Program Requirements
Students admitted to the Doctor of Philosophy program must complete all core courses, additional courses required to support the area of scholarly inquiry, and a dissertation. Time required to complete the program of study is variable and is based on the past academic achievements of the individual, as well as current professional, scholarly, and personal goals. The faculty advisor or dissertation committee may require course work to address identified academic deficiencies. All course work applied to the degree must be completed within seven (7) years.
Core courses are 35 credits in philosophy and theory, statistics and research design, and disciplinary courses taken by all students. The remainder of the program of study is tailored to the research interests, experience, and goals of the student. In addition to core courses, Hartford doctoral students are required to take 9 credits of advanced course work in an geriatrics. The goal of the specialization requirement is to enhance students expertise in a content, methodological or professional area (e.g. gerontology, education, administration, informatics, oncology, feminist methods/ methodologies, measurement, etc.). Students must declare an area of specialization and have the course work approved by their advisor prior to registering for courses. An additional statistics or methodology elective is required of all students.
All students in the PhD program will be required to attend an intensive orientation on the University of Utah campus the first week of their program and then each year that they are in coursework. Students will also be required to attend a research conference as a group. This will apply to both students who apply to our on-campus delivery program as well as the distance delivery program. These intense in person experiences will enhance your educational experience as well as provide the opportunity for in person interaction with your classmates and your instructors.
University of Utah policy requires meeting the residency requirement of a minimum of nine (9) credit hours of study for two (2) consecutive semesters. In addition, the university's policy requires successful completion of written and oral qualifying examinations (comprehensive examinations) at the conclusion of formal coursework prior to admission to PhD candidacy and completion of the dissertation requirement.
For more information about the gerontology PhD program contact contact Jan Abramson by e-mail, jan.abramson@nurs.utah.edu or phone, (801) 587-8390.