Course Schedule
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 and Summer Semesters
- Dissertation Course
- Dissertation Defense*
- Graduation!*
*Non-course milestones
Program Contacts
Laura Romero
Director, PhD Program
rsoephd@rossier.usc.edu (213) 821-1517
Alex Hazard
Assistant Director, PhD Program