94-year-old earns masters degree

Adelaide, Australia -- A 94-year-old great-great-grandmother in Australia has become the oldest person in the world to earn a master's degree.

Phyllis Turner, who dropped out of primary school at the age of 12, earned her masters in medical science from Adelaide University, the Melbourne Herald Sun reported Friday.

Turner resumed her education at the age of 70 after leaving primary school nearly 60 years earlier to help her mother care for her siblings. She earned honors in anthropology in 2002 from the university and moved on to Adelaide's medical school for her masters.

"I feel very, very happy after five years of study, but sorry that I am just a little bit immobilized," said Turner, who uses a walking stick.

Turner's daughter, Anne O'Herran, said her mother is being officially entered into the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest higher degree research graduate.

"She is a strong old matriarch," granddaughter Sue Rudall said.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International.