At 75 I Was Awarded a Free Ph.D.

Retiree Thomas Lombardo on tuition-free programs—like the one he attended—for those 62 and older.

Thomas Lombardo with his mortar board. “Because I graduated in Summer, Georgia State did not hold a graduation ceremony that quarter. So, I didn’t buy the gown.”

“Congratulations! Your future is about to start.”

There was a sentiment I hadn’t encountered in quite a few decades. The words were gold-embossed on a letter accompanying my Ph.D. degree, awarded August 11, 2025 by the Georgia State University English Department.

I had begun my studies 10 years ago, when I was 65. Most people I knew who were my age were slowing down, then. I, on the other hand, was speeding up—straight into a Ph.D. program. Courses, seminars, my dissertation, faculty meetings. For nearly ten years, my classmates were fifty years younger, and my professors younger by decades. And I was the one lugging my backpack across campus despite knee, hip, and spinal surgery scars. It turned out to be one of the more surprising and time-consuming adventures of my life, but also one of the most rewarding.

It took me a year-and-a-half to finish my coursework: reading and responding to Dickinson, Browning, Milton, Barrett Browning, Hemans, Poe, Sexton, Thoreau, Bang, Shakespeare, Stone, Spenser. It took me the next eight-and-a-half years to conceive, research, write, and defend my dissertation.

All that came with no tuition; the state of Georgia paid for all ten years because I was over 62. (Other states offer similar programs. See below for a state-by-state listing.) Even better—in addition to tuition remission, I got paid a stipend to teach as a Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA). For the first eight years, I taught in person (except during one Covid year Then my spinal surgery at the end of Fall 2024 and its long recovery forced me to teach in Online Asynchronous mode from my home, in Spring 2025.

I had begun my studies 10 years ago, when I was 65. Most people I knew who were my age were slowing down, then. I, on the other hand, was speeding up—straight into a Ph.D. program. Courses, seminars, my dissertation, faculty meetings.

Because I’d worked many years of my first career as an executive (from which I retired at 60), the English Department asked me to teach Business Writing twelve times during my years as a Gradate Teaching Assistant. Seven or eight times I also taught English 1101 and 1102 (Basic English Composition) to first-year students. My uber-schedule during those years was two courses in Fall and one course in Spring. I was paid $5000 per course. During most of this time, my wife continued her career, earning six figures.

That’s right: I went to grad school for free and got paid a stipend to teach. A pretty great deal for a retired editor living on Social Security. And then, in my final summer semester of 2025, I was asked by the English department to teach a seminar series for other Graduate Teaching Asssistants entitled, “How To Teach Business Writing.” My fourteen seminar participants were all GTAs in their mid-twenties who wanted to teach Business Writing. Some of them were brilliant. But only one had business writing experience. The English Department paid me a stipend of $4500 over the summer to teach those seminars.

In the decade I spent as a grad student, I observed the challenges facing higher education. English Departments are shrinking. Tenured professors retire without replacements. Brilliant graduate students cycle through with little hope of long-term academic jobs. It seems to me a losing game as fewer students take advanced English degrees. Higher education now seems high on a STEM environment, and English ain’t the E in that acronym. I predict further decline in English departments in all colleges and universities, following a path to extinction like history and philosophy and other non-STEM degrees that have disappeared. Perhaps A.I. will take over teaching (and writing) English?

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Here’s how “tuition remission” was first born in in the U.S.: the Georgia legislature added oldsters to get the Lottery bill passed in 1983. That’s 42 years ago! The Democrats needed Republican votes to pass this Lottery bill, and thus, to appease Republicans, the Democrats reserved some Lottery revenue for the tuition-remission costs for 18-24 year olds AND for oldsters of 62 and older. Other states have followed Georgia’s lead in the 62+ age group. There are now 24 states that offer some level of tuition remission for oldsters. Rules vary. Some offer full degrees, others just non-credit courses. A couple of them start as early as 55 years old. If you’re curious, check your state at the bottom of the piece.

For nearly ten years, my classmates were fifty years younger, and my professors younger by decades. And I was the one lugging my backpack across campus despite knee, hip, and spinal surgery scars. It turned out to be one of the more surprising and time-consuming adventures of my life, but also one of the most rewarding.

I heard about this GSU-62 program from a woman who was taking courses in painting (canvases, not houses). I met her at a neighborhood dining club I attended when I was 50. I took the last seat, right next to her. She must have been 80-ish, with coifed silver hair held up in a bun with a rhinestone clip. The dinner turned serendipitous as she discussed her drawing and painting courses under the GSU-62 tuition remission program.

Lombardo’s Ph.D.

Over dessert she raised her eyebrows and explained that the nude models were included in the course tuition, although tips were encouraged, and she gave each model a $20 bill. This 80-something woman, planted the “tuition remission” seed in my 50-something brain, and years later, her information literally changed my life, though I chose the English canon over nude models. I know of one other person, a neighbor who learned about GSU-62 from me. She finished an advanced degree in the GSU Business College, then got an Admin job at Georgia Tech. I suppose that among the elders who take Georgia’s tuition-free college courses, some are dabbling in hobbies, while others are taking courses that lead to jobs.

As for me, I did not pursue a Ph.D. for either purpose. I did it for fun. The courses and the dissertation were challenging but rewarding work. I enjoyed the adventure of it all. I especially enjoyed the English Department paying me a stipend to teach for nine years. Truly, that “How To Teach Business Writing” seminar became my swan song in the English Department, because I received my degree August 11, 2025, and I got kicked out the door. No more stipend, tossed off the gsu.edu email. Ten years of emails cruelly erased. My Ph.D. now seems like a fossil.

Then, a month later, when the embossed letter arrived with my newly minted advanced degree—“Congratulations! Your future is about to start—” I believed it! At 75, my future has just begun. What will I do next?

Well…this essay paid a small fee, so that’s a start.

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Twenty-four universities with tuition remission for Oldsters:

Source: Best Colleges

1. California State University System

2. All State-funded South Carolina Colleges and Universities

3. All State-funded Georgia Colleges and Universities

4. All State-funded Kentucky Colleges and Universities

5. Northern Michigan University

6. Michigan Technological University

7. The University of Rhode Island

8. Rhode Island College

9. University of Alaska

10. University of Arkansas

11. Henderson State University

12. Arkansas State University – Mountain Home

13. All Public Connecticut Colleges and Universities

14. University of Delaware, Delaware State University, and Delaware Technical and Community College

15. All Public Illinois Universities

16. All Public Louisiana Colleges and Universities

17. University of Maine System

18. University of Maryland System

19. All Public Massachusetts Colleges and Universities

20. All Minnesota State Colleges and Universities

21. Mississippi State University, Hinds Community College, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, and the University of Mississippi

22. All Montana University System Schools

23. University of Texas

24. All Public Virginia Colleges and Universities

If your state’s on that list, you must go to the link and find your institution for specifics. Check the fine print—some programs start as early as age 55, some restrict certain fields, like medicine or music. Check to see whether your state pays your tuition for your courses or degrees, in creative writing, painting, biology, English, psychology, health care, business admin, etc.

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