Teaching of Social Studies PhD

Prepare to be a leader in social studies educational research.  Our graduates take up research careers often in universities or other educational institutions.  

Students in the Doctor of Philosophy program take coursework that offer them a depth of knowing the field of social studies education and prepare them as experts in their area of focus and their research.  The program supports the development of students’ scholarly identities. Throughout the program, students consider where and how they situate themselves in the field as a researcher of/in contemporary social studies issues.  They also do the things that scholars do – engage in research with faculty, present at conferences, publish papers, mentor students, explore college teaching, and find their intellectual community. Students select courses at Teachers College, Columbia University, and in the Doctoral Consortium in NYC to develop a focus area of study – historical understanding, memory studies, activism and civics, peace studies, global education.  Students take introductory and advanced coursework in specific research paradigms so they are prepared for the independent work of the dissertation. This coursework is determined with an advisor and the entire program faculty.  

Our location in New York City makes us unique, whether students conduct their research here or elsewhere.  The city is a wonderful educational laboratory for an array of student interests. Here, so many different kinds of educational institutions exist within the NYCDOE and in the multitude of non-profit entities that educate.  We are also a significant place in the global flow of intellectual, cultural, and civic discourse and possibility.