Urban Education PhD

Degree Awarded:  Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Minimum Required Credits: 54
Co-op Option(s): None
Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code: 13.0101
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code: 25-1081

About the Program

The PhD in Urban Education is designed for scholars who care deeply about how people learn and thrive in city contexts. It brings together teaching, learning, leadership, and policy to help students understand how education takes shape across classrooms, community spaces, and public systems. Grounded in a belief that communities hold knowledge, the program invites students to listen, learn, and study alongside educators, youth, and families. Students explore how history, place, and lived experience shape opportunity, and how research can help us imagine and build meaningful learning environments.

Throughout the program, students develop the tools to ask important questions and pursue them with care and rigor. They engage with qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods, learning how to study complex educational experiences and systems. By the end of the program, graduates are prepared to design thoughtful research, interpret findings with nuance, and share their work in ways that matter; to scholars, practitioners, and communities. The goal is to contribute to knowledge that supports just and responsive experiences.

Learning in the program is collaborative and grounded in real contexts. Students move through coursework that explores urban education, curriculum, leadership, and/or policy, while seminars create space for conversation, reflection, and the shaping of individual research paths. Many learning experiences extend beyond the classroom, connecting students with schools, community organizations, and cross-sector partners. These experiences help students see research as something relational, built through trust, collaboration, and deep understanding of context.

Graduates of the program pursue a range of pathways, including careers as university faculty, teacher educators, policy researchers, and leaders in schools and community-based organizations. They leave prepared to work across boundaries and bring people together around shared questions and possibilities. Here, we aspire for students to not only study urban education, but to be part of it, contributing to work that supports more just, connected, and hopeful futures.

Admission Requirements

The ideal candidate will have a research-oriented master’s degree in an area relevant to their desired specialization, a GPA of 3.25 (ideally 3.5 on a 4.0 scale).

The Ph.D. in Education program uses a holistic application process and does not require the GRE as criteria for admission. All applicants are required to submit the following materials: Graduate school application; Official transcripts from all undergraduate and graduate study; Resume or curriculum vitae; Statement of Purpose (centering on how the applicant seeks to develop research that focuses on and includes aspects of social justice and equity in education).

The applicant should be sure to indicate how their interests coincide with those of particular School of Education faculty members. (Visit the School of Education website for a list of current faculty research interests.); Three letters of reference from people familiar with prior academic performance. Applications that include recommendation letters from SoE faculty members discussing common interests and indicating their interest in working with the applicant will be given priority consideration.(Note: This letter of recommendation is in addition to the required three letters of recommendation addressing prior academic performance and future potential); Program writing prompt: Within the School of Education PhD program, social justice is central to our program and course structure. Can you address how social justice and diversity issues relate to your potential research focus? If you have not had direct experience in this area, please tell us about your aspirations of infusing social justice and diversity scholarship into your potential research focus; Applicant Zoom interviews (select candidates will be invited to interview after all the applicant's materials are reviewed by committee); The School of Education admissions committee will review each application, and prior to acceptance, an interview may be required.

Degree Requirements

Program Learning Outcomes