Purdue University is pleased to offer a dual-title PhD linking an established discipline-based program of study with an interdisciplinary perspective on aging. With this degree, Purdue graduates are uniquely prepared to pursue a wide range of careers in higher education and/or research on aging.
Already recognized as a leader in research and graduate training, the Gerontology Program of the Center on Aging and the Life Course at Purdue University continues its innovative leadership with this exciting opportunity for graduate study.
Why choose one when you can have both?
Students complete all degree requirements for the discipline-based PhD program, with the dual-title option requiring additional coursework, often without extending the length of time needed to complete the degree.
Advantages of a Dual-Title PhD
- Enhances employment and research opportunities
- Addresses challenges of future demographics
- Maintains disciplinary depth
- Emphasizes interdisciplinary breadth
- Jumpstarts research in gerontology with a dissertation focused on aging within a particular field
- Expands network of contacts through an interdisciplinary dissertation committee
- Involves students in discipline-specific and interdisciplinary professional organizations studying the aging process
- Acquaints students with gerontology funding streams
- Awards students a respected degree from Purdue University with a credential in the emerging field of gerontology
Requirements for a Dual-Title PhD
- 24 graduate credits in aging-related courses including seven credit hours from and completion of the following courses
Biology of Aging, VCS 65000
(1-3 credit hours) - Multidisciplinary Gerontology, HDFS 64900
(3 credit hours) - Research Seminar on Aging and the Life Course, SOC 67700
(1 credit hour, may be repeated) - Dissertation on a topic related to aging
- Dissertation committee: (a) chair is a professor in the student's home department who is also a Faculty Associate of the Center on Aging and the Life Course and (b) committee includes at least one member from another department
Courses Approved for the Dual-Title PhD
Click Here For Approved Courses ListThe following charter disciplines are prepared to participate in the dual-title PhD
- Communication
- Consumer Sciences and Retailing
- Health and Kinesiology
- Human Development and Family Studies
- Nutrition Science
- Psychological Sciences
- Pharmacy Practice
- Sociology
- Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences
- Veterinary Clinical Sciences
- Veterinary Pathobiology