Course Schedule
The course schedule below should be used as an example. Contact your admission representative to discuss your specific course schedule. No part time option is available for this program.
Year 1
On-Campus Orientation: August (Date TBD)
As a student in the program, you are highly encouraged to attend a one-day orientation on the USC University Park Campus. The orientation experience will provide the opportunity to meet your classmates and faculty members, develop the academic skills necessary for success in the program and explore a process for critical reflection. Travel and accommodations for orientation are not included in the cost of the program.
Fall Semester
Foundations of Urban Education | EDUE 700 | 3 Units
Explore urban P-20 education through social, historical, and political lenses and learn how research and policy shape professional practice in Los Angeles and the United States.
Foundations of Leadership in Education | EDUE 701 | 3 Units
Gain foundational knowledge about leadership theory and practice to support your development as a critically conscious leader who takes action to address inequities in urban contexts.
Spring Semester
Foundations in Learning | EDUE 702 | 3 Units
Facilitate learning in urban contexts by understanding how culture, identity, and power influence learners’ opportunities to learn.
Power, Diversity and Equity | EDUE 703 | 3 Units
Explore power, diversity and equity through the social, historical and political lenses as these constructs shape and impact education (P-20) research, policy and professional practice.
Summer Session
Concentration Course One | 3 Units
View the concentrations dropdowns at the bottom of this page for the list of courses by concentration.
Leadership Enactment | EDUE 704 | 3 Units
Acquire or deepen knowledge and skills related to acting as a critically conscious leaders who addresses existing educational inequities.
Year 2
Fall Semester
Research Methods 1 | EDUE 726 | 3 Units
Explore the historically complex relationship between education research, education (in)equity and personal practice, and the possibilities of research to foster justice in education.
Concentration Course Two | 3 Units
View the concentrations dropdowns at the bottom of this page for the list of courses by concentration.
Spring Semester
Research Methods 2 | EDUE 727 | 3 Units
Building on Research Methods 1, learn to implement a research design by conducting pilot studies to answer quantitative and qualitative research questions.
Dissertation in Practice 1 | EDUE 780a | 3 Units
Complete a literature review, overview of methodology and other contextual writing for your dissertation in practice and prepare for the qualifying exam.
Summer Session
Concentration Course Three | 3 Units
View the concentrations dropdowns at the bottom of this page for the list of courses by concentration.
Dissertation in Practice 2 | EDUE 780b | 2 Units
Finalize your literature review, overview of methodology and other contextual writing for the dissertation in practice and qualifying exam.
Year 3
Fall Semester
Concentration Course Four | 3 Units
View the concentrations dropdowns at the bottom of this page for the list of courses by concentration.
Dissertation in Practice 3, Data Analysis | EDUE 784a | 1 Unit
Build your knowledge and skills for analyzing quantitative and qualitative data and reporting results and findings for your Dissertations in Practice.
Spring Semester
Designing Organizations for Equity | EDUE 710 | 3 Units
Become familiar with organizational theory and design, behavioral science and human resources management and prepare to shape the culture of educational organizations based on the principles of equity and social justice.
Dissertation in Practice 4, Data Analysis | EDUE 784b | 1 Unit
Build your knowledge and skills for analyzing quantitative and qualitative data and reporting results and findings for your Dissertations in Practice.
Concentration Courses
Educational Psychology
Advanced Study of Motivation: Theory, Research and Application | EDUC 712 | 3 Units
Analyze motivational principles, diagnosis and solutions to motivation gaps in learning environments and understand motivation and efficacy theories and principles.
Human Lifespan Development | EDUC 713 | 3 Units
Examine issues related to the development of diverse students and the development of environments that promote motivated behavior.
Measurement and Evaluation for Decision-Making | EDUC 714 | 3 Units
Collect, analyze and use quantitative data to solve problems of practice and evaluate educational institutions, programs and policies.
Advanced Study of Learning and Instruction: Theory, Research, and Application | EDUC 715 | 3 Units
Review current research in the application of learning theories, and the applicability of this research across a variety of contexts.
Higher Education Administration
Higher Education Professional Seminar | EDUC 706 | 3 Units
Gain philosophical and historical understanding that will help you understand today’s higher education system as an educational leader.
Administration in Higher Education | EDUE 707 | 3 Units
Apply economic theory to the study of education. Gain an understanding of the application of market theory to education, partnerships, allocation of resources and the examination of educational enterprises.
Examine administrative issues in higher education, including academic leadership related to undergraduate and graduate education, quality standards and assessment and how administrators create efficiency, effectiveness, performance and change.
Student Development Theory and Today’s Critical Issues | EDUC 708 | 3 Units
Engage and apply student development theory to contemporary issues and campus crises that arise within your educational context where student learning, growth and development are a fundamental objective of your leadership role.
Financing and Assessing Colleges for Equity | EDUC 709 | 3 Units
Examine and understand the finance and assessment of higher education institutions and their effect institutional policies and practices.
K-12 Leadership in Urban School Settings
Resourcing Schools for Equity and Excellence | EDUC 717 | 3 Units
Apply economic theory to understand how the public school system is financed and how to make decisions and allocate resources to achieve the goals of equity and excellence for all students.
Education Policy and Politics | EDUE 719 | 3 Units
This course is designed to help urban educational leaders effectively engage with the policy environment to support school success, providing a set of concept, tools and frameworks to assist in understanding the policy process. The course views the public policy process through the lens of contemporary issues in K12 educational policy, including an overview of the important institutions and actors within the policy system, the tensions and conflicts among actors, and the role of power, racism, and other forms of oppression in shaping the adoption and implementation of policy.
Leading for Instructional Improvement | EDUE 718 | 3 Units
Improve your instructional leadership skills as a K-12 practitioner by addressing the challenges that schools face today, including the political, economic, and social dynamics that contribute to and sustain educational inequities for historically marginalized students.
Leadership of Site and System Organizational Learning | EDUC 728 | 3 Units
The purpose of the course is to provide insight into the crucial role that organizational learning plays in the success of site and district administration over time to improve outcomes for students. Practical concerns for principals and superintendents are addressed.
Leading Instructional Change
Leading Transformational Learning | EDUE 722 | 3 Units
Prepare to enact leadership within urban PreK-20 teaching and learning environments by examining curriculum and instruction from historical, social and political standpoints.
Culturally Responsive Leadership | EDUE 724 | 3 Units
Prepare to enact culturally responsive change in order to transform teaching, learning and educational practices in their urban professional context.
Curriculum and Instructional Leadership | EDUE 723 | 3 Units
Explore social, political, economic and scholarly factors determining curriculum and instructional design and implementation and implications for formal and informal leaders in PreK-20 contexts.
Interdisciplinary Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment | EDUE 725 | 3 Units
Use spatial data and technologies to study your leadership trajectory across urban PreK-20 settings and bring interdisciplinary approaches to curriculum, instruction and assessment.
Program Contacts
Jessica Romero
Assistant Director, Office of Admission and Scholarships
jromero4@rossier.usc.edu (213) 821-2071
Callah Darmali
Associate Director, Office of Admission and Scholarships