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PhD in Urban Education

The PhD program in Urban Education is geared toward training highly qualified scholars in K-16 urban education with emphasis in supporting students’ deeper understanding and application of law, policy, the social and cultural contexts of education, and evaluation and research methods within the urban context. The program is built around an innovative, experiential, research-focused curriculum that prepares scholars to address the multifaceted issues facing urban education, and will prepare students to be nationally competitive for research careers in both academic and non-academic institutions.

Quick Facts

  • Program Duration: 5 years
  • Time Commitment: Full-time
  • Term of Enrollment: Fall Term
  • Application Deadline: December 1
  • Course Requirements: 90 credits 
  • Application Requirements: GRE exam is not required


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Program Details

Students will engage and work with active researchers who integrate research, theory, and practice as they develop expertise in urban education. They will engage in critical scholarship on diversity, equity, and social justice, as well as with coursework that scaffolds their scientific writing and research methodology skills. Each cohort will be socialized in professional skills (e.g., collaboration with research teams, school and community partners; oral and written presentations). Coursework, immersion into research methodology, experiential learning experiences, and exposure to diverse theoretical perspectives will comprehensively equip students to examine and research real-world, complex educational issues. In turn, students will be expected to produce dissertations that address the scope of issues confronting stakeholders in urban schools and contexts.

We are confident that through engagement in coursework, intensive research, and hands-on experiential engagement with the broader urban context, the PhD in Urban Education program will produce the next generation of urban education scholars. 

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Degree Requirements

A minimum of 90 credits are required for graduation:

  • Required core courses: 24 credits
  • Cognate courses: 0-18 credits either taken or transferred from outside the SOE 
  • Required research methodology courses: 18 credits 
  • Field placement/teaching practicum: 6 credits 
  • Proseminars/Writing workshops: 6-8 credits 
  • Electives: 0-9 credits 
  • Dissertation: 18 credits 

Field Placement/Teaching Practicum (2 courses, 6 credits): Two semesters spent in supervised field placement in areas relevant to the Urban Education PhD Program. Potential sites for field placement include local non-profit institutions, RAND Corporation, (through application through their summer internship program), and the Center for Urban Education. Students may also fulfill one semester in a field placement and one spent developing instructional skills for teaching at the university level (as an instructor or co-instructor with a faculty member) or developing a course under the supervision of a faculty member (e.g., an online course in an area relevant to Urban Education).

Comprehensive Exam (Year 3): A topical paper or response to at least two essay questions (requirement of one or both options at ARCO discretion). Students will either write a topical, comprehensive paper or respond to (a minimum of) 2 essay questions that address (a) a theory and content question drawn from their reading list (agreed upon with committee chair); and (b) a design question, also created by ARCO faculty (e.g., designing a study appropriate for their dissertation, or responding to a hypothetical scenario in which the student designs a study appropriate to their field on an enduring, central question in the field).

Prerequisites

For students who do not have bachelor degrees in appropriate academic disciplines, 18 credits must be taken outside of the Pitt School of Education in the appropriate academic disciplines. Students with a master’s degree in an appropriate academic discipline do not have to take any courses outside of the Pitt School of Education and 18 credits from their masters will count here for cognate courses. Students with a bachelor’s degree in an appropriate academic discipline are only required to take 9 credits outside of the Pitt School of Education in appropriate academic disciplines.  

Core Faculty

Career Pathways

Upon completion of the PhD in Urban Education program, graduates may pursue higher education faculty and administration positions, as well as public and/or private, for-profit and nonprofit sector research positions.

Program graduates that choose to seek employment in higher education may apply for faculty or postdoctoral fellowship positions at any one of the national universities that recruit urban educational scholars for their doctorate level Urban Education program.

In addition, there are numerous schools of educations and programs nationally that also employ scholars who specialize in urban education. 

Admissions Requirements Tuition and Fees