PH.D. IN INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES EDUCATIONAL JUSTICE & EQUITY

Union’s Educational Justice and Equity concentration is designed to prepare individuals to address the leading education issues through an integrative, holistic, and critical lens. The Educational Justice and Equity program’s strength is demonstrated by close collaboration with diverse disciplines engaged in today’s complex problems. The goal of the concentration is to empower our learners as agents of social change. The program stands in support of emergent activist scholars by reflecting the voices of the global majority (including, but not limited to Black, Brown, Indigenous, Women, Gender fluid, LGBTQIA+, and neurocognitive diversity). The program demonstrates its commitment to academic excellence by supporting students to achieve social-political relevant research and projects through an individualized, caring, and critical pedagogy.

66 Total credits
$1095 Cost Per Credit Hour
Jan 1 Next Start Date

Skills & Benefits Union Students Gain

  • Articulate various ways the meaning and purposes of education have been and continue to be socially constructed.
  • Explain power dynamics within educational institutions and systems, particularly in relation to marginalized people engaging those educational institutions and systems.
  • Situate your philosophical views on education within extant discourses and articulate various perspectives on ethics and social justice within the educational sphere.
  • 66 credit hour program
  • Full & part-time options
  • *Hybrid program
  • January & July start dates
  • Complete your degree in as little as 3 years

*100% online classes with a one-week residency in Cincinnati at the start of each term.

Electives

You have the option of exploring courses outside the ECL concentration or using electives for a certificate (e.g. Executive Leadership) or for the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Legacy Studies specialization.

Careers of our Educational Justice & Equity Graduates

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College Instructor

Educational Studies

Higher Education Researcher

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Educational Administration

Public Service & Social Justice

Educational Advocacy & Policy

EMBEDDED CERTIFICATES - No extra time or cost to complete

Graduate certificates provide you with a distinguished addition to your Ph.D. focus. All students in the Ph.D. Program in Interdisciplinary Studies have the option to pursue one of these graduate certificates embedded in the program:

  • Creative Writing
  • Design Thinking
  • Educational Leadership
  • Ethics and Philosophy
  • Executive Leadership
  • Museum Studies
  • Women’s & Gender Studies

Proficiency Reviews

Union’s version of comprehensive or qualifying examinations are two Proficiency Reviews, one in research and the other in the concentration and foundational themes of ethics and social justice, engaging difference, and creativity. Both are embedded in the required dissertation research courses.

Dissertation Information and Examples

The program supports a variety of formats for doctoral dissertations, including theoretical, historical, and interpretive research, social action research projects, empirical research using qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods, and creative dissertations. Below are some examples from our Education Justice & Equity graduates:

  • Hopson, J. (2021). Texas A&M university system website analysis: Disability and diversity 
  • Madry, T. S. (2020). Mentoring: A Leadership Tool for Black Greek Fraternities.
  • Maples, G.L. (2019). Surviving the Invisible Wounds of War: As Told by the Unseen Heroes.
  • Bolton, D. (2018). Motivating African American Male Readers Through Mentorship.
  • Alvarez, M. (2018). A parenting program for homeless fathers in transition: Its influence on how they see their role as parents.

Funding Your Future

Explore your financial aid & scholarship options. We strive to make college affordable. See why Union is the best value.