Recreation and Leisure Studies (Aging, Health and Well-Being) - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) at University of Waterloo

Focus on aging, health and well-being for your PhD in Recreation and Leisure Studies with this unique collaborative PhD program offered by the Faculty of Health. Through an interdisciplinary approach, you’ll develop a broad understanding of issues related to the health and well-being of our aging population while advancing your knowledge in your designated field in recreation and leisure. The first collaborative PhD program in Canada with a focus on aging, health and well-being, this program provides opportunities for cross-departmental collaborations, access to diverse course offerings and resources including dissertation committee members who can add unique perspectives in addressing emerging research problems.

Faculty: Faculty of Health  |  Department: Recreation and Leisure Studies  |  Duration: 48 months (full-time)  |  Study mode: full-time  |  Intake: Fall (September - December); application deadlines: February 1 (for admission in September); Note: Applications submitted after this date will be considered on a rolling basis until all available spots are filled.  |  Location: Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

What you will study

Research fields: Health information management, Illness and injury prevention, Dementia and dementia care, Social and environmental aspects of aging, Health services and continuum of care, Nutrition and healthy lifestyles, Vascular aging and cerebrovascular disease, Epidemiology and aging, Mobility and aging, Gender, sexuality, ethnicities and aging, Research project opportunities for this program, Risk, Injury, Sport, & Equity (RISE) Youth Sport Lab, Seeking motivated Master's and PhD students to join the Risk, Injury, Sport, & Equity (RISE) Youth Sport Lab. We study the ways in which athletes feel safe and included in sport, recreation, and leisure environments and how they experience injury and risk within these spaces. Ongoing funded projects explore sport-related concussion reporting for youth girls, safe sport practices in community sport organizations, stories of belonging for Black girls and women in hockey, and concussion communication and management efforts. Our work aims to foster athlete well-being, and emphasizes community-oriented partnerships that drive positive changes in youth sport experiences., The REC: Radically Embodied Collective, Like mushrooms popping up in a field, this collective springs into action in response to widespread and ongoing anti-life doctrines that reverberate across the nation and globe (e.g., anti-trans legislation, rolling back queer and disability rights). The REC, directed by Dr. Aly Bailey in the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies in the Faculty of Health at the University of Waterloo, is a collection of research, scholars, and activists centring bodymind differences by queering, cripping, and thickening leisure, fitness, and health. Bridging theory and practice, building bodymind coalitions (across fat, disabled, queer, racialized, Mad communities), and working with powerholders invested in access and inclusion, The REC demands for research and teaching that challenges power, subverts oppressive structures (e.g., ableism, racism, fat hatred, anti-queer, etc.), and celebrates embodied diversity. Graduate students at The REC engage deeply with theory, bring research to action, and strive for justice.. Study option(s): Thesis.

Career pathways

Be prepared with the training you need for a career as a scholar, researcher, or a policy analyst for government, private sector or university positions.

Official programme page