Mar 28, 2024  
Graduate Catalog 2015 - 2016 
    
Graduate Catalog 2015 - 2016 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Urban Education, Ph.D.


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College of Education and Human Services

Julka Hall 215
(216) 687-4697
http://www.csuohio.edu/cehs/doc/doc

Graham Stead, Doctoral Program Director

Programs of Study

Urban Education: Administration
Urban Education: Adult, Continuing and Higher Education
Urban Education: Counseling Psychology
Urban Education: Learning and Development
Urban Education: Policy Studies
Nursing Education

Introduction

The Ph.D. in Urban Education program develops the leadership skills of advanced graduate students to prepare them to affect change in urban educational, mental health, and healthcare settings. It is one of the few education doctoral programs in the nation in which a special focus on urban education is infused across different specializations. The conceptual framework and primary focus of the program is preparing the urban educational leader to affect change in the educational environment. The five primary knowledge bases of the Ph.D. program are research skills, an urban perspective, the social context of urban education, the urban learner, and organizational change and development. Concepts from education, urban policy planning, law, economics, psychology, public administration, sociology, political science, and organizational development constitute the core content in the urban educational context that underpins study in the specialty areas. Graduates of the program conduct research and play leadership roles in the areas of instruction, counseling, administration, and policy making in:

  • Schools
  • Community colleges
  • Colleges and universities
  • Business and industry
  • Allied health organizations
  • Social and community agencies
  • Hospitals
  • Government

Doctoral students acquire academic knowledge, research, and technical skills through their close relationship with the faculty and with their doctoral student peer group. Special features of the Urban Education doctoral program include:

  • Cohort of candidates
  • Urban laboratory
  • Research emphasis
  • Interdisciplinary core
  • Emphasis on organizational change
  • Advanced study in an area of specialized educational practice

The program consists of:

  • Core seminars (22 credits)
  • Research methodology seminars (minimum of 10 credits)
  • Specialized area of study (minimum of 20 post-master’s credits)
  • Dissertation in the area of specialization (minimum of 10 credits)

In the core seminars, a group of students remain intact as a continuously enrolled unit for two years of intensive study and discussion. The continuing intellectual association and support of this group meets the residency requirement of the doctoral program. The research methodology seminars provide quantitative and qualitative research skills essential to the creation of new knowledge and the solution of practical education problems. Courses in the specialized areas provide opportunities for advanced study of administration, counseling, teaching, and policy development in the urban context. The dissertation component follows a traditional model, adhering to the scholarship requirements of research for the Doctor of Philosophy degree.

Faculty Research and Publications

The faculty in the College of Education and Human Services has pursued a wide variety of research, in seven major areas:

  1. Equity issues, including race and ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic differences.
  2. Educational/developmental consequences for special needs/at risk children and youth populations frequently associated with urban environments and the development of educational programs that address these needs.
  3. Learning needs and programming for adults in contemporary, post-industrial urban life.
  4. The management, organizational development, and reform of educational institutions, especially urban public schools.
  5. Counseling and mental health issues of urban populations in the face of changing health care policy.
  6. The process of policy development, school reform, and implementation.
  7. School effectiveness research, including school, teacher, and community practices that impact students’ educational outcomes.

The faculty has been recognized for scholarly publications in more than eighty journals in the core and specialization areas. The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) accredits the College of Education and Human Services, and its programs meet the requirements of the Ohio Department of Education.

Current faculty information can be located on the Cleveland State University Faculty Profile page.

Financial Assistance

A limited number of graduate assistantships are available for students who wish to pursue full-time study. Research and teaching assistantships require twenty hours of service per week (see the section on Graduate Assistantships  in this Catalog). All graduate assistants must enroll for at least nine graduate credits per semester. Tuition Grant awards are also available for those students who desire to work no more than ten hours a week. Applications for assistantships and tuition grants must be made directly to the Office of Doctoral Studies, College of Education and Human Services, Julka Hall 212.

Admission Information for Ph.D. in Urban Education other specializations


The Doctoral Program admits a class of twenty students each year that proceeds as a cohort. Applicants must submit:

  1. A completed admission application form
  2. A check for the $30 application fee
  3. Official transcripts from all colleges and universities previously attended
  4. Official GRE test scores
  5. A current curriculum vita
  6. A statement of goals and objectives
  7. Two letters of recommendation. At least one should be from a college professor familiar with the applicant’s graduate-level academic ability.

Based on completed applications, a pool of candidates is invited to participate in further screening through an interview process with three members of the graduate faculty. To be invited for an interview, the applicant must have a minimum master’s grade-point average of 3.25 and meet three of the following five criteria:

  1. A minimum combined score of 1,000 (if taken prior to August 1, 2011) or 297 (GRE Revised) on the quantitative and verbal sections of the GRE within the past 5 years;
  2. A minimum rating of 4.0 in the analytical writing section of the GRE;
  3. Demonstrated research experience through a thesis or research project at the master’s level or an authored publication in a refereed research journal;
  4. Successful completion of at least two graduate research courses with a grade of B or better, prior to admission to the doctoral program
  5. Sustained professional experience (a minimum of three years) and success with urban economic, social, political, and/or educational issues as evidenced by the candidate’s portfolio and/or references. This can include evidence of extensive and successful leadership, policy or pedagogy innovations, teaching, or therapeutic performance. Applicants may submit additional supporting materials to document urban experience.

