Texas State offers innovative master's program in dementia and aging studies – the first of its kind in the nation

Inside TXST

Christopher J. Johnson | February 4, 2019

Dr. Christopher J. Johnson is a clinical professor of sociology in the Master's of Science in Dementia and Age Studies (MSDA) program at Texas State. 

According to the U.S. Census, the number of older adults now has surpassed the number of teenagers in our nation. The Alzheimer’s Association says approximately 5.7 million Americans have Alzheimer’s, a number projected to grow to 13.8 million by mid-century. And about 75 percent of nursing home residents and 50 percent of assisted living residents have some form of dementia. Despite these statistics, there remains a gap in dementia education in America.

In response to the need for a competent gerontologically educated workforce to serve the aging population, in 2014 Texas approved the United States’ first Master’s of Science in Dementia and Aging studies (MSDA) online degree. Its curriculum focuses on dementia, aging and the person-centered model of care in long-term care, research or advanced practitioner study. 

Sadly, persons living with dementia generally are marginalized and disempowered. Texas State’s Master's of Science in Dementia and Age Studies (MSDA) advocates human rights in a blend of applied public and clinical sociological gerontology courses. 

Texas State University alumni President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the Civil Rights Bill of 1964 – a milestone in human rights. Now, his alma mater is the first American university to offer a program championing human rights for elders and the cognitively disabled.

For Texas State faculty in the program, dementia is a “disability with abilities.” The program centers on supporting people with dementia in maintaining selfhood, relationships and wellbeing, while rejecting the negative lens through which dementia is typically conceptualized. People living with dementia are viewed as active participants in life. 

The program highlights a research-based approach to support “authentic partnerships,” a term that speaks to the concept of viewing people with dementia as being equal partners in their care. The term also promotes dementia citizenship, as opposed to ubiquitous viewpoints that perceive dementia as a tragedy or an “on-going funeral.”

Texas State’s Master's of Science in Dementia and Age Studies (MSDA) highlights dementia studies and offers in-depth education in aging and dementia services. Graduates are trained to manage various programs and organizations for a burgeoning elder population of people living dementia or to conduct studies in dementia and aging.

The Dementia Studies curriculum sets the MSDA apart from other gerontology programs and includes courses on a broad range of dementia topics such as “Caregiving and Dementia,” “Social Psychology of Dementia,” and “Clinical Sociology: Counseling Elders, End of Life.” 

About the Master's of Science in Dementia and Age Studies (MSDA) program

The MSDA is a 33-hour, online, interdisciplinary degree, with courses from the departments of Sociology, Long-Term Care and Communication Disorders, and is housed in the Sociology Department. The MSDA program equips graduates to work with older adults, either in dementia organization or Memory Care communities, conduct gerontological research, and manage various Memory Care or elder communities, programs and organizations. 

The MSDA program has three tracks: (1) Dementia and Long-Term Care; (2) Practitioner; and (3) Research. Each track offers different pathways for students upon graduation.  Each targets a specific student audience and is designed to advance career and professional aspirations.