School of Education

Departmental URL: education.indianapolis.iu.edu/academics/degrees-programs/doctoral/urban-education/

Curriculum

Curriculum
Faculty

Degree Offered

Doctor of Philosophy

Admission

Admission to the urban education studies doctoral program is competitive and requires faculty approval. Admission is based on an applicant's qualifications, submitted application materials (including official transcripts*, resume/curriculum vitae, writing sample, personal statements, letters of recommendation), a personal interview, and references.  The GRE is not required for admission. In addition, the IU School of Education Indianapolis follows standard policies and procedures of the IU Indianapolis Graduate School.

A master's degree is required for admission to the program. If you are enrolled in a master's program at the time you apply but have not yet completed the program, you must do so before you begin urban education studies doctoral course work.

Application Deadline

The priority application deadline is July 1^st of each year. Here is information about the application requirements: education.indianapolis.iu.edu/admissions-aid/apply/doctoral/

To apply, complete the online application and submit the required documents.

Program specific questions can be directed to the program coordinator, Dr. Jim Scheurich at jscheuri@iu.edu.

Course Requirements

90 credit hours of coursework including:

Urban Education Studies Major (36 credit hours)

Required courses (21 credit hours)

• EDUC-T 620 Issues in Urban Education (3)
• EDUC-T 650 Teaching Internship in Urban Education (3)
• EDUC-T 670 Urban Educational Change: Advocacy and Action (3)
• EDUC-T 750 Topical Seminar in Urban Education (6-taken twice for 3 credit hours each)
• EDUC-T 701 Introduction to Critical Race Theory (3)
• EDUC T-702 Proseminar in Urban Education (3)
• EDUC-T 706 Gender Diversity in Schools and Curriculum (3)

Additional possible course choices (15 credit hours) 

• EDUC-A 560 Political Perspectives of Education (3)
• EDUC-A 653 The Organizational Context of Education (3)
• EDUC-A 672 Moral Dimensions of Leadership (3)
• EDUC-H 520 Education and Social Issues (3)
• EDUC-H 530 Philosophy of Education (3)
• EDUC-J 500 Instruction in the Context of Curriculum (3)
• EDUC-J 630 Curriculum Theory and Practice (3)
• EDUC-K 553 Classroom Management (3)
• EDUC-K 548 Families, School and Society (3)
• EDUC-L 500 Instructional Issues in Language Learning (3)
• EDUC-L 524 Language Education Issues in Bilingual and Multicultural Education (3)
• EDUC-L 540 ESL/EFL Instruction and Assessment Approaches (3)
• EDUC-P 507 Assessment in Schools (3)
• EDUC-T 515 Inter-professional Collaboration in Urban Schools and Communities (3)
• EDUC-T 531 Organizational Change in Cultural & Linguistically Diverse Schools (3)
• EDUC-T 630 Topics in Urban Education: Variable Topics (3)
• EDUC-T 550 Cultural/Community Forces and the Schools (3)
• EDUC-Y 510 Action Research I (3)

Research core (15 credit hours)

• EDUC-Y 521 Methodological Approaches to Educational Inquiry (3)
• EDUC-Y 502 Intermediate Statistics Applied to Education (3)
• EDUC-Y 611 Qualitative Inquiry in Education (3)
• EDUC-Y 650 Topics in Inquiry Methodology (3). Topic: Multivariate Statistics in Education Research
• EDUC-Y 711 Advanced Critical Qualitative Inquiry

Minor (12 to 18 credit hours)

In consultation with and approval of your Advisory Committee, you will identify a Minor area of study. The Minor either can be individual, meaning the student and their chair, developed a thematic Minor or can be a formal Minor, meaning the student has to take a set of required courses. Course credit hours taken to satisfy PhD Minor requirements may vary depending on the Department/School through which the Minor is completed.

Electives (9 to 15 credit hours)

In consultation with and approval of your Advisory Committee, you will take Elective courses that give you additional breadth of knowledge around your particular interests and contributes to a coherent plan of study.

Together, the Minor and Elective courses must total a minimum of 24 credit hours.

Dissertation (15 credit hours)

• EDUC- T 795 Doctoral Proposal Preparation in Urban Education (3)
• EDUC- T 798 Dissertation Seminar (3)
• EDUC- T 799 Doctoral Thesis in Urban Education (12)

Advisory Committee

All students in the Urban Education Studies PhD program, with approval of the program coordinator, will select an advisory committee of three faculty members, one of whom represents the student’s minor area of study. 

