Program Admission

The School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy (SUAPP) admits students for the fall semester of each academic year. Information and application forms can be found on the department website. Applications received after April 1st cannot be guaranteed consideration for an assistantship for the upcoming academic year.

1. Fulfillment of university requirements for admission to the Graduate School.
2. Applicants must hold the equivalent of the M.A. degree in a related social science field before applying to the program. The Urban Affairs Ph.D. curriculum requires students who enter with a master’s degree to earn a minimum of 48 credit hours beyond the master’s degree. Students who are in the process of completing a master’s degree can apply to the program but will be required to finish their master’s before beginning the doctoral program sequence.
   • To meet university requirements for earning a Ph.D., all students will need to have at least 72 credit hours of post-baccalaureate course work (i.e., M.A., plus 48 credits hours in the Ph.D. program).
3. Students must provide transcripts of all post-secondary institutions attended.
   • A minimum GPA of 3.00 (on a scale of 4.00) will be expected on post-baccalaureate (M.A. and Ph.D.) work.
4. A statement of purpose (1000 words or less) that discusses:
   • The student’s research interests and motivation for pursuing a Ph.D. in Urban Affairs at the University of Memphis.
   • What research questions they would like to explore while a doctoral student at the U of M.
   • How the student’s academic and professional experience has prepared them to complete a doctoral program.
   • The field areas the student intends to emphasize during their doctoral studies and how they relate to research interests and future career aspirations.
5. A current resume or CV
6. Provide contact information for at least three references who will be asked to provide letters of recommendation. Applicants can provide up to five references if they choose. (These letters are to be sent directly from the referee to SUAPP via the online application portal).
7. Submit one policy-oriented writing sample. Applicants can submit up to three. Examples include journal articles (published or under review), master’s theses, or other professional writings that demonstrate research and analytical capability.

Retention Requirements

A student will be retained continuously in the program until completion of the degree providing the following conditions are met:

1. All students will be required to maintain a GPA of at least 3.0. Should the student’s GPA fall below that mark, a probationary period of one semester will be allowed to correct the deficiency. At the discretion of the director and the director of graduate studies, this period may be extended one additional semester.
2. Students will be expected to demonstrate satisfactory progress in fulfilling the graduation requirements outlined below.
3. Successful annual review of student progress must be submitted by all students in the Spring semester of each year.

Graduation Requirements

Residency Requirements

Students enrolled in the doctoral program must also meet the university residency requirements as defined in the Minimum Graduate Degree Requirements  section of this catalog.

Comprehensive Examination Requirements

1. Students must pass a comprehensive exam prior to enrolling in dissertation credit hours. The exam should be taken when a student in good standing has completed all required coursework (core, focus area courses, and methodological courses) for the degree or is enrolled in their last semester of coursework.
2. Students must pass a Comprehensive Exam before being considered “late-stage” doctoral students and proceeding to the Dissertation Proposal and Dissertation phase.
3. Students will form a Comprehensive Exam Committee consisting of three to five faculty members. The committee should be formed after the student has completed at least18 credit hours and no later than when a student has completed 27 hours of coursework.
4. More information on the Comprehensive Exam Committee and Exam Procedures is in the program’s graduate student handbook.

Analytical and Methods Requirements

• Methods courses should be chosen in consultation with the student’s advisor or the program director. These methodological courses should provide statistical training beyond ordinary least squares regression (quantitative) or cover qualitative methodologies including, but not limited to ethnographic field research, content analysis, mixed methods, archival research, and/or case study research.
• NOTE: Courses that qualify as “advanced” methods might require a prerequisite, which would not count toward the Ph.D. Students are encouraged to take SUAP 7100/UAPP8100 Public Policy Statistics to prepare for courses that cover statistical methods beyond ordinary least squares regression. A list of suggested methods courses can be found on the program website.

Dissertation Requirements

1. Dissertation Committee— After successfully passing Comprehensive Exams, the student must select a dissertation committee of at least four faculty members. This committee may have the same composition as the Comprehensive Exam Committee. The chair of the Dissertation Committee must hold full graduate faculty status and only one external graduate faculty member may serve as a voting member of a dissertation committee. Students should submit a completed Dissertation Committee Appointment Form to the Graduate School once members have been selected.
2. Dissertation Proposal Defense—The student will submit a proposal for the dissertation to the committee and defend the proposal before the committee. Once the dissertation proposal is successfully defended, the student can proceed with data collection and writing. Students should submit a completed Dissertation Proposal Defense Form and Doctoral Degree Candidacy form to the Graduate School upon successfully defending the dissertation proposal.
   • If the research proposal includes any research activity including the use of human subjects, approval must be obtained from the university’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) before the research begins.
3. Dissertation Defense—The Urban Affairs Ph.D. requires the completion of at least 12 hours of dissertation credit and doctoral candidates must register for at least one hour of dissertation credit each academic semester (fall and spring) until the dissertation is completed.
   • The dissertation committee will schedule a defense of the completed dissertation in coordination with the chair and the coordinator of graduate studies. Notice will be given, copies of the dissertation made available, and public oral defense of the dissertation will be held. The candidate must complete the Dissertation Defense Announcement form three weeks prior to the date of the defense. Upon approval of the dissertation committee and faculty, the dissertation will be submitted to the Graduate School and the degree awarded.
4. Students should familiarize themselves with the Thesis/Dissertation Preparation Guide before beginning to write.

Time Limit

All requirements for the degree must be completed in 12 calendar years.

Academic Program Requirements

This curriculum requires 48 hours for student entering with a Master’s Degree. Those entering without a Master’s degree would be required to earn a Master’s degree in one of the host disciplines on the way to the PhD. To meet University requirements, all students would need to have at least 72 hours of postbaccalaureate course work. 

• Core Required Courses

• UAPP 8010 - Exploration of Urban Research Theory Credit Hours: (3)
• UAPP 8011 - Scope/Methods in Urban Affairs Research Credit Hours: (3)
• UAPP 8012 - Collaborative Urban Problem Solving I Credit Hours: (3)
• UAPP 8013 - Collaborative Urban Problem Solving II Credit Hours: (3)

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  Advanced Quantitative and/or Qualitative Methods Courses 

  All students must take 6 hours in Quantitative or Qualitative Methods in advisement with the Program Director or Advisor. A selection of courses that meet this requirement can be found in the program’s graduate student handbook.

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  Focus Area Courses:

  Choose from existing courses with direction of advisor

  Can include Directed Research courses

  6 (or more) of these credits should come from outside the discipline of the masters (to ensure interdisciplinarity)

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  Dissertation: 12 hours

  • UAPP 9000 Dissertation

   

Preferred Sequence of Pre-Dissertation Coursework for Full-Time Students:

First Year

Fall

• Exploration of Urban Research Theories (3)
• Focus Area Course (3)
• Focus Area Course (3)

Spring

• Scope / Methods in Urban Affairs Research (3)
• Focus Area Course (3)
• Advanced Quant/Qual Methods Course (3)

Second Year

Fall

• Collaborative Urban Problem Solving I (3)
• Focus Area Course (3)
• Advanced Quant/Qual Methods Course (3)

Spring

• Collaborative Urban Problem Solving II (3)
• Focus Area Course (3)
• Focus Area Course (3)