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
EDUC-683 1 unit

Introduction to faculty and their research; provides professional development on a variety of topics.

Foundations and Design of Educational Research
EDUC 665 4 units

Build knowledge, skills and perspective to design and carry out scholarship as an educational researcher.

Research, Policy, and Practice in Urban Education
EDUC-681 4 units

Development of urban education through the social, historical and political lens as it shapes and influences education research and policy.

Introduction to Quantitative Methods
EDUC-682 3 units

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
EDUC-682 1 unit

Introduction to faculty and their research; provides professional development on a variety of topics.

Organizations and Policy: Current Issues
EDUC-630 4 units

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
EDUC 667 4 units

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
EDPT-652

Multiple regression, factorial analysis of variance, path analysis.

Doctoral Screening*

Summer Semester

Proseminar in Education
EDUC-683 1 unit

Introduction to faculty and their research; provides professional development on a variety of topics.

Qualitative Methods 1
EDUC-651 3 units

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
EDUC-642 4 units

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