Curriculum

CCC Ph.D. Program awards degrees in three disciplines:

• Ph.D. in Social Work–City, Culture, and Community
• Ph.D. in Sociology–City, Culture, and Community
• Ph.D. in Urban Studies-City, Culture, and Community                               

CCC PhD students will be encouraged to work with faculty to develop their graduate educational plan that includes courses from across the campus and beyond. Some students will wish to seek academic appoints in traditional programs (e.g., Social Work, Sociology) or non-traditional ones. Finally, students will also be encouraged to select dissertation topics that offer the potential for a cross-disciplinary approach.

Required Courses

Minimum credits required, 51: 27 hours of required courses, 7 "core" courses and 2 pro-seminars, plus 24 hours of elective credit

Proposed Curriculum Sequence

CCCC 6040: Introductory Data Analysis
This course provides basic training in descriptive and inferential statistics with social science applications. Topics include measurement, tabular and graphic displays of data, central tendency, dispersion, probability, estimation, hypothesis testing, and linear regression.

CCCC 7010: CCC Pro-Seminar I
The purpose of this pro-seminar is to introduce first-year CCC doctoral students to a wide range of topics central to their professional development as researchers.  The coverage of topics will include learning how to critically evaluate dissertation topics, how best to comply with Institutional Review Board (IRB) rules and regulations; understanding and applying the ethical principles of social scientists; developing a research agenda; building skills related to time- and information-management; publishing one's research findings; making professional presentations; and, creating and writing an annotated bibliography and review of the literature.  In addition, workshops on bibliographic software and reference databases will provide students with practical information about conducting literature reviews as the foundation for doing research. A CCC faculty member will visit the class each week to provide an expert's perspective on each topic.

CCCC 7100: CCC Theory I
First course in a two-semester graduate-level introduction to key theoretical issues, debates, figures, and works in the interconnected program core areas of city, culture, and community.  The two semesters are organized to elaborate, articulate, and promulgate the unique inter- and multi-disciplinary promise of the CCC program, by developing a more synthetic approach to theory.  The first semester has a dual focus: a meta-theoretical framework on "thinking about theory" and an exploration of key theoretical schools and perspectives.

CCCC 7140: Special Topics

CCCC 7150: CCC Theory II
Second course in a two-semester graduate-level introduction to key theoretical issues, debates, figures, and works in the interconnected program core areas of city, culture, and community. The two-semesters are organized to elaborate, articulate, and promulgate the unique inter- and multi-disciplinary promise of the CCC program, by developing a more synthetic approach to theory. The second semester is organized around the investigation of key constructs and concepts. Prerequisite: CCCC 7100.

CCCC 7200: Research Design
This course focuses on the logic and processes of research design, with emphasis on the fit between substantive research questions and empirical evidence. Topics include epistemology, data collection techniques, measurement, sampling, and research ethics.  Participants gain practical experience across multiple research stages and from a variety of methodological perspectives. Participants also improve their technical writing skills, namely learning how to summarize, explain, and evaluate research concepts, principles, and procedures.  

CCCC 7300: Quantitative Analysis
This course develops in-depth knowledge of multivariate data analysis. Topics include the logic of statistical inference and hypothesis testing, ANOVA (analysis of variance), ANCOVA, (analysis of covariance), MANOVA (multivariate analysis of variance), OLS (ordinary least squares) regression, logistic regression, and other advanced multivariate statistical procedures.  Students also become proficient in (1) the mechanics and interpretations of data analysis with SPSS software and (2) technical writing skills focused on summarizing, explaining, and interpreting quantitative information. Prerequisite: CCCC 6040, or permission of instructor.

CCCC 7350: Qualitative Analysis
This course develops in-depth knowledge of, and practical experience with, the collection and analysis of qualitative data. The participants collect and analyze their own data using different research strategies. Participants learn how to use qualitative computer software to organize and analyze narrative data, such as field notes and transcribed interviews.

CCCC 7700: Teaching Seminar
This course is a professional development seminar in which participants explore a variety of pedagogies and gain practical experience in the mechanics of teaching, such as organizing content, lecturing, leading discussions, promoting rapport, motivating students, and evaluating student performance and effectiveness of pedagogy.  This course also seeks to enhance awareness of diversity in learning styles, social patterns in classroom interactions, and academic integrity in student-teacher relations. Participants also improve their oral communication skills and understanding of audiences beyond the classroom, such as public speaking events.

CCCC 7750: TA-IS, TA-I, & RA Practicum
Teaching/research apprenticeship in collaboration with supervising faculty member. Prerequisite: CCCC 7700.

CCCC 7800: Research Practicum I
First semester research collaboration with Area Exam 1 supervising faculty member.

CCCC 7850: Research Practicum II
Second semester research collaboration with Area Exam 2 supervising faculty member.

CCCC 7950: CCC Pro-Seminar II
The final academic course is led by a team of CCC program faculty and focuses on the students' emerging dissertation projects, providing a space for critical dialogue about the application of theories and methods associated with different disciplines towards a wide variety of research areas.  By this point in their advanced training, students are expected to have at least begun to formulate their dissertation topics and thoroughly familiarized themselves with the critical literatures germane to their anticipated research agenda.  The capstone seminar is designed to offer a forum in which students can share these ideas with their peers and CCC program faculty so as to give and gain constructive feedback to elaborate more fully their individual dissertation proposals. Specifically, the seminar is geared toward assisting students develop and defend a dissertation prospectus, which students are expected to present in the fall semester of their fourth year in the program.

The seminar has seven educational objectives:
1. Analyze and apply the principles of career development preparation that facilitate post-PhD transitions leading to a successful career launch;

2. Critically review the literature supporting a dissertation prospectus;

3. Critically review the early versions of each fellow dissertator's dissertation prospectus;

4. Develop and present a conceptual map of your dissertation research;

5. Develop and present a highly professional job talk highlighting the most interesting and important aspects of the prospectus;

6. Identify and evaluate the existing employment opportunities of CCC PhD program graduates, including non-academic positions. Identify connections among the represented CCC disciplines that influence the content of the dissertation prospectus. Various CCC Program faculty who are active researchers attend the seminar and offer their advice and provide examples from their own research activities. All this is to facilitate completion of the dissertation, graduate on time, and have a successful career.  

CCCC 7980: Independent Study

CCCC 9990: Dissertation Research