Urban Education Ph.D. Program

We are thrilled to hear of your interest in our doctoral program in Urban Education.  We pride ourselves in being attentive to students’ and prospective students’ needs, and I do hope that you will not be put off by this way of beginning our conversation.  Since our website is in the process of being revamped and there are staffing changes in the works, I have put together some FAQs that should answer your most immediate questions about the program.  At the bottom, there are some suggestions about getting more information. 

We encourage you to research our program carefully, since a good fit is one of the most important considerations in selecting a doctoral program.  The websites of the Educational Leadership Department and the Urban Education Program will soon provide much more information than is now available, so do take a tour at a later time.  We will also be happy to schedule telephone or in-person informational interviews with faculty and campus visits that can include visits to classes and informal meetings with our students. 

We accept doctoral applications once a year, for Fall admission.  Below you will find answers to questions that prospective applicants often ask: 

Frequently Asked Questions

1.  Do you consider students who don’t have a background in education? 

Our current doctoral students come from varied backgrounds, and this is one of the strengths of the program.  Of course, we do look for students who are generally interested in studying issues related to education in cities, which may include formal, school-based education as well as community-based education.

2.  How many credits are required to complete the doctorate?

The doctoral program requires 72 credits of coursework, plus a doctoral comprehensive exam and a dissertation.  We routinely award 30 credits for related Master's degrees, especially if they are in Education and/or the social sciences, so most doctoral students who enter with a Master’s degree are required to complete 42 credits of coursework.

3.  Can students who have only a Bachelor’s degree be admitted to the doctoral program?

Yes.  Most of our applicants already hold Master’s degrees, but we do have a number of students who entered the program with only an undergraduate degree. 

4.  What qualities do you look for in your applicants?

We look for a good fit between the student’s goals and interests and our program’s emphases.  In addition, because our program allows for considerable choice, we look for evidence that the applicant is self-directed.  Given that we are a research-oriented program (as Ph.D.s tend to be), we look for an interest and some background in research.  This does not mean that we expect applicants to have conducted research or have already picked a dissertation topic; it does mean that research rather than, say, administration or program development has to be the primary reason for your interest in our program.  There are of course research areas that are more applied than theoretical, such as policy-oriented or program-oriented research, and in fact this is a primary interest of many of our students.

5.  How many students do you admit?

We are a small, selective program.  We receive applications from many outstanding candidates and are only able to admit a fairly small number, looking for incoming cohorts of around 5 to 8 students each year.  I encourage you to be thorough in researching our program and your field/specialization of interest and careful in completing your application so as to bring your strengths in full view. 

6.  I am interested in administration and/or a teaching or administrative certificate.  Can I combine these with a doctoral degree in Urban Education? 

Our program does not offer teacher or administrative certification and while some courses may overlap, combining these areas would require considerably more coursework.  If you are primarily interested in educational administration and teaching or administrative certificates, these specialties are offered through a different program that is also housed in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies.  Please contact Dr. Corrinne Caldwell, who is the coordinator for the Educational Administration Program (Corrinne.Caldwell@temple.edu).

7.  What is the application process like, and what should I include in the application?

You may apply online and send any additional materials in the mail to the Student Resource Center, 150 Ritter Annex..  Do also include your resume with your application materials.  You may also collect or request an application packet from our Student Resource Center.  Application matters are addressed in questions 8 - 12.

8.  Letters of reference

We require three letters, on the appropriate form which is available online and is also included in mailed application materials.  At least one and preferably two of the letters should be from persons who are familiar with your academic work and can comment knowledgeably on it, as well as on your potential to undertake doctoral studies successfully.  Referees may mail their letters directly to the Student Resource Center or you may collect them and send them in together.  The letters must be in sealed envelopes with the writer’s signature across the back flap. 

9.  Transcripts

The university requires official transcripts from all institutions listed in your application, regardless of whether you completed a degree there of not.  Official transcripts are also required from Temple University.  You may have transcripts sent directly to the Student Resource Center or you may follow the same procedure as for letters of reference.

