Doctoral Program in Urban Studies

Looking southwest toward downtown, the Commerce Street condos with the Holton Street bridge in the middle ground

The Urban Studies Ph.D. program is a unique interdisciplinary doctoral program designed to prepare students for research and scholarship on urban society. The Program is based on the assumption that those who choose to examine the complex problems of the city must be literate in many different research methodologies, conversant with theories of urban development, and knowledgeable about the historical and sociological foundations of urban life. By utilizing scholars from a variety of urban-related disciplines, the Urban Studies Ph.D. Program offers comprehensive training in urban research that is not possible in traditional Ph.D. programs.

The core curriculum of the USP Ph.D. program includes sequences in urban social structure, methods of urban research, and theories of urban development. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of the program, students have great flexibility in mastering a number of substantive areas. Areas of specialization include: urban development-comparative historical and contemporary perspectives; human service delivery systems; and race, class, gender and ethnicity.

The ideal candidate for admission to the program will have:

a master's degree in a social science or related field,
statistical proficiency at an intermediate level,
a background in urban studies within some disciplinary framework, (e.g., urban sociology, urban history), and
evidence of ability to conduct independent, scholarly social science research.

Students with deficiencies in these areas may be admitted with additional course requirements in order to satisfy these prerequisites.

Admission

Applicants to the Urban Studies Doctoral Program must meet Graduate School requirements and those established by the Urban Studies faculty. For a complete guide to the UWM Graduate School requirements and the application process, please visit the appropriate pages ...

Graduate School Bulletin

Prospective Students Information and Application Process

Urban Studies Degree Requirements

PhD Area Concentrations and Recommended Courses (PDF 104K)

Courses Offered

All applications to the Doctoral Program are reviewed by the Student Affairs Committee, which includes five USP faculty members and one graduate student in the Doctoral Program. In evaluating applications, committee members review and assess all the components of the application carefully. This includes review of:

Graduate School Application form including the letter of intent (* see essay paragraph, below) identifying the applicant's reasons for graduate study.
Transcript and GPA to assure that the student has a strong foundation including a master's degree or equivalent in a social science or a closely related field.
Three Letters of Recommendation: At least two letters must be from current or former professors who can comment directly on the applicant's previous academic performance and likelihood of success in the program. In furnishing these letters please submit both the approved USP Letter of Recommendation Form (PDF 5K or html) and an attached letter from each recommender, and send to:

Advisor
Doctoral Program in Urban Studies
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Bolton Hall, Room 768
P.O. Box 413
Milwaukee, WI 53201.

Copy of Master's Thesis or Paper: If this is not available, send other written work which demonstrates your ability to do original research and/or to critically analyze and evaluate the work of others.
A typewritten essay which elaborates your reasons for pursuing doctoral work in urban studies and also describes your intellectual aspirations in the field. Here we wish to assess your understanding of urban studies and the nature of your commitment to the field. (* Your essay question may be submitted to the Graduate School as your letter of intent.)
Scores from the Graduate Record Examination General Exam. (You can access the GRE web site at: http://www.gre.org)

Application Forms

Letter of Recommendation (PDF 7K or html)
Fellowship and Financial Assistance Information (PDF 21K)
Addendum to Ph.D. Application (PDF 6K)

Degree Requirements

A total of 33 post-master's graduate credits are required to complete the degree program. These credits are distributed across required core seminars, specialization electives, and dissertation research courses. In addition, doctoral students must pass a preliminary examination and successfully defend a dissertation. Consult the Graduate Student Handbook and the USP Doctoral Program Handbook for additional information on the program.

International Students
For international students please obtain information and application materials from the Office of International Studies and Programs, P.O. Box 340, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 53201.

Deadlines
To be assured of consideration by the USP Student Affairs Committee in time to begin the semester you wish, you must have filed your Graduate School application by these dates:

Fall and Summer Semester: February 1st
Spring Semester: December 1st

Fellowship and Financial Aid Opportunities
Students admitted into the Program are eligible to compete for a variety of types of financial aid. The Program offers a number of teaching and project assistantships that are awarded for the upcoming academic year. To notify USP of your interest, please return the Financial Assistance Form to the Urban Studies Office, Bolton 768 (deadlines on the form). For information concerning Graduate School fellowships and nonresident tuition remission scholarships, please obtain information from the Graduate School Fellowship Office or call (414) 229-6267.

Information and Application Materials
If you have questions on the Doctoral Program, please contact the USP director. If you would like application materials mailed to you, please contact Carrie Beranek, USP administrative assistant, at (414)229-4751 or at beranekc@uwm.edu.

The Faculty
Faculty in Urban Studies have earned their doctorates at some of the nation's most prestigious universities. Faculty members are generally drawn from social sciences departments, chiefly from Sociology and History but also including faculty from Political Science and Geography. Areas of expertise are diverse, consistent with the program's goal of providing students with a range of possible specializations. For information on USP faculty members, please see the Faculty area of our web site.

The Students
The program is designed to serve both the recent master's degree graduate, the part-time returning student already well established in a career, and the individual wishing to change careers. Courses are generally offered after 4:30 p.m., and most meet once a week in order to accommodate the demanding lives of adult students. In addition to variation in professional backgrounds and career goals, Urban Studies doctoral students are highly diverse in terms of age, sex, race, and ethnicity. To access web sites of USP students please go to Students web area.

