phd education brown

Department of Education

Education at brown.

Our students are equipped with the necessary perspectives and tools to effect change in urban schools and systems both in Providence and beyond.

Our undergraduate and graduate students are well-equipped to lead with impact, whether their aspirations lie in teaching, policymaking, research, or educational leadership. Our academic programs are designed keeping in mind America's greatest educational needs and prepare students to work at all levels of the educational system to increase equity, accessibility, and innovation.

At the core of our cutting-edge research is our unwavering commitment to addressing inequality in schools. Our faculty at Brown University delve into issues such as inequalities in school access and student success, often setting the tone for the national conversation on these matters through their research and practices.

undergraduate courses offered

undergraduates taking education courses

education graduate students each year

Graduate Programs

Undergraduate studies, education department newsletter.

Department of History

Ph.d. program.

Hallmarks of the Brown History doctoral program include an intimate setting, close collaboration with faculty, Brown's unique undergraduate population and open curriculum, world-class scholars working in every region of the globe, and the department's commitment to professionalization and teaching.

The program centers on both cutting-edge training and preparation for jobs in a variety of institutions, including research universities, teaching colleges, and sites of research, teaching, writing, and public engagement outside academia.

Fields of Study

The History department trains Ph.D. students in a wide range of fields, methodologies, and areas of the globe. The program fosters an intellectual community in which collaboration, intellectual breadth, and conversations across fields are prized. Additionally, Ph.D. students take a sequence of professionalization courses that prepare them for the rigors of teaching, research, conference presentations, and professional writing.

Explore Fields of Study

Program Outline

Each year, Brown enrolls 10-12 Ph.D. students, who function as a cohort during the first three years of the program. In the fourth year, students work in archival collections and in the field, wherever their research takes them. In the fifth year and beyond, based on that research, each student produces an original dissertation. Completion of the program typically takes 5-7 years, depending on the field, language requirements, and location of materials.

Learn More About the Ph.D Program

Department of History Graduate Handbook

For a detailed outline of the Ph.D. program, including a year-by-year description, courses offered, and funding, please consult the graduate handbook.

Teaching Requirement

Candidates for the Ph.D. must normally demonstrate satisfactory performance as a Teaching Assistant in undergraduate courses at Brown, or in teaching at another institution approved by the Department. Currently, doctoral students most commonly teach in years 2, 3, and 5. Students who receive standard funding for year 6 typically TA for one semester and are on fellowship in the second.

Students preparing for the examinations will normally be given preference in the assignments for teaching assistants and proctors. Work loads for such positions will conform to standards set by the Graduate School: "limited enough in scope [requiring no more than 20 hours per week] so that normal progress can be made in the student's educational program."

Graduate Student Spotlight: Laura Perille '15

Laura Perille is an advanced doctoral candidate in Early Modern British history and one of four Brown Doctoral Candidates selected as Brown/Wheaton Faculty fellows.

Opportunities

Brown executive scholars training program, deans’ faculty fellows program, teaching fellowships for advanced students, doctoral certificates, open graduate education.

Graduate Programs

We offer doctoral, master’s and undergraduate paths of study, allowing students at every level to embark on a transformative academic journey.

Ready to apply?

Start your journey toward a public health education at Brown University.

Office of Education and Student Services

Our office provides academic resources, career counseling and more for current students at the School of Public Health.

The Brown University School of Public Health paves the way for future leaders in the field. Our commitment to student success is at the core of everything we do; our distinguished faculty, composed of leading experts and scholars in public health , are dedicated to mentoring and guiding students to ensure they receive the highest quality education.

Through rigorous coursework, innovative research opportunities and immersive field experiences, we challenge our students to push the boundaries of knowledge and make a tangible impact in the world. We foster a multidisciplinary approach, encouraging collaboration across various disciplines , as we believe that solving complex public health issues requires diverse perspectives and expertise.

Invaluable connection

Our students are guided by mentors invested in their success.

Beyond the classroom, the Brown University School of Public Health offers a vibrant and inclusive community where students can connect, engage and forge lifelong relationships. Our students have access to a wealth of resources, including state-of-the-art facilities, cutting-edge research centers , and a network of alumni and industry partners.

Whether you are driven to advance scientific research, shape health policy or promote health equity, our academic programs will equip you with the skills, knowledge and opportunities to become a catalyst for change.

study public health at brown

Master’s programs, doctoral programs, dual degrees, undergraduate concentrations, news | more from sph, brown faculty awarded inaugural community-academic research partnership fund support, health care’s carbon problem, the promise and challenges of dual vaccination, academic departments.

Our four departments are the academic homes of our graduate degree programs.

