UK student earns doctorate after studying PhD for 52 years

Author: Chany Ninrew | Published: Thursday, February 16, 2023

Dr Nick Axten began his PhD in America in 1970. (University of Bristol/BBC).

A 76-year-old student has finally earned his doctorate from the University of Bristol more than 50 years after starting his PhD.

According to the BBC, Dr Nick Axten started his thesis on mathematical sociology at the University of Pittsburgh in the US in 1970.

But he could not finish his PhD studies after five years, when he returned to the UK.

The University of Bristol conferred him a Doctor of Philosophy in front of his wife and 11-year-old granddaughter.

He had been awarded a prestigious Fulbright scholarship, but said his research had been “exceptionally difficult”.

“Some problems are so great it takes the best part of a lifetime to get your head around them. They need a long hard think,” he told BBC.

Dr Axten’s research is a new theory for understanding human behaviour.

It is based on the values each person holds, which Dr Axten believes has the potential to change the view of behavioural psychology.

Now a dad of two and grandfather of four, he started his undergraduate degree in Leeds in 1967.

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