerontology include:

• 60 post-master's degree credit hours
• 40-42 credit hours of coursework (with a grade of B- or higher in the required courses)
• Satisfactory performance on oral and written qualifying examinations
• Submission of an acceptable dissertation
• Satisfactory performance on a final oral examination (dissertation defense) Any course applied to the MGS degree cannot also be applied to the PhD degree.

Course List

Required Courses:

• GSC 601: College Teaching Enhancement Program (1 credit hour)
• GTY 609: Qualitative Research Methods (3 credit hours)
• GTY 702: Knowledge Construction & Advanced Theory (3 credit hours)
• GTY 705: Oral and Written Communication for Gerontologists (3 credit hours)
• GTY 708: Quantitative Methods and Statistics (4 credit hours)
• GTY 718: Applied Linear Regression in Gerontology (3 credit hours)
• GTY 745: Sociology, Demography, and Epidemiology of Aging (3 credit hours)
• GTY 850: Doctoral Dissertation Research (1-16 credit hours) Complete a minimum of 4 credits from the following:
  • GTY 709: Advanced Qualitative Research & Methods (4-6 credit hours)
  • GTY 750 & GTY 751: Special Topics in Advanced Quantitative Methodology in Aging Research and Applied Categorical Regression Techniques in Aging

Elective Courses

Select enough elective courses to meet the minimum 60 hours requirement. Electives include, but are not limited to:

• GTY 602: Perspectives in Gerontology
• GTY 608: Research Methods in the Social Sciences
• GTY 611: Essentials of Program Evaluation
• GTY 615: Readings in Gerontology
• GTY 620: Supervised Research or Reading on Selected Topics in Gerontology
• GTY 641
• GTY 667: Social Policy in an Aging Society
• GTY 705: Oral and Written Communication for Gerontologists
• GTY 709: Advanced Qualitative Research & Methods
• GTY 750: Special Topics in Advanced Quantitative Methodology in Aging Research
• GTY 751: Applied Categorical Regression Techniques in Aging
• GTY 790: Pre-Candidacy Doctoral Research in Gerontology

Total Credit Hours

The total credit hours required for the program is 60, with a minimum of 16 credit hours and a maximum of 60.