Courses
The four-year, full-time program is offered on a semester calendar beginning in August, with courses taught at USC’s University Park Campus in Los Angeles. The PhD program requires a minimum of 63 units of course work. Please note that concentration specific skills and knowledge are primarily acquired through your research assistantship, teaching assistantship, directed research units, cognate and elective courses and professional development opportunities.
Year 1
Fall Semester
Proseminar in Education
Introduction to faculty and their research; provides professional development on a variety of topics.
Foundations and Design of Educational Research
Build knowledge, skills and perspective to design and carry out scholarship as an educational researcher.
Research, Policy, and Practice in Urban Education
Development of urban education through the social, historical and political lens as it shapes and influences education research and policy.
Introduction to Quantitative Methods
Basic concepts of quantitative/statistical methods common in education research, emphasizing applications with data. Introduces sampling, types of validity, statistical inference, bivariate analysis, internal/external validity.
Spring Semester
Proseminar in Education
Introduction to faculty and their research; provides professional development on a variety of topics.
Organizations and Policy: Current Issues
Study of contemporary issues in educational organizations, policy and change in K-12 and higher education with an explicit focus on the improvement of urban education.
Racism & Anti-Blackness in Education
This course is designed to provide doctoral students meaningful preparation in building and honing their research skills and expertise to dismantle systems of racism and anti-Blackness in education.
Multiple Regression
Multiple regression, factorial analysis of variance, path analysis.
Doctoral Screening*
Summer Semester
Proseminar in Education
Introduction to faculty and their research; provides professional development on a variety of topics.
Qualitative Methods 1
Introduces qualitative methodologies, qualitative data collection and analysis techniques, support in drafting research proposals, and paradigms on how to critically think about inquiry.
Controversies in Learning and Instruction
An introduction to learning research and theory, issues in learning and educational psychology situated in the context of diverse, urban settings.
Directed Research
Year 2
Fall Semester
Research Course
Cognate Course 1
Directed Research
Spring Semester
Research Course
Cognate Course 2
Directed Research
Teaching Assistantship*
Summer Semester
Research Course
Education Course
Directed Research
Year 3
Fall Semester
Cognate Course 3
Concentration Course
Preparation for qualifying exam
Spring Semester
Final Research Course
Qualifying Exam*
Summer Semester
Preparation for Dissertation Proposal
Dissertation Proposal*
Year 4
Fall Semester
Dissertation Course
Spring & Summer Semesters
Dissertation Course
Dissertation Defense*
Graduation!*
* Non-course milestones