Curriculum and Degree Information

Find information about required and elective coursework to be completed during students' time at The Graduate Center.
Course of Study
All students in the Ph.D. Program in Urban Education will be required to complete four core courses:
- Historical Contexts of Urban Education
- Pedagogy and the Urban Classroom
- Introduction into Research Methods
- Educational Policy
In addition to the core courses, there is a required one-credit core colloquium seminar, that will be taken in the first semester.
The core courses are unified by two themes that run through them all: the interdependence of curricular and policy issues, and the connections between research methodologies and fundamental questions of knowledge, its nature and reliability. All courses address issues of cultural, historical, and political dimensions of inquiry.
By taking the core courses as cohort groups, students with diverse backgrounds and intended areas of interest will begin the process of collaborative inquiry that is central to the structure of this program. At every stage of their doctoral studies, students will learn to articulate their research questions, procedures, and outcomes with those of other students approaching related problems from different perspectives.
Students are also required to take 9 credits of courses related to methodology, one in quantitative research, one in qualitative research methods, and an advanced research methods course.
Electives fulfill 27 credits of coursework that advance students’ trajectories in their chosen research topic.
Research Methods Courses
Research methods courses fulfill the required 9 credits. The program requires a 3-credit quantitative and 3-credit qualitative course, and students select a third (3-credit) methods course including (but not limited to) the following: research design, statistical reasoning and analyses, ethnographic methods and data analysis; visual and narrative research methods, document analysis, policy, historical, and philosophical analyses, among others.
Exams and Dissertation
The student is advanced to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree after completing:
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all program requirements
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passing all parts of the First and Second Examination
Dissertation Oral Examination: The Ph.D. is awarded after the dissertation
See details: Exams and Dissertation Requirements.