Brown and Providence Schools

Graduate education programs.

Brown’s graduate education programs prepare future teachers and policymakers to address the most pressing needs of urban secondary schools.

• In the Schools

MAT students are embedded as teaching residents each year in Providence-area schools

UEP students participate each year in impact-driven internships focused on Providence and Rhode Island schools

of MAT graduates teach in Providence and Central Falls public schools

Educators and education policymakers play a key role in confronting rising inequality in cities across the U.S. That’s why Brown’s graduate education programs — designed by faculty in partnership with local educators to respond specifically to real-world challenges —  equip future change agents with the tools they’ll need to fulfill the most pressing needs of urban secondary schools in Providence and beyond. 

Throughout the academic year, each student in Brown’s diverse cohort of Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) students is immersed in a local urban school, taking classes both at Brown and at the school site. Meanwhile, Urban Education Policy (UEP) students take part in internships that build relevant knowledge and skills while advancing the missions of Providence schools, city and state education offices and nonprofits who partner with the Providence Public School District (PPSD).

Many graduate students continue to make a positive impact on local schools after graduation. Brown’s Urban Education Fellowship program provides loan forgiveness to up to 10 MAT and UEP graduates each year who pledge to serve Providence-area students and schools for three years.

Undergraduate students also play a vital role in improving educational outcomes in Providence schools. As a complement to courses that teach them how to confront educational inequality, many education concentrators choose to volunteer in schools through the Community Corps program , providing tutoring, mentoring and after-school enrichment to elementary, middle and high school students across Providence.

Program and Initiative Highlights

Master of arts in teaching, master of arts in urban education policy, urban education fellows.

Theatre Arts & Performance Studies

Ph.d. program.

The Ph.D. Program in Theatre and Performance Studies at Brown University offers a rigorous environment for pursuing doctoral research.

Taking a broad-spectrum approach to the histories, theories, and methods of theatre and performance studies from a global perspective, the Ph.D. program trains doctoral students to use performance as an analytical lens to explore the labor of mimesis in the social.

Cross-currents

Brown’s environment is alive with the intersections of performance practice and theory: Ph.D. students benefit from formal and informal cross-currents with:

• Brown’s acclaimed  MFA Playwriting Program
• Brown/Trinity MFA Programs in Acting and Directing  (offered in consortium with the Tony Award winning  Trinity Repertory Company ),
• Brown Arts Institute
• Rhode Island School of Design (RISD )

Brown’s  libraries  provide exceptional special collections for performance-related research, including:

• Harris Collection of American Drama and Poetry
• Smith Collection of Conjuring, Magicana, and Popular Entertainment
• Albert-Bernard Shaw Collection

Open Graduate Education Program

Our students take full advantage of Brown’s unique interdisciplinary opportunities—including the  Open Graduate Education Program , which enables doctoral students to apply to pursue a Master’s degree in a secondary field of study at Brown—and gain teaching experience through a variety of opportunities in and beyond the department.

How to Apply

_______________________

Applications are due   January 4, 2024   and must be submitted via the Graduate School’s Online Application portal . You can find detailed instructions about the application process and components on the Graduate Website.  For other questions refer to The Graduate School’s application FAQ .

Application requirements.

• A statement of purpose (also called a personal statement, generally 2-3 pages) that should address your current academic research interests, why you wish to pursue a Ph.D. in Theatre and Performance Studies, and how you see your work benefiting from the broader context of the department and Brown as a whole. The most successful personal statements make a compelling case for why your research would best be served by our program given the current composition of our faculty and the resources that are available at Brown. 
• An academic writing sample (10- 25 pages). This is an especially  important element of the application, so be sure to submit an example of your strongest scholarly writing to date. 
• Three letters of recommendation. 
• Transcripts from all academic institutions where you have previously studied (graduate and undergraduate).

International applicants whose native language is not English must also submit an official Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score. 

• The GRE is no longer required in order to apply for the Ph.D. Program in Theatre and Performance Studies at Brown.

Financial Aid

Brown guarantees 6 years of funding for all admitted Ph.D. students, which includes full tuition remission, a generous living stipend, and health insurance. This financial support applies to both domestic and international students admitted to our doctoral program. Funding is provided through a combination of fellowships (two years) and teaching/research assistantships (four years). Our students have also been very successful in securing funding for their studies, as needed, through external and internal fellowships and grants. Further details about financial support is available through Brown’s Graduate School website  and the  Graduate Student Funding and Support website .

