Program Overview

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Program Overview

The Faculty of Health at the University of Waterloo offers a collaborative PhD program in Aging, Health and Well-being, the first of its kind in Canada. This interdisciplinary program aims to develop a broad understanding of the issues related to the health and well-being of aging populations.

Program Highlights

• Students can register in any department or school within the Faculty of Health, including:
  • Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences
  • Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies
  • School of Public Health Sciences
• The program format provides opportunities for cross-departmental collaborations, access to diverse course offerings, and resources, including dissertation committee members who can add unique perspectives in addressing emerging research problems.

Areas of Study and Researchers

The program encompasses a wide range of research areas, including:

• Health information management
• Illness and injury prevention
• Dementia and dementia care
• Social and environmental aspects of aging
• Health services and continuum of care
• Healthy lifestyle
• Vascular aging and cerebrovascular disease
• Epidemiology and aging
• Mobility and aging
• Gender, sexuality, ethnicities, and aging

Health Information Management

Researchers in this area include:

• John Hirdes
• Plinio Morita
• Chris Perlman

Illness and Injury Prevention

Researchers in this area include:

• Michaela Devries-Aboud
• Lora Giangregorio
• Peter Hall
• Heather Keller
• Nikolas Knowles
• Monica R. Maly
• Samantha Meyer
• Laura Middleton
• John Mielke
• James Rush

Dementia and Dementia Care

Researchers in this area include:

• John Hirdes
• Heather Keller
• Jane Law
• Kimberly Lopez
• Carrie McAiney
• Laura Middleton
• Plinio Morita
• Mark Oremus
• Suzanne Tyas

Social and Environmental Aspects of Aging

Researchers in this area include:

• Martin Cooke
• Sherry Dupuis
• Peter Hall
• John Hirdes
• Brian Laird
• Jane Law
• Kimberly Lopez
• Steven Mock
• Plinio Morita
• Mark Oremus
• Diana Parry
• Chris Perlman

Health Services and Continuum of Care

Researchers in this area include:

• Heather Keller
• John Hirdes
• Kimberly Lopez
• Carrie McAiney
• Samantha Meyer
• Chris Perlman

Healthy Lifestyle

Researchers in this area include:

• Laura Middleton
• Michaela Devries-Aboud
• Peter Hall
• Heather Keller
• Brian Laird
• Marina Mourtzakis
• James Rush

Vascular Aging and Cerebrovascular Disease

Researchers in this area include:

• Jason Au
• John Mielke
• James Rush

Epidemiology and Aging

Researchers in this area include:

• Lora Giangregorio
• John Hirdes
• Heather Keller
• Jane Law
• Mark Oremus
• Chris Perlman
• Suzanne Tyas

Mobility and Aging

Researchers in this area include:

• Michael Barnett-Cowan
• Kaylena Ehgoetz Martens
• Lora Giangregorio
• Nikolas Knowles
• Andrew Laing
• Monica R. Maly

Gender, Sexuality, Ethnicities, and Aging

Researchers in this area include:

• Lisbeth Berbary
• Kimberly Lopez
• Steven Mock
• Diana Parry

Admission and Degree Requirements

• Application deadline: February 1 for admission in September
• Admission requirements:
  • PhD Kinesiology - Aging, Health and Well-being
  • PhD Recreation and Leisure Studies - Aging, Health and Well-being
  • PhD Public Health Sciences - Aging, Health and Well-being
• The Graduate Studies Academic Calendar contains the official degree requirements for the Aging, Health and Well-being programs in each of the departments.

Considerations for International Students

• The Faculty of Health at the University of Waterloo values international students in their graduate programs but can only accept a small proportion of these students.
• Guaranteed funding packages may not cover all tuition and living expenses incurred during a graduate program, and students are encouraged to understand more about the cost of completing their graduate program before applying.

Graduate Student Resources

• Policies and procedures
• Research groups
• Study and living costs
• Residence for graduate students
• Centre for teaching excellence
• Graduate student associations

The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of their work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples. Their main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Their active work toward reconciliation takes place across their campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is coordinated within the Office of Indigenous Relations.