Urban Education, M.Ed.

About the Program

The M.Ed. in Urban Education provides students with an understanding of the social context of urban schools; historical and contemporary school reform efforts; and the relationship between broader social, political, and economic issues and the experiences of students and communities. This is done with a strong emphasis on social justice and creating bridges between theory and practice. The program aims to create engaged practitioners and leaders. Students currently in the classroom will be prepared to place their practice in its larger social and economic context, think critically about issues of policy and practice, and develop tools for creating change within their schools and beyond. Students choose from among three areas of specialization: Education Policy, School-Community Partnerships, and Teaching in Urban Schools.

Full-time program faculty specialize in class and race issues; sociological foundations of urban education; family-school relationships; risk and resilience; pre-service education for urban teachers; school-community collaboration; urban educational policy and reform; and youth culture. Affiliated faculty specialize in areas such as African American families and youth, community mediation, community-based research, gender issues in administration, higher education, multicultural education, race relations, sociology of education, urban studies, and writing instruction. For students interested in other areas of specialization, the program develops special links with appropriate faculty across the university.

Time Limit for Degree Completion: 4 years

Campus Location: Main

Full-Time/Part-Time Status: Students complete the degree program through classes offered after 4:30 p.m. The degree program can be completed on a full- or part-time basis.

Interdisciplinary Study: The Urban Education program is both interdisciplinary and intercollegiate, taking advantage of the strengths of various schools/colleges and departments at Temple. Program faculty include those with full-time assignments in Urban Education, as well as affiliated faculty assigned to other departments and programs, such as Africology and African American Studies; Anthropology; Communication Sciences; Educational Administration; Educational Psychology; English; Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies; Geography and Urban Studies; History; Political Science; Social Administration; Sociology; Teacher Education; and TESOL (English as a Second Language).

Areas of Specialization: Three specializations, as well as the opportunity to design one's own program individually with an advisor, are offered:

Education Policy
School-Community Partnerships
Teaching in Urban Schools

Job Prospects: Graduates find jobs in school districts, advocacy agencies, and community-based organizations.

Non-Matriculated Student Policy: Students may take up to, but not more than, 9 credits of graduate study in the program before being admitted to the program. The credits transfer into the program, if the student is admitted. Students completing non-matriculated courses before being admitted to the program are NOT guaranteed admission.

Financing Opportunities: Financial support opportunities may include scholarships, tuition remission, and other financial aid such as grants, loans, and federal work study.

Admission Requirements and Deadlines

Application Deadline:

Fall: March 1
Spring: November 1

Applicants should submit all required admissions documents by the application deadline to receive priority consideration for admission and financial support.

APPLY ONLINE to this graduate program.

Letters of Reference:
Number Required: 2

From Whom: Letters of recommendation should be obtained to provide insight regarding the applicant's academic competence. References from college/university faculty are recommended.

Bachelor's Degree in Discipline/Related Discipline: A bachelor's degree is required. A minimum UGPA of 3.0 is expected.

International applicants should also submit an official document that validates completion and conferral of a degree, diploma, and/or certificate. While not required, international applicants are encouraged to submit transcript(s) to the World Education Services (WES) for evaluation.

Statement of Goals: Indicate your interest in seeking a master's degree with a specific focus on the career to which you aspire; your particular research, intellectual, and applied interests; and your academic and job-related experiences that are relevant to the program.

Standardized Test Scores:
Applicants who earned their baccalaureate degree from an institution where the language of instruction was other than English, with the exception of those who subsequently earned a master’s degree at a U.S. institution, must report scores for a standardized test of English that meet these minimums:

TOEFL iBT: 79
IELTS Academic: 6.5
PTE Academic: 53

Resume: Current resume required.

Other Requirement: Official undergraduate and graduate transcripts from all accredited institutions attended and/or from which credit was earned must be submitted.

Program Requirements

General Program Requirements:
Number of Credits Required Beyond the Baccalaureate: 30

Required Courses:

Course List
Code	Title	Credit Hours
Core Courses
Select three foundation courses from the following:		9
EDAD 5063	Educational Reform
URBE 5401	Policy and Practice in Urban Education
URBE 5501	Urban Schools
URBE 5565	The Origins of Urban Education
URBE 8602	Theory Seminar in Urban Schools
Geography and Urban Studies course ¹		3
Research methods course		3
Specialization Courses ²		12
Capstone Project
Master’s Project		3
Total Credit Hours		30

Students select this course in consultation with an advisor.

Courses taken must be relevant to the student's choice of specialization: Education Policy, School-Community Partnerships, and Teaching in Urban Schools.

Culminating Events:
Master's Project:
The master’s project is a 3-credit, field-based experience that allows students to apply their knowledge in a practical setting and produce a written document that summarizes and synthesizes their learning.

Courses

URBE 5401. Policy and Practice in Urban Education. 3 Credit Hours.

This course introduces students to key issues in urban education. It helps students situate urban schools in their broader social, political, and economic contexts, providing a deeper understanding of the ways larger social processes shape cities and their schools. In addition, it provides students with multiple lenses to understand dynamics within urban schools and classrooms.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

URBE 5417. The Urban Environment. 3 Credit Hours.