Frequently Asked Questions

Students in our Ph.D. program have many opportunities to gain teaching experience during their time at Brown. Typically students in their second year serve as Teaching Assistants for undergraduate courses in the Department of Theatre Arts and Performance Studies. More advanced students can develop and teach their own classes. Our students find additional opportunities to hone their pedagogical skills through Brown's  Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning ,  Summer@Brown , the  Brown/Wheaton Faculty Fellows Program , and elsewhere.

As an intentionally small program with an emphasis on intensive mentorship and advising, we accept a cohort of approximately 2 to 3 students per year. Most of our Ph.D. students complete the degree within 5 to 7 years.

We welcome applicants who are interested in all aspects of theatre and performance studies research. The best way to learn about the range of research topics and methods that are being pursued in our program is by looking through the profiles of our  current faculty  and  Ph.D. students .

Yes. We accept students who have obtained Bachelor's degrees as well as students who have previously completed an MA or MFA. Depending on the field of study and with the approval of our graduate faculty, students may receive credit toward the Ph.D. degree for previous graduate coursework completed at other institutions.

Graduates of our PhD program have achieved a stellar placement rate into academic positions. Many have gone on to become leaders in the field, holding tenured or tenure-track positions at Yale, Tufts, NYU, UCLA, Washington University-St. Louis, Colgate, Emerson, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of Rhode Island, among other institutions. A  recent national study of Theatre and Performance Studies graduate programs  showed that Brown was the top program in terms of placement, with 100% of our graduates holding tenure-track positions.

Please do not email the department with technical questions or requests to troubleshoot your online application submission. For questions about the application process (including how to submit TOEFL scores, Letters of Recommendation, and other technical matters), please contact the Graduate School directly at  a [email protected] .

Patricia Ybarra

Program handbooks.

• TAPS Doctoral Program Handbook (PDF)
• All TAPS Graduate Handbooks

Recent News

Phd student şeyda nur yıldırım published in theatre research international vol. 38, no. 3 (2023)., taps at the american society for theatre research conference, phd candidate marlon jiménez oviedo published in global performance studies.

Graduate Programs

Brown University offers master's and Ph.D. programs in several engineering disciplines, as well as master's degree programs in computational engineering, design engineering, entrepreneurship, and technology leadership.

Because of our unique structure and approach to engineering, and the lack of formal boundaries between engineering disciplines, our research is highly interdisciplinary and often includes connections to other departments on campus outside of the School.

Areas of Study

• Biomedical Engineering - Sc.M., Ph.D.
• Chemical and Environmental Engineering - Sc.M., Ph.D.
• Data Enabled Computational Engineering and Science (Master's only)   
• Design Engineering (Master's only)
• Digital Health Innovation   (Certificate only)
• Electrical and Computer Engineering - Sc.M. , Ph.D. 
• Fluids and Thermal Sciences - Ph.D. 
• Materials Science - Sc.M., Ph.D. 
• Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics -Sc.M.
• Mechanics of Solids and Structures - Ph.D. 
• Program in Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship (PRIME)   (Master's only)  
• Technology Leadership (Master's only)

Design Your Own Graduate Program

• Craft your graduate program to align with your interests and future trajectory. 
• Graduate students enjoy the ability to select from our wide course offerings to better match their interests.
• Ph.D. students can apply to enroll in Brown’s  Open Graduate Education  to pursue a master’s degree in a secondary field.

Created for Student Success

• Students receive continual feedback. There are rigorous checkpoints, and nearly all students who enter the graduate program finish.
• Evaluations are centered on research skills and progress, not rote learning.

Manageable Scale and Collaborative Culture 

• Brown's structure is designed to make interdisciplinary work fluid with no true boundaries. Collaboration on research projects across engineering disciplines and with other academic units on campus (physics, chemistry, biology, computer science, etc.) is encouraged.  
• Our advisors are passionate, supportive, and committed to strong mentorship.
• Learn more about Brown’s Graduate School  culture  and distinctive  opportunities . 

Students and faculty from diverse training, gender, and ethnic backgrounds

• The University is committed to creating a more diverse and inclusive academic community. Please read about  diversity and inclusion at Brown .
• Brown Engineering is ranked No. 35 nationally (of 429 institutions) in Percentage of Doctoral Degrees Awarded to URM students (American Society of Engineering Education, 2020).

Guaranteed Funding

• Our doctoral fellowships offer five years of guaranteed support through a mix of scholarships, research, and teaching assistance. The guaranteed support provides our Ph.D. students with the security that enables them to focus entirely on their research.  
• Students also earn fellowships.

Ivy League Education

• Brown offers a liberal arts education within a research university 
• Brown's graduate programs in engineering are nationally-ranked among the best in the country by U.S. News and World Report , Academic Analytics , and others.

