The mission of the USC Rossier School of Education is to improve urban education locally, nationally and globally. The Ph.D. program in Urban Education Policy is a full-time, on-site program designed for students whose policy interests are aligned with our urban mission, and who plan to pursue careers as university faculty and research scholars.

Program Curriculum

The Ph.D. program curriculum stems from our mission and vision. Areas of concentration include K-12 policy and practice, higher education policy and administration, teacher education, and measurement, assessment and evaluation. Courses incorporate both quantitative and qualitative methodology and provide core knowledge of urban education policy that includes our four academic themes: leadership, learning, accountability and diversity. Students gain an integrated understanding of global education issues from intellectual encounters on campus and opportunities to participate in study throughout the Asia Pacific rim.

Research Forms Foundation

Research forms the foundation of the Ph.D. program and is fundamental to the mission of USC and the Rossier School of Education. USC is one of the nation's major research institutions, ranking top among U.S. private universities in dollar volume of federal research support. This commitment to scholarship ensures that all Ph.D. students benefit from research opportunities. There are four dynamic and highly active research centers within the Rossier School of Education:

• The Center for Cognitive Technology (CCT)
• The Center on Educational Governance (CEG)
• The Center for Higher Education Policy Analysis (CHEPA)
• The Center for Urban Education (CUE)

Program Emphasis

The emphasis of the program is Urban Education Policy and within this focus students have the opportunity to conduct research in the following areas:

Governance and Accountability

Governance and accountability - policies regarding access to higher education, equity and diversity, administration and governance, equity and quality of education, measurement, assessment and evaluation, student retention, urban school reform, and teacher preparation. Faculty doing research in these areas include Professors Bensimon, Brewer, Cole, Dowd, Gallagher, Kezar, Melguizo, Picus, Stillman, Tierney, Wohlstetter

Economics and Finance

Economics and finance - economics of urban education, school finance and management, resource allocation and utilization, teacher labor markets, microeconomics of schooling and public sector organizations. Faculty doing research in these areas include Professors Brewer, Burch, Dowd, Melguizo, Picus, Strunk

Organizational Leadership

Organizational leadership - human behavior in organizations, organizational theory and structure, organizational development and change, organizational leadership, and motivation and productivity. Faculty doing research in these areas include Professors Hentschke, Kezar, Tierney, Wohlstetter

Politics and Public Policy

Politics and public policy - policy process from agenda setting to policy implementation and evaluation, urban politics, and the laws and politics of education at local, state, and federal levels, and international education policy with a focus on the Pacific Rim. Faculty doing research in these areas include Professors Brewer, Hentschke, Stillman, Tierney, Wohlstetter

Learning and Motivation

Learning and motivation - educational psychology including student development, instructional and motivational strategies, neuroscience of learning, and social context of instruction and learning. Faculty doing research in these areas include Professors Clark, Cole, O'Neil, Riconscente, Rueda, Stillman