Intellectual Climate
USP students enjoy a wide array of intellectual opportunities in the program and throughout the campus. They range from individual mentoring by the faculty, to opportunities to enroll in classes in other disciplines, to public programming on campus and in Milwaukee. The Program offers an annual Lecture/Seminar Series, bringing distinguished speakers from around the nation to give public addresses and meet informally with students. USP students themselves organize a Student Forum each spring at which students choose a theme and keynote speaker, present their work, and participate in panel discussions. In addition, there are countless opportunities to attend urban-related lectures, events, and programs sponsored by other units on the UWM campus. USP uses its electronic mail system to keep students informed of major events, administrative deadlines, and job and fellowship opportunities.

Career Opportunities
Students completing the program are prepared for positions in a variety of governmental and private agencies as well as for academic positions in disciplines that are related to urban studies. Some students seek the Ph.D. degree to gain greater employment mobility within their present occupations. Others wish to explore new professional opportunities after graduation.

PhD Core Curriculum

UrbStd 979 Methods of Research and Analysis for Urban Social Institutions I
This course is the first offering in methods of research in Urban Social Institutions. It lays the foundation for and complements the second methods course (982) which emphasizes quantitative treatment of aggregate data (historical archives, census data, survey data). This course examines the assumptions and underlying logic of social science research and its conduct in natural social settings. Students conduct direct field research into aspects of urban social institutions to learn and apply procedures of field data collection and theory formation. These include observation, recording and coding of data, deviant case and other analytic techniques leading to the generation of hypotheses. Each student will prepare a major research paper using this personally collected data to offer original hypotheses.

The course is a seminar in which instructors and students discuss reading, field experience and seminar papers.

UrbStd 980 Growth of Urban Society

This course will expose students to ways geographers, historians, political scientists, and sociologists have studied the growth of urban society. The course is designed to provide students with the means of placing contemporary urban issues in the various theoretical frameworks and historical contexts. The emphasis will be on understanding the historical experiences of men and women, workers and minorities in cities and suburbs. Special attention will be given to community formation, social protest, politics, planning, technology, and the built environment.

UrbStd 98l Perspectives Toward Change in Urban Social Institutions
This course will examine changes in social institutions in the 19th and 20th Century Europe and the United States and the theories that have been advanced to account for them. Using theoretically-oriented sociological studies and histories that chart the diversity of the modern urban experience, the class will explore such topics as industrialization, workplace skill and authority, race, gender, family structure, political mobilization, schooling, and the relationship between culture and institutions. Throughout the course the major concern will be with the analytical power of particular theories and the structure of persuasive arguments in sociological and historical studies.

UrbStd 982 Methods of Research and Analysis for Urban Social Institutions II
This course reviews the research designs and statistical techniques appropriate for the quantitative analysis of social data. In addition, students will analyze data themselves: first a survey, and then data they personally acquire to answer a research question. Class discussions will center around recent articles in Sociology, History, and Urban Studies journals that illustrate the kinds of methods currently being used by social scientists.

UrbStd 983 Contemporary Urban Social Structure and Change
This course's aim is to generate an analysis of the institutionalization of socio-cultural patterns in urban areas, with particular emphasis upon the contemporary American city. The course which serves as a sequel to USP UrbStd 981, is designed to equip students with the capacity to conceptualize a wide range of research issues in terms of the major categorical and more intentional social structures that bear on urban social actions in the United States. By "categorical" is meant class and race-ethnic structures and by "intentional" is meant primarily political institutions.

Students will explore the transformation of American cities and metropolitan areas during the post-World War II years. Readings, class discussions, and assignments will examine the principal ideological perspectives that have shaped politics and social science research, theories that evolved from those world views, and policies that have emerged (as well as those that have been submerged) during these years.

A central focus will be the objective reality and subjective perceptions of inequality. The critical role of inequality, and of competing explanations for inequality, will be examined and will also serve as an orienting theme around which other issues are to be explored. The dynamics of inequalities associated with class, race, gender, and ethnicity will be analyzed in terms of their implications for the process of urbanization, the changing nature of social institutions (e.g., government agencies, private corporations, labor unions, community organizations) and uneven urban development generally.

UrbStd 984 Research Project in Urban Social Institutions
The goal of this course is to sensitize students to a series of issues concerning social scientific research. The course is about what sociologists and historians do, about how they do it, and most importantly, about the principles and ideas on which the disciplines rest: sociology of knowledge, philosophy of history, and epistemology. Much of the course will be asking "how do we know what we know," what are the underlying assumptions of social science inquiry, and how does one maintain both a healthy respect and a healthy skepticism for this enterprise? Students should leave this course with a better appreciation of historical and sociological analysis and what each can offer the other, and with an understanding of the problems and promises of social scientific inquiry.

Other USP Courses

For a complete listing of all Urban Studies courses, please review the Graduate School Bulletin. Go to Courses to review upcoming USP semester course offerings and course descriptions obtained from the teaching faculty.

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Last Updated: August 22, 2008