Located in the heart of affordable, spirited, and creative Providence, RI

• “Providence combines the accessibility and friendliness of a small town with the culture and sophistication of a big city. With a thriving arts community, vibrant and diverse neighborhoods, outstanding hotels, a renowned restaurant scene and so many things to do, Providence is the perfect place to [attend graduate school].” - Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Providence has recently been featured in  Architectural Digest ,  GQ ,  Travel + Leisure , and  the New York Times .

Excellent career placement

Both our master's and Ph.D. graduates enjoy successful post graduate career paths .

More than 50% of master's graduates and 40% of Ph.D. graduates enter industry upon graduation. Some of our recent graduates have gone on to find positions at Apple, Amazon, Analog Devices, Boeing, Cognex, Draper Labs, Facebook, Google, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, Microsoft, NASA Jet Propulsion Lab, NIST, Owens Corning, PerkinElmer, Roku, Sandia, Snapchat, and Yelp.

Nearly 40% of master's graduates go on to pursue a Ph.D., and nearly 50% of our doctoral graduates find employment in academia. Recent graduates have gone on to Columbia, Duke, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Johns Hopkins, Maryland, MIT, Northwestern, Princeton, UC San Diego, and Wisconsin. 

Education Continuing Studies

Jeremy Updike, APSI Director 507-923-4210 [email protected]

Biology – Audra Brown Ward

Audra is a College Board Workshop Consultant, and a reader and table leader for the AP® Biology exam. She has led numerous AP® Biology Summer Institutes and one-day workshops and has contributed to various teacher guides and ancillaries for AP Biology textbooks. Audra received the 2007 NABT Outstanding Biology Teacher Award for Georgia, a 2021 O. Wayne Rollins Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching at Westminster and a 2023 William A. Parker, Sr. Mentoring Faculty Award at Westminster.

Audra is a member of the National Association of Biology Teachers, where she serves as Region VI Coordinator. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., The National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc., and the National Alumnae Association of Spelman College. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of The Twenty Pearls Foundation, Inc.

Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Audra received a B.S. in Biochemistry from Spelman College and an M.S. in Biochemistry from Georgia Tech.

Audra Brown Ward is teaching one workshop at Augsburg this summer. See our registration site with the button below.

ONLINE JULY 15-19 APSI REGISTRATION

Education school launches online doctorate in leadership

The UNC School of Education’s program for aspiring leaders across sectors will host its first cohort of students in fall 2024.

With approval from the UNC System, the UNC School of Education has launched the University’s first fully online doctoral degree program — the Doctor of Education in organizational learning and leadership.

The program was created and delivered in collaboration with The Graduate School at UNC-Chapel Hill, the UNC Office of Digital and Lifelong Learning and 2U. It will provide working professionals with knowledge, skills and experiences to take a human-centered approach to leadership, delivering upon their organization’s goals and mission.

Applications are open as of March 20, and the program’s first cohort of students will begin classes in fall 2024.

“For more than 130 years, the UNC School of Education has prepared leaders for classrooms, schools and school districts but also institutions well beyond education,” said Fouad Abd-El-Khalick, education dean and Alumni Distinguished Professor. “Education happens lifelong and lifewide, and learning happens within successful organizations. Our faculty members have expertise in areas critical to organizational learning and leadership, and we believe this program is an incredible opportunity for professionals to advance their careers and organizations.”

Developed with input from working professionals in both private and public sectors and spanning various industries, the new doctoral program is tailored to equip students with specialized courses in improvement science, change leadership, human-centered design, equitable and inclusive practice, research methodology and more. It will also offer students practical opportunities to implement their learning directly into their professional endeavors.

The program will use a blend of interactive online classes, self-paced asynchronous lessons, and an in-person immersion experience on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus. During the immersion experience, students will have the chance to forge meaningful connections with faculty, staff and fellow students.

The program culminates with a capstone project in which students identify a complex or pervasive challenge faced by their organization. Students will then undertake comprehensive research and implementation efforts to address it and design effective resolutions.

“Our faculty members have intentionally shaped this program and designed its curriculum to prepare professionals with tools to provide immediate value for our students, for the teams they lead or are part of, and for their organizations,” said Thurston Domina, associate dean for academic affairs and director of graduate studies at the school. “When our students graduate, we anticipate they will find success in private companies, government and nonprofit organizations, business and management consulting, human resources, project management, leadership coaching or development, and more.”

“Leadership of teams and organizations is a complex endeavor,” said Warren, “and we are excited to welcome students from an array of career stages, roles, organizations and locations who are committed to that endeavor. I look forward to cultivating robust learning environments where our students and equally committed and expert faculty members engage in ways that ultimately work toward the greater good through human-centered leadership practice.”

