The Ninety-Year-Old Student Who Finally Received Her Doctorate

We know many students whose doctoral studies take years longer than the average duration, but none likely compare to Ms. Colette Bourlier. This ninety-year-old French woman received her doctorate this week, thirty years after starting her research on migrant workers in eastern France. According to Sergei Ormaks, Ms. Bourlier's advisor, she wrote all four hundred pages of her dissertation by hand, not using a computer or typewriter. Ms. Bourlier's doctorate is in geography, awarded after a two-hour question and answer session with the university committee. According to the New York Times, Colette Bourlier was born in 1925 in Lyon, France. A history and geography teacher, she began her doctoral studies after retiring in 1983. When a New York Times reporter asked her why it took so long to obtain her degree, she said it was because she sometimes took breaks during her studies. She mentioned that she received a lot of encouragement from her advisor and the university committee and now feels very hopeful. Bourlier told the New York Times that now that her studies are complete, 'it's time to rest.' Last summer, a 102-year-old German Jewish woman, who had been unable to study due to Nazi laws, finally received her doctorate eighty years after starting her studies. Another of the oldest doctorate recipients is Ms. Liz Kirkby from Australia, who received her doctorate in economics from the University of Sydney in 2014 at the age of 93.