10.  Test scores 

We accept the GRE or the Miller Analogies, but strongly prefer the former. Only the general GRE test is required, and any scores you may have from a previous administration are valid for up to 5 years.  This means that for a Fall 2008 application your GRE scores would still be valid if you took the exam any time after January 2003.  You would simply direct ETS to send us an official copy (do make sure that they send them to Urban Education and not Urban Studies). The Graduate School requires GRE scores to be at or above the 50th percentile. It happens on occasion that otherwise good applicants fall short of this or have very good scores in one area and lower scores in the other. If the application otherwise meets our criteria for admission, we are able in such cases to ask the graduate school for an exception. We also urge you, however, to retake the GRE.  We will use only the best scores you received within the last five years, in any given area of the exam, and disregard the other scores.  Test scores are required by the Graduate School and we are unable to make exceptions to this requirement.

11.  GPA

The Graduate School requires an undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0. As with the GRE, we can ask for exceptions for otherwise excellent applicants.

12.  How do I know if my application is complete? 

The Student Resource Center sends periodic reminders letting you know if any elements of your application remain outstanding.  Also, please be proactive in ensuring that all the elements of your application are completed and received by our office in a timely fashion. 

13.  What financial support is available and how do I apply for it?

There are fellowships and assistantships, which are awarded only to full-time students.  If you plan to enroll on a part-time basis, see question 14.  Temple University offers a number of fellowships that are awarded on a competitive basis.  High GREs and GPAs are especially important for University Fellowships.  The Future Faculty Fellowship program offers fellowships to students in underrepresented categories who are interested in university teaching.  Consideration for such fellowships begins with an initial recommendation by the admissions committee, which means that students do not need to do anything special to be considered for such fellowships.  If you think you might qualify for such fellowships, we urge you to ensure that your application is completed well in advance of the deadline.  Teaching and research assistantships are awarded by colleges and departments.  All these programs include tuition remission and a monthly stipend.  If you are interested in an assistantship, do include in your application materials a request to be considered and any information about your experience and interests that could help us locate an appropriate assistantship for you.  Generally, our program has a good track record of providing teaching or research assistantships to the full-time doctoral students we admit.  In addition, we encourage you to look for outside sources of funding, including grants.  Part-time work may also be available through various university offices and faculty research grants.

14.  What financial assistance is available for part-time students? 

The university’s financial aid office can help students process regular financial aid packages that consist of loans, etc.  Part-time work is also available at times through individual faculty and college/university offices.  We encourage you to be proactive in seeking such opportunities.

15.  How many courses per semester should I take and what is the usual time it takes to complete a degree?

Full-time students who are awarded assistantships usually register for 9 credits per semester and are assigned responsibilities that take approximately 20 hours (half-time) per week.  Part-time students may start with only 3 credits, but we encourage them to take 6 credits per term, since otherwise it takes very long to finish the program.  Usually, students are able to complete their coursework in 3 to 4 years, depending on full-time or part-time status.  Completing the dissertation may take another 2 years or so.  This means that at a minimum it takes 5 years to complete the program, and it is more common for students to take 6 or 7 years.  A very few exceptional students have managed to finish their doctorate in four years.

16.  When are classes offered?

Graduate classes in the College of Education are usually offered once a week in the evening (Mondays through Thursdays), starting at 4:40 or 5 pm.  This is done in order to accommodate working professionals.  Some classes are also offered on weekends.  In the other colleges, classes tend to be offered more frequently during the daytime.

17.  Can I take any courses before I apply or am accepted into the program?

It is possible for anyone who has an undergraduate degree to take graduate courses as a non-matriculated student.  If admitted, up to 9 credits may be counted toward the doctorate.  It should be clear however that doing so is no guarantee of admission.  Sometimes prospective applicants do enroll in one of our courses, such as Urban Education 5401 (400) (offered every semester) or others, to test themselves and the program.  Before doing this, however, it would be well for you to consult with the program coordinator or one of the faculty members.  This can be done in late August, since courses are not usually filled to capacity before the semester begins.  Non-matriculated students register through our Continuing Education Office.  Make sure you bring proof of your undergraduate degree.

18.  How can I find out what courses are available?

A list of courses offered the following semester is available online.  You can access it from the Temple University home page, by selecting “course schedule” from the “quick links” window on the right side of the screen.  Do take a look at what courses are offered under “Urban Education” but also remember that we are an interdisciplinary program and students take courses in other departments as well.  The information also includes the number of open spaces left in the course and the time the course is offered.  A list of suggested courses is also available through our departmental secretary.  See question 18.