Welcome to the Urban Leadership PhD Program in Education

What is the Urban Leadership PhD Program?

The PhD in Education with an emphasis in Urban Leadership is an innovative program designed to meet the needs of urban K-14 educational leaders. Each cohort is a highly selective group of educators with a demonstrated potential for leadership in education or a related field. We offer an alternative to online education. Our courses are on Friday evenings and Saturdays to accommodate the busy schedules of educational leaders. The program encourages students to bridge the real life experience of their work place to their academic studies. We encourage applications from experienced working professionals interested in promoting accountability and social justice in education from P-12 to college, and from policy-makers to classroom teachers.

For more information about the PhD in Education with an emphasis in Urban Leadership, please contact Dr.Carl Cohn, Professor and Director of the Urban Leadership Program (909)-607-3416 or uleducation.info@cgu.edu

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Core Philosophy:

The program is built on the premise that the sustainability of urban communities will serve as a key indicator of the vitality of the larger society, and it regards the development of successful urban inner-city schools as the major educational challenge of the twenty-first century. The Urban Leadership PhD program is based upon four guiding principles:

Effecting local and systematic change in education will require a critical mass of effective urban education leaders.
Creating successful urban schools will require a redefinition of schools as organizations and educational leadership in grades P-14.
Sustainable urban communities are enhanced by the presence of successful schools and community colleges.
Educational leaders in sustainable urban communities must have the capacity to effectively integrate natural, human, and social assets in their immediate communities.

Scope and Sequence of Doctoral Studies:

The PhD in Education with an emphasis in Urban Leadership requires completion of all course work after a master's degree, as well as oral and written qualifying examinations, proficiency in at least two research tools, and a dissertation. Students may transfer up to 24 approved units of course work from their master's degree to count toward the 72-unit PhD degree requirement. During the first year, students will enroll in required classes in urban leadership and communities.

Core Courses:

The course offerings of the program are designed around three distinct competencies: the development of knowledge, skills, and strategies for leaders in urban settings; Socratic seminars that introduce students to the literature related to urban education; and research projects based on the candidate's workplace realities. The program places a great deal of emphasis on the importance of the high quality leadership in public education.

Areas of Study

Issues in Contemporary Urban Leadership
The Politics, Policy and Governance of Urban Schools
Creating Learning Organizations in Urban Communities
Understanding the Community Context of Sustainable Urban Communities
Coaching, Mentoring, and Professional Development
Seminar in Urban Education: Literature and Practice
Developing Transactional and Sensemaking Evaluation Practices
Friday evening seminars provide students with an opportunity to engage literature focused on leadership, teaching, and learning practices, and urban education.

Additional Requirements

In addition to completion of the core course of study, PhD students in the Urban Leadership Program must complete the following requirements:

A transdisciplinary course
Competency in two research tools
Three written qualifying examinations
Oral qualifying examination
Completion of dissertation proposal and dissertation proposal defense
Completion of dissertation and dissertation defense

Urban Leadership Student & Alumni Testimonials:

"Claremont's Urban Leadership Program is distinctive in that it affords a small group of students and professors an opportunity to work together on very compelling educational problems facing administrators in urban settings. The seminars and materials have been useful for work in my own district. I have been able to share them with fellow administrators to use in our efforts to ensure success for all of our students." Ralph Baker, Executive Director, Excelsior Education Center, Victorville

"The Urban Leadership Program Provides a framework for leadership that emphasizes becoming a thoughtful risk-taker that will enact fundamental change in education. Claudia Bermudez, Instructional Coach, Independence Elementary/Magnet School, LAUSD

For more Urban Leadership Student & Alumni Testimonials, please click here.