Commonwealth Scholarships Commission funds Southampton students to study Gerontology
The Centre for Research on Ageing (CRA) at the University of Southampton has secured £160,150 from the Commonwealth Scholarships Commission in order to fund 15 students from Commonwealth countries to study on the MSc Gerontology (DL) from October 2013.
The scholarships are open to citizens from any Commonwealth country, however preference will be given to applications from citizens of the Commonwealth countries where the CRA is engaged in collaborative capacity building and research projects. For example, CRA staff members are collaborating with colleagues in India as part of an international project examining the wellbeing of older persons in the context of an increasingly globalising world. In addition, CRA staff members are investigating the resilience of older persons in slums in Nairobi, Kenya, on an ESRC funded project. Other countries, where the Centre maintains strong research and capacity-building links are Bangladesh, Belize, Botswana, Cameroon, The Gambia, Ghana, Jamaica, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda and Zambia.
The award from the Commonwealth Scholarships Commission reflects the global reach of the MSc Gerontology (DL) programme and of the topic of ageing as a policy priority. The Commonwealth Scholarships Commission considered a range of criteria in making the award, ranging from the developmental impact of the programme and the potential benefit of the alumni to their home countries, to the delivery of teaching and learning from a distance and the programme team’s innovation with new technologies.
Professor Maria Evandrou, Director of the Centre for Research on Ageing, said: “We are delighted with this award, which will facilitate 15 high-calibre students from across the Commonwealth to gain excellent postgraduate training in the field of ageing and social policy. The MSc Gerontology (DL) programme will also equip the students with quantitative and qualitative research methods and prepare them for the global job market.”
The Commonwealth Scholarships also funds attendance of a 4-day Residential Course at the University of Southampton, which provides students with the opportunity to meet their fellow students and tutors, to engage in critical discussions about key policy areas such as health and income inequalities, and to work on their MSc Dissertations. The Course’s organiser, Dr Aravinda Guntupalli noted: “Students on the Distance Learning programme find this Residential Course one of the most exciting parts of their MSc programme, because they have the opportunity to visit us in Southampton, use the library in person and engage in discussions with their fellow students and with staff. It is also rewarding for us as tutors to meet them in person”.
You can watch testimonials from students on the MSc Gerontology (DL)
The MSc Gerontology (DL) was established in 2009-10, and has attracted students from over 15 countries around the world. The students on the first cohort of Commonwealth Scholars on the programme come from Botswana, India, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Pakistan and Uganda.
For more information on the programme go to MSc Gerontology