Prospective students can begin the online application at online.unc.edu . The priority deadline for the first cohort of students is June 11, while the final deadline is July 3. Details about application requirements are available online or by contacting an admissions counselor.

The significant delays in receiving Free Application for Federal Student Aid data resulted in students not receiving financial aid offers in a timely manner.

Aranza Vazquez Montaño repeats as NCAA diving champion

Aranza Vazquez Montaño clinched her second consecutive NCAA Women's Division I 1-Meter Diving Championship and third overall title.

Personal finance class a hit with students, parents

Business school professor Chip Snively designed the practical course on savings, investing and budgeting.

A message from the interim chancellor: Four areas of focus

In a campus email, Lee H. Roberts announced the formation of committees to examine enrollment planning, generative AI, the physical master plan and applied sciences.

GiveUNC 2024 is a day like no other

On March 26, find your cause, unlock challenges and show your support for Tar Heels everywhere.

$10 million gift encourages humanities studies

Stephen H. Israel’s gift will provide full Honors Carolina scholarships for undergraduates majoring in the liberal arts.

Cleantech program students help plan summit

Three of the 15 Institute for the Environment interns share what excites them about clean technology.

Carolina Women’s Center resets

With a new director, location and mission, the organization wants to support more Tar Heel women.

Share on Mastodon

Opinion How the Black female head of a top D.C. school was ‘punished for leading’

Shirley Moody-Turner is the editor of “The Portable Anna Julia Cooper.”

In January 1902, Anna Julia Cooper, one of the most highly educated Black women in the country, was appointed the seventh principal of Northwest D.C.’s famed M Street High School, the first and most prestigious public high school for Black education. Black people from around the country aspired to send their children to M Street, and its roster of teachers and graduates read like a Who’s Who of Washington’s Black educational and cultural elite. Under Cooper’s leadership, M Street students won scholarships and gained admissions to top colleges and universities — including Harvard, Brown, Yale and Dartmouth.

But just four years into Cooper’s tenure , days before the start of a new school year, the White director of Washington high schools persuaded the D.C. Board of Education not to reappoint M Street’s acclaimed principal. When Cooper arrived for the first day of school, the janitor barred her from entering the building. Police officers observed from across the street. They were ordered to arrest Cooper if they deemed she was creating a disturbance. With her students watching from the windows, Cooper — always a model of dignity and decorum — exited the school grounds.

Cooper’s story, now largely forgotten , was part of a wider movement to control the direction of Black public education in the early 20th century. Then, like now, battles over education — and especially the question of who was permitted to lead elite institutions, training the next generation to excel — were proxies in the larger culture wars. Today, with female and minority leaders of universities facing resistance from people who assume they have not earned the right to hold their positions, Cooper’s story is an illuminating one. What happened to her illustrates not only how the tactics around removing such leaders have persisted for more than a century, but also what was at stake — and still is — in the battles over educational access and leadership.

Born enslaved in Raleigh, N.C ., in 1858, Cooper began her fight for an equal education early in life. As a student at St. Augustine’s Normal School and Collegiate Institute, she successfully petitioned for the right to take what were designated as “boys'” classes, including courses in Greek, Latin, French, science and math. She went on to Oberlin College in Ohio, where she again protested for access to the full curriculum. She graduated from Oberlin with a BA and MA in mathematics and began writing, teaching and lecturing around the country on Black civil rights and gender equality. In 1892, she published a book that garnered international acclaim, “A Voice from the South: By a Black Woman of the South,” arguing for Black women’s unique role in the struggles for racial and gender equality.

In 1887, Cooper was recruited to join the faculty at the famed M Street High School. She taught there for 14 years and served one year as vice principal before agreeing to serve as the school’s principal. She did so, however, at precisely the moment when the sovereignty of Black public schools — M Street, in particular — was under attack.

For decades, the public school system in D.C. was looked to as a shining example of what was possible for Black education. Since 1868, M Street had operated under a Black superintendent, and through a combination of Black political influence, community support, committed teachers and congressional appropriations, the Black community managed to secure the resources and maintain relative autonomy to create a model public school system for Black students in the District.

By the end of the 19th century, however, with the backlash over Reconstruction gains in Black civil and political rights and the national ascendancy of Jim Crow segregation, Black control over Black schools came under attack. In 1900, Congress restructured school oversight in the District so that the Black superintendent — now reassigned to be an assistant superintendent — no longer oversaw M Street High School directly, instead placing it under the supervision of the White director of public high schools, Percy M. Hughes. As Hughes took his post, Cooper took hers.

Within months of