If a candidate who meets three of the above five criteria has a combined score below 950 on the verbal and quantitative sections of the GRE, the committee may recommend, upon acceptance, additional course work prior to beginning the doctoral program.

The application deadline is the first Monday in February. Students are admitted fall semester only. Submit application materials to the Campus 411 All-In-One, Main Classroom, Room 116, telephone (216) 687-5411. Materials will be forwarded for review to the Education Doctoral Studies Program Director.

The Doctoral Studies Committee makes an admission recommendation based on the applicant’s ability to meet the screening criteria stated above and the results of the interview. The admission action and supporting materials are transmitted to the applicant.

Apply Now: http://www.csuohio.edu/graduate-admissions/how-apply

Degree Requirements


Each student prepares a program of study with a faculty advisor. Components are as follows:

Specializations (20 credits minimum)


Requirements for specializations are listed under their heading below.

School Administration (20 credits minimum)


The School Administration specialization requires as a prerequisite a master’s degree in administration and leads to a state license for various administrative positions.

Counseling Psychology (52 credits)


Counseling Psychology requires prior Master’s study in counseling, psychology, or a closely related field. This specialization trains counseling psychologists who have the requisite knowledge base and therapeutic skills for entry into the practice of professional psychology and competent practice within a multicultural diverse urban society, and will contribute to and/or apply the scientific knowledge base of psychology using skills in research methods. This curriculum meets academic prerequisites for eligibility for licensing as a psychologist in the State of Ohio.

Adult, Continuing and Higher Education (24 credits minimum)


The Adult, Continuing and Higher Education specialization accepts applicants from a broader range of master’s study and prepares them for administrative roles in higher education and adult education, including human resource development and community agencies.

Pre-Requisite:

Electives (4 credits minimum)

Students choose, in consultation with advisors, at least four additional credit hours in the areas of adult learning and development, human resource development, planning/budgeting, leadership, and professional ethics.

Learning and Development (20 credits minimum)


The Learning and Development specialization accepts applicants interested in the improvement of instruction through understanding individual differences in learners and learning environments with an emerging emphasis on technology. Graduates pursue teaching and instructional leadership roles in K-12, teacher, higher education, and adult education settings.

Electives (8 credits minimum)

At least eight additional credit hours approved by the advisor.

Students in the Learning and Development track may also specialize in a specific curricular area.

Policy Studies (20 credits minimum)


Policy Studies accepts applicants with a broader range of master’s-level study and prepares them for policy-leadership and school-reform roles in a variety of educational settings.

Nursing Education (20 credits minimum)


This specialization prepares professional nurses for faculty positions in nursing education leadership roles. Applicants must hold a Master of Science in Nursing degree, an active unrestricted nursing license, and have recent experience in nursing practice and/or education. The core and specialization courses will expand their understanding of the various aspects of educating individuals to function in a complex applied discipline. The research sequence will prepare them to engage in original research in areas related to educating nurses at all levels.

Note(s):

Students wishing to replace a course listed above with another will need to seek permission from the School of Nursing through their advisor.

Computer Language Requirement


Students are required to take EDU 715  or demonstrate proficiency in the computer language, SPPS.

Advancement to Candidacy


Eligibility for candidacy is determined on the basis of successful performance on written comprehensive examinations. The examinations are to be taken following the completion of the core and research seminars/courses, and after the completion of at least twelve credit hours in the area of specialization.

Students who fail to attain the required level of competence on the comprehensive examinations may retake them, but only after completing additional preparatory course work and/or study. The core and research examinations are administered every semester. Specialization examinations are administered in Fall and Spring semesters.

Exit Requirements


All candidates must complete a dissertation (10 credits minimum) that adds to the research knowledge about urban education. The student begins prospectus development in the second year of the program in concert with the Dissertation Advisor. A committee comprised of the advisor and two additional faculty members is named when the student is advanced to candidacy. The process includes the following steps:

  1. Prospectus/Specialization Hearing. When the candidate completes a dissertation prospectus to the advisor’s satisfaction, the Dissertation Committee conducts an oral examination on the prospectus and the area of specialization.
  2. When the candidate has completed the dissertation, a final oral examination is held before the Dissertation Committee. Acceptance of the dissertation and recommendation for conferring the Ph.D. degree is contingent upon majority Committee approval. If the candidate is not initially successful, the oral examination may be repeated once after appropriate revision of the dissertation.

Total Credit Hours (67 credits minimum)


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