Man gets sixth degree - 50 years after his first

A man dressed in a graduation gown and hat smiling into the camera with a large building behind him. He is wearing a white shirt, black tie and the gown is black, yellow and red.Image source, Keele University
Image caption,

Gordon Mousinho picked up his sixth degree at his most recent graduation ceremony, in creative writing

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A man has graduated with his sixth degree from the same university - 50 years after his first.

Gordon Mousinho, from Chesham Bois, Buckinghamshire, studied for his first degree in history and law at Keele University, Staffordshire in 1975.

This year he graduated with a degree, a PhD in creative writing, a day before his 71st birthday.

He said: "I've always enjoyed keeping myself physically fit, and to keep fit mentally, learning and education is the best thing you can do."

A young man dressed in a graduation gown and hat looking into the camera with a large building behind him. He is wearing a white shirt, black tie and the gown is black, yellow and red.Image source, Keele University
Image caption,

Mr Mousinho's first PhD graduation in 1982

Mr Mousinho was the first in his family to go to university - and said the experience gave him a lifelong love of learning.

He said that although there was little formal university guidance back then, his family had been very supportive of him going to Keele.

In his first spell at the university, he completed four degrees – a bachelor of arts, a postgraduate certificate of education, a master of arts and a PhD.

After a career in management consulting, he completed two more degrees - another masters and another PhD.

"I always say Keele chose me rather than the other way around," he said.

The university retains much of the original charm that drew him there in the first place, he said, and the student community is much more diverse and inclusive than the 1970s.

Mr Mousinho's supervisor, Prof Tim Lustig, said: "Gordon was a fantastic student during his more recent masters and PhD studies, and his doctoral work enabled him to return from a new angle to a subject that has always fascinated him – the history of the United States."

In a "full circle" moment, his PhD was assessed by external examiner and author Francis Spufford, whose parents used to work at Keele as academics and who taught him when he first arrived at the university.

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