Qualifying Examination

All students must complete a qualifying examination focused on comprehensive understanding of program coursework including both a written component and an oral defense.

Research Committee

Upon successful completion of coursework, qualifying dossier, and qualifying examinations, students, with approval of the program coordinator, will select a research committee of four faculty members including one outside member. The research committee must approve the proposed and completed dissertation study.

Final Examination

Oral defense of dissertation.

Minors offered by the School of Education

PhD Minor in School Counseling

A minor in School Counseling requires 12 credit hours of the following courses or their equivalent:  G522 (Counseling Theory), G523 (Counseling Techniques), G552 (Career Counseling) and G575 (Multicultural Counseling).  Determining equivalency for these courses will need to occur in consultation with a Counseling/Counselor Education faculty member, and transferred courses must come from Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs (CACREP) accredited programs.

PhD Minor in Education Law, Policy & Advocacy

The Educational Law, Policy, & Advocacy PhD minor requires students to complete 12 credit hours. Of the 12 credits, 3 credits are elective and may be fulfilled through the School of Education or other schools (e.g., O'Neill, Social Work, Law) with minor advisor approval. Courses must be at the graduate level and support students' research interests. The combination of coursework focuses on topics related to educational law, leadership, and policy.

PhD Minor in Educational Leadership

The Educational Leadership PhD minor requires students to complete 12 credits of A-prefixed doctoral level courses that support students’ research interests. A-prefixed courses focus on topics related to K-12 educational administration, leadership and policy. This minor provides students in the Urban Education Studies PhD program, and other PhD programs at IU Indianapolis with a minor option that focuses on research, practice and policy related to educational administration. This minor would be valuable for students (in any school) whose research interest overlaps with issues related to educational organizations, policy and leadership. It is recommended that the 12 credit hours of coursework be at 600-level or above.

PhD Minor in Mathematics Education

The Mathematics Education Minor requires 15 credit hours of coursework and is designed to help doctoral students learn about research on the learning and teaching of mathematics, and research on the preparation of mathematics teachers. The minor will be personalized, designed by the student and his/her minor advisor. Students are required to take a minimum of 2 doctoral seminars in mathematics education (normally N716) and 3 credits of independent study (N590) or internship (N610) in mathematics education. The remaining 6 hours can be chosen from N543, NS l 7, N518, N590, N610, or N716. There is no qualifying exam required for the mathematics education minor. However, there is the expectation that at least one question of the qualifying exams for the urban education studies doctoral degree will be related to the minor area. 

Combined Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Education Studies and Master of Jurisprudence

Students who successfully complete this dual degree program will receive a Master of Jurisprudence Degree (MJ) from the Robert H. McKinney School of Law and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree from the IU Graduate School and IU School of Education Indianapolis.  As stand-alone degrees, the MJ degree is 30 credit hours and the PhD degree is 90 credit hours.  The dual MJ/PhD degree is at least 90 credit hours.  Both degrees must be conferred simultaneously.

Admissions Requirements

Applicants to the dual MJ-PhD degree must apply and be admitted to each program separately and must adhere to the admissions requirements and prerequisite courses stipulated by each program. The student’s decision to complete the dual MJ-PhD degree must be declared to the MJ and PhD programs.

PhD students are required to have a master’s degree for admissions into the PhD program, and PhD students have the option to transfer 30 credits of their master’s degree into their PhD Program of Studies.  Dual degree students will have the combination of two options: (1) they may transfer all 24 credits of the MJ into the PhD Program of Studies and have an additional 6 credits to transfer in so long as all credits are of grades no lower than B and complies with University Graduate School policies; (2) they may transfer all MJ credits with grades no lower than B and have the option to transfer additional master’s credits per University Graduate School policies up to a total of 30 credit hours.  MJ credits will first satisfy the PhD minor requirements and allow for elective credits to have a potential combination of MJ and other master’s credits.  Dual degree students will have an individualized PhD minor. 

Review the admission requirements for the Urban Education Studies, doctoral program.

Information about the MJ program and admission process is available here: mckinneylaw.iu.edu/admissions/mj/