The USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology is one of the seventeen academic divisions of the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, focusing on undergraduate and graduate programs in

gerontology Gerontology ( ) is the study of the social, culture, cultural, psychology, psychological, cognitive, and biology, biological aspects of aging. The word was coined by Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov in 1903, from the Ancient Greek, Greek ('), meaning "o ...

History

Founded in 1975, the Leonard Davis School is the oldest and largest professional School of Gerontology. The school offered the world’s first

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

Gerontology Gerontology ( ) is the study of the social, culture, cultural, psychology, psychological, cognitive, and biology, biological aspects of aging. The word was coined by Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov in 1903, from the Ancient Greek, Greek ('), meaning "o ...

, the first joint master’s degree in Gerontology and Business Administration, and the first undergraduate Health Science Track in Gerontology. The Leonard Davis School also offered the first internet-based educational program to be approved by the

Western Association of Schools and Colleges The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC ( )) provided accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary and elementary schools in California and Hawaii, the territories of Guam, American Samoa and Northern ...

. Its research and services component is the USC Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center. Research in molecular biology, neuroscience, demography, psychology, sociology and public policy is conducted at the Andrus Gerontology Center, founded in 1964.

Academics

The school offers two undergraduate degrees. The Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Aging has a health science track designed for students who wish to pursue medicine or other health-related fields and a social science track that focuses on human development via the behavioral sciences, designed for students pursuing law, policy, psychology, sociology, and health administration. The Bachelor of Science in Lifespan Health is for students pursuing medicine and health-related fields, and its material focuses on disease prevention, detection, and treatment. Its graduate programs include eleven master's degrees and two PhD programs, as well as a graduate certificate program and a doctorate in longevity arts and sciences. The Master of Science in Gerontology is targeted towards students aiming for professional leadership positions, while the Master of Arts in Gerontology is formal training in gerontology for current professionals. The Master of Long-Term Care Administration focuses on

long-term care Long-term care (LTC) is a variety of services which help meet both the medical and non-medical needs of people with a chronic illness or disability who cannot care for themselves for long periods. Long-term care is focused on individualized and ...

. The Master of Aging Services Management provides leadership training on management related specifically to aging services businesses such as residential, assisted living, retirement, home, or hospice care, while also including information on demography, health and culture. The Master of Science in Nutrition, Healthspan, and Longevity is about nutrition and dietetics, as applicable to health, and aging care facilities, food service programs, personal wellness, private practice, scientific research on health and longevity, or in policy and advocacy. Graduates may take the Commission of Dietetics Registration's national registration examination once graduated. Upon passing, graduates may receive the Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) credential. Students working towards a PhD in Gerontology study the field of aging, especially research toward improving the quality of life throughout the entire lifespan. Students working towards a PhD in Geroscience study molecular, cellular, and regenerative medicine as well as the integrative biology of aging. Students take core courses on the molecular and cellular biology of aging and age-related diseases, and then select a track among neuroscience, molecular, and cellular biology, stem cell and regenerative sciences, and biomedical sciences.

Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center

The

Ethel Percy Andrus Ethel Percy Andrus (September 21, 1884 – July 13, 1967) was a long-time educator and the first female high school principal in California. She was also an elder rights activist and the founder of AARP in 1958. In 1993, she was inducted in ...

Gerontology Center is the research and services component of the USC Leonard Davis School. Established in 1964, it is the nation's first multidisciplinary research center devoted to aging. Its primary goal is to provide scientific information about the process of human development as it applies to individuals, families, organizations, and societies. Students at all levels are encouraged to take part in a variety of programs involving service, research, and other scholarly pursuits at the USC Andrus Center. Following are examples of research programs and services at the Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center: The USC Longevity Institute unites multidisciplinary aging research approaches in order to maximize the healthy life span. The USC/UCLA Center on Biodemography & Population Health (CBPH) a multi-site center specializing in the demography of aging sponsored by the National Institute on Aging. The Fall Prevention Center of Excellence (FPCE) seeks to better understand and identify causes of falls among older persons and develop effective interventions at individual, program, and system-wide levels. The Los Angeles Caregiver Resource Center (LACRC) is part of a statewide system of regional resource centers serving families and caregivers of adults with brain impairment. It is a program housed within the USC Family Caregiver Support Center.

Notable faculty and alumni

* Jennifer Ailshire * Bérénice Benayoun *

Pinchas Cohen Pinchas Cohen is the dean of the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, holds the William and Sylvia Kugel Dean's Chair in Gerontology and serves as the executive director of the Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center. He is a USC Distinguished P ...

* Eileen Crimmins * Sean Curran *

Kelvin Davies Kelvin J. A. Davies is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Gerontology, Molecular & Computational Biology, and Biochemistry & Molecular Medicine at the University of Southern California. Prior to his retirement in 2023, he was the James E. Birren ...

* Susan Enguidanos *

Caleb Finch Caleb Ellicott Finch (born July 4, 1939) is an American academic who is a professor at the USC Davis School of Gerontology. Finch's research focuses on aging in humans, with a specialization in cell biology and Alzheimer's disease. Early life a ...

* Andrei Irimia * Changhan "David" Lee *

Valter Longo Valter D. Longo (born 1967) is an Italian-American biogerontologist and cell biologist known for his studies on the role of fasting and nutrient response genes on cellular protection aging and diseases and for proposing that longevity is regulate ...

Mara Mather Mara Mather is a professor of gerontology, psychology, and biomedical engineering at the USC Davis School of Gerontology. Her research deals with aging and affective neuroscience, focusing on how emotion and stress affect memory and decisions. Sh ...

Christian Pike Christian Pike is a professor at the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and a member of the USC Neuroscience Program. His ongoing work focuses on Alzheimer's disease and other age-related neurodegenerative disorders. His laboratory studies the r ...

Jon Pynoos Dr. Jon Pynoos is the UPS Foundation Professor at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. He is the author of six books and numerous articles on housing and the elderly. He received his AB degree at Harvard College in 1964, his MCP at Harvard ...

* Edward L. Schneider * John Walsh *

Kathleen Wilber Kathleen H. Wilber (born 1948) is a professor of gerontology and policy planning and development at the University of Southern California. At the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology The USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology is one of t ...

Elizabeth Zelinski Elizabeth Zelinski is an American college professor known for her expertise in gerontechnology, neuroscience, and cognition. She is the Rita and Edward Polusky Chair in Education and Aging Professor of Gerontology and Psychology at the USC Davis Sc ...

References

External links

* * {{authority control Gerontology organizations

Universities and colleges established in 1975 University subdivisions in California