‘Ageing & Dementia@Bangor’/Dementia Services Development Centre (DSDC)

The PhD programme is embedded in the ‘Ageing & Dementia@Bangor’/DSDC which has a particular focus on resilience and the importance of evaluating and developing health and social care in ageing as well as dementia. The aim of the research centre is to develop research that seeks to understand dementia and ageing within a family and network context with attention to the complexities of social, psychological as well as cultural aspects. It includes research across a range of settings, including the community, acute hospital care and care home settings.

‘Ageing & Dementia@Bangor’/DSDC also benefits from being part of the distinctive range of multidisciplinary expertise within the Bangor Institute of Health and Medical Research (BIHMR) that will support students on the programme.  As part of the research centre there is a vibrant group of postgraduate research projects examining a wide range of areas linked to ageing and dementia, ranging from developing compassionate dementia care in healthcare practice, to exploring how best to improve discharge from hospital into care homes.

Research Opportunities

‘Ageing & Dementia@Bangor’/DSDC and the Bangor Institute of Health and Medical Research (BIHMR) have partnership arrangements with a range of health and social care organisations, including the NHS, Local Authorities and Housing Associations. This enables postgraduate researchers to establish links within an applied context.

What will you study on this course?

Course Structure

The PhD is available for full time (3 year) or part time (5 year) study on-campus or via distance learning from within the UK or internationally. The course requires the student to undertake a substantial piece of independent research at the cutting edge of ageing and dementia research.

Research Thesis

Students will be able to choose a relevant area of inquiry that is consistent with the research themes at DSDC/Ageing & Dementia@bangor and that addresses their professional or organisational goals. Agreement on the research question will require discussion with the supervisory team.

Teaching, Learning and Assessment

The assessment will focus on the completion of a thesis consisting of up to 100, 000 word that will require a viva voce. The thesis may be completed as either a substantive narrative or ‘four-paper’ format. The ‘narrative model’ presents a traditional format of chaptered thesis which reflects the selected approach broadly consisting of an introduction, literature review, methodology, study design, findings or results, synthesis and discussion chapters. The ‘four-paper’ format consists of a thesis organised around four distinct elements that represent prospective or submitted papers for journals with additional introductory and discussion chapters.

The PhD (Ageing and Dementia) provides an excellent research-based training with exposure to a dynamic multidisciplinary environment at ‘Ageing & Dementia@Bangor’/DSDC and the Bangor Institute of Health and Medical Research (BIHMR). This provides a sound platform for a future career in the area of health and social care research. It also presents an opportunity to explore a contemporary area of health or social care related to ageing and/or dementia that has relevance to organisational contexts.

Postgraduate research in Health Sciences focuses on developing innovative approaches to understand and respond to the plethora of challenges and opportunities involved in contemporary health and social care. Our research follows an interdisciplinary approach that inspires the application of a range of applied quantitative and diverse qualitative research approaches.