Grad Profiles - University of Massachusetts-Boston Gerontology

Overview
The University of Massachusetts Boston was founded in 1964 and is the second-largest campus in the University of Massachusetts system. The gerontology Ph.D. program was founded in 1990. It was the second such program established in the U.S. and remains the only one in the Northeast. It is distinctive for its heavy emphasis on the relationship between research and policy, especially in the areas of volunteering and employment, health care, income security, and long-term care. The program's location on campus adjoins UMass Boston's Gerontology Institute, which was established in 1984 and constitutes a major resource for the doctoral program.

Graduates of the gerontology Ph.D. program have gone on to faculty positions at colleges and universities, research positions in government, academia, and industry, and positions as policy analysts.

The Community
The University's urban setting offers a broad array of resources—educational, professional, and cultural. Located 3 miles south of downtown Boston, the UMass Boston campus shares a peninsula that overlooks Boston Harbor with the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, the Massachusetts Archives, and the Commonwealth Museum. UMass Boston is accessible to both private and public transportation.

The UMass Boston campus community is enhanced by a rich and diverse student body that comprises more than 13,000 students in its undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education programs. Approximately 40 students are currently enrolled in the Ph.D. program at various stages of their academic development. Students in the program range from recent college graduates in their early twenties to those in their mid-career. Various states (both regional and nationwide) and other countries (Asian, Latin American, and European) are represented in the student body.

Programs of study and degree requirements
The Ph.D. program in gerontology offered by the University of Massachusetts Boston prepares a select group of skilled researchers and policy analysts to extend the frontiers of this growing field through research, teaching, or policy development. The program's approach reflects the urban mission of the University of Massachusetts Boston. Special attention is given to the needs of low-income elderly and to issues of racial and cultural diversity. Degree requirements for the Ph.D. include 69 credits of course work, an empirical research paper, preliminary examinations, and a doctoral dissertation. Course work requirements are reduced for students with pertinent prior graduate credits. The program can be completed in four years: five semesters of full-time course work, one semester of combined course and dissertation work, and two semesters of full-time dissertation work. Advanced work in gerontology is interdisciplinary, bridging theories, concepts, and research methods drawn from several social sciences.

Facilities & Resources
UMass Boston's Harbor Campus offers excellent facilities for learning in a setting that combines the special quality of its location on Boston Harbor with proximity to the rich resources of the city. The University's Joseph P. Healey Library houses more than 550,000 carefully selected volumes and currently receives more than 3,000 domestic and international journals and newspapers. It also maintains a government documents collection, microform publications, electronic periodical indexes, and more than 500 full-text electronic journals. The library maintains a comprehensive collection of journals on aging, and students also have access to more than twenty other academic and research libraries in the greater Boston area through the University's memberships in the Boston Library Consortium and the Fenway Library Consortium.

Students have exclusive use of a student room and a lab with personal computers. Software for word processing, data processing, and statistical analysis is available as well as access to the Internet and e-mail accounts.

Expenses and Aid
Costs: The costs of attending UMass Boston are moderate, especially for students who qualify as residents of Massachusetts. The cost per credit for resident students is $148 with a maximum of $1,995 per semester and nonresident students pay $496.50 per credit with a maximum of $6,379 per semester. In addition, students are charged fees which include student activities, health services, athletics, and a technology and curriculum support fee.

Financial Aid: Financial aid is awarded in packages that may consist of loans, campus-based funds, and part-time job opportunities. Students may be eligible to receive aid through one or more federal programs such as Federal Perkins Loans, Federal Stafford Loans, and the Federal Work-Study Program. In addition, fee waiver grants are available on the basis of financial need. The University offers a limited number of graduate assistantships in teaching or research. Students who are awarded an assistantship receive a tuition waiver and a stipend that is dependent upon full- or part-time work load status.

Housing/Living Expenses: Housing costs in the greater Boston area are subject to market conditions. The University operates a Housing Referral Service to help students locate rooms, houses, and apartments to rent or share. The service mails brief descriptions of its listings upon request and can provide maps of the greater Boston area, a list of short-term housing options, and information on public transportation.

How to Apply
Admission requirements include a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution, a minimum undergraduate grade point average of 3.0 (or equivalent), general GRE scores (verbal and quantitative), transcripts of all prior academic work, three letters of recommendation, and a personal statement. In addition, TOEFL scores are required of all applicants whose native language is not English. Application materials can be obtained by calling or writing the Admissions Information Service. Priority is given to those who submit applications and all supporting credentials by February 1. Decisions on applications received by February 1 are announced by the first week in April. Applications submitted after February 1 are accepted on a rolling basis.

Who to Contact

Admissions
University of Massachusetts Boston
100 Morrissey Boulevard
Boston, MA 02125-3393
Telephone: 617-287-6000
617-287-6010 (TTY/TDD)
E-mail: enrollment.info@umb.edu
http://www.umb.edu

The Program Director
The Ph.D. Program in Gerontology
University of Massachusetts Boston
100 Morrissey Boulevard
Boston, MA 02125-3393
Telephone: 617-287-7300
E-mail: gerontology@umb.edu
http://www.geront.umb.edu

The Faculty And Their Research

Ellen A. Bruce, Associate Professor; J.D., Northeastern, 1974. Pension policy, Social Security benefit system, Medicare and Medicaid benefits.
Jeffrey Burr, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Texas at Austin, 1986. Living arrangements, family relations, and well-being of older persons, especially minorities.
Francis G. Caro, Professor; Ph.D., Minnesota, 1962. Volunteering among the elderly, home care for the elderly.
Yung-Ping Chen, Professor; Ph.D., Washington (Seattle), 1960. Social Security reform, minorities and pensions, home equity conversions.
Elizabeth Clemens, Lecturer; D.S.W., Pennsylvania, 1991. Applied ethics for health-care professionals related to case management and discharge planning.
Jan Mutchler, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Texas at Austin, 1985. Living arrangements and language use patterns of elderly minorities, economic well-being of children in multigenerational households.
Frank Porell, Professor; Ph.D., Carnegie-Mellon, 1979. Applied econometric methods, health services research.
Frances L. Portnoy, Professor Emeritus; Ph.D., Brandeis, 1975. Nursing home care.
Nina M. Silverstein, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Brandeis, 1980. Alzheimer's disease, community-based care, grandparents raising grandchildren, aging women veterans.
Marian Spencer, Lecturer; M.S., Boston University; RN. Community-based care, patient and health care.
Barbara F. Turner, Professor; Ph.D., Chicago, 1969. Gender studies.
Robert Weiss, Professor Emeritus; D.S.W., Michigan. Social relationships in the family and in the workplace, loss and grief, relational deficit and loneliness.

Resource People in Gerontology