PhD Gerontology and Ageing Studies

COURSE OVERVIEW

Understanding and addressing the complex issues around ageing has never been more important. In the UK over the last 25 years, the number of people aged 65 and over has increased by more than 1.5 million and globally the population aged 60 and over is growing faster than all younger age groups.

Our internationally renowned Centre for Innovative Ageing (CIA) is the largest gerontology research centre in Wales and one of the largest in the UK, providing the ideal base for your postgraduate research. The CIA is also home to the Centre for Ageing and Dementia Research (CADR), a multi-disciplinary research centre addressing internationally important questions in ageing and dementia.

The most recent Research Excellence Framework in 2014–2021 ranked us 3rd in the UK for our research outputs. Our PhD programme also forms part of the ESRC Doctoral Training Centre for Wales, a pan-Wales collaboration to train top-level social scientists.

We have extensive research expertise covering the influence of the natural and built environment on an ageing population, and care provision for the older person across such areas as social care, health care, residential care, palliative care, chronic conditions, and falls and their prevention.

Students are currently exploring topics such as the impact of lifestyle on cognitive function in later life, dementia care environments, age-friendly communities for people with mobility difficulties and the driving cessation process amongst older drivers.

As part of our College of Human and Health Sciences, you will benefit from a dynamic and supportive research environment with many opportunities to make connections across disciplines and develop links with organisations and policymakers both in the UK and abroad.

Programme Summary

This PhD in Gerontology and Ageing Studies at Swansea will enable you to undertake a substantial project led by your own interests. It is a highly respected qualification which can present a career in academia or a wider scope for employment in fields such as education, government or the private sector. A thesis of 100,000 words will be submitted for assessment demonstrating original research with a substantive contribution to the subject area. The PhD is examined following an oral examination of the thesis (a viva voce examination or viva voce). You will acquire research skills for high-level work and skills and training programmes are available on campus for further support. There will be an opportunity to deliver presentations to research students and staff at departmental seminars and conferences. There may also be opportunities to develop your teaching skills through undergraduate tutorials, demonstrations and seminars.

Programme Aims

This PhD programme will provide doctoral researchers with:

1. The opportunity to conduct high quality postgraduate research in a world leading research environment.
2. Key skills needed to undertake advanced academic and non-academic research including qualitative and quantitative data analysis.
3. Advanced critical thinking, intellectual curiosity and independent judgement.

Assessment

Doctoral researchers for the PhD in Gerontology and Ageing Studies are examined in two parts.

The first part is a thesis which is an original body of work representing the methods and results of the research project. The maximum word limit is 100,000 for the main text. The word limit does not include appendices (if any), essential footnotes, introductory parts and statements or the bibliography and index.

The second part is an oral examination (viva voce).