"The Urban Environment" will provide students with an introduction to the historical, social, and political factors shaping cities. The course is primarily, but not exclusively, intended for education students and is designed to help students to develop a more sophisticated understanding of the contexts in which urban education occurs. More specifically, the course will focus on the history of cities, including 20th and 21st century urban transformation, the development and persistence of residential segregation, urban politics and poverty, and trends in theory and practice around urban redevelopment. Students will, of course, be encouraged to make connections between course material and other issues in urban education or their own areas of specialization.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

URBE 5501. Urban Schools. 3 Credit Hours.

This course is designed to help students understand the social, political, and economic factors that shape urban schools. The focus is on both perennial and emerging issues affecting the urban environment and schools and on major policies relating to those issues (e.g., equity, accountability, and school finance). The class requires several critiques of educational literature, as well as an extensive review of the literature on a substantive topic related to urban education. Offered every Fall term.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

URBE 5515. Service Learning and Community Development. 3 Credit Hours.

This course presents models for service learning with particular emphasis on those that contribute to urban community development and community building. Students conduct a participatory community study and design a service learning project that meets authentic community needs. Offered every Fall term.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

URBE 5516. School-Community Partnerships in Urban Settings. 3 Credit Hours.

This course introduces models, practices, and theories for developing partnerships between schools, universities, community-based groups/agencies, and neighborhoods. Among the models studied are various types of partnerships, community organizations, family centers, and community schools. The course emphasizes the manifold issues that emerge when partnerships involve participants who cross the boundaries of class, race, gender, professions, culture, and language. Field visits and fieldwork are included. Offered Spring term.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

URBE 5565. The Origins of Urban Education. 3 Credit Hours.

This reading and discussion class is based on the most important secondary literature in urban history and the history of urban education. Philadelphia is used as a case study. Topics in urban history include the geography and functional differentiation of urban space; the political economy of cities; urban demographics with a special emphasis on racial and ethnic minorities; urban political and social institutions; and the site as educator, including regional and site planning and urban material culture. Topics in urban educational history include race and ethnicity in the history of urban education; the politics of urban education; the history of social class; and the opportunity structure in urban education.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

URBE 5611. Reforming City Schools. 3 Credit Hours.

This course will examine educational policy reform ideas and strategies. The course content will focus on understanding the impact of educational policymaking on big city school districts and their local school contexts. Special attention will be paid to the urban social and political environments in which policies are made and applied, along with the challenges of racial and social class inequalities. Students will consider different types of current and past reforms, utilizing published research literature, popular media, and Internet-based resources to increase the likelihood that current debates in the field are covered. The intended and unintended consequences of educational and social policy will be examined as well.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

URBE 5620. Special Topics in Urban Education. 2 to 6 Credit Hours.

Topics vary.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.

URBE 5630. Special Seminar in Urban Education. 3 Credit Hours.

Topics vary.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.

URBE 8602. Theory Seminar in Urban Schools. 3 Credit Hours.

This course introduces some important theoretical frameworks and theorists that inform research in urban education. Emphasis in on the contributions of the social sciences. Theories are discussed in the context of urban education and are applied to major issues of interest to the class. Each student selects an issue, which s/he may have begun to explore in URBAN ED 5501, around which written and oral presentations are based. Teams of students also lead class discussions on the work of selected theorists.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

URBE 8603. Urban Education Doctoral Capstone. 3 Credit Hours.

This is the first semester of a two semester (Fall/Spring) course that is required for all urban Education doctoral students. It is designed to support students as they carry out their own independent research projects and to serve as a capstone to their doctoral education. Ideally, all students will work on developing projects related to their future dissertation research.

Field of Study Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Fields of study: Urban Education.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
College Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Colleges: Education.

Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.

URBE 9982. Independent Research in Urban Education. 3 Credit Hours.

Because the Urban Education Program is interdisciplinary and draws on faculty from across the University, it is critical that students become acquainted with faculty whose research styles and interests will contribute to their course of study by, for example, serving on their dissertation committees. This course requires students to design and complete a project with a faculty member outside the program. In consultation with their advisors, students identify an affiliated member with whom to work and then create and complete an independent study. This research can take several forms, e.g., collecting and analyzing data, conducting an extensive literature review, or utilizing secondary data.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.

URBE 9991. Research Practicum. 3 Credit Hours.

This doctoral-level course provides each student with the experience of completing an independent study research project. Students are required to formulate a research question; conduct a thorough review of the relevant literature on the topic; design a small study to be carried out throughout the year; and write up the results. While this project may be directly related to the student's dissertation research, it does not serve as a replacement of that research endeavor. Each student is expected to present her/his work in a public setting.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.

URBE 9996. Masters Thesis. 3 Credit Hours.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.

URBE 9999. Doctoral Dissertation. 1 to 6 Credit Hour.

Open only to doctoral candidates who have successfully completed the minimum hours of coursework required for the degree, passed the preliminary examination, and have an approved proposal on file with the Graduate School. Continuous registration during the Fall and Spring semesters is required until the dissertation is completed and accepted by the Graduate School.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Student Attribute Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Student Attributes: Dissertation Writing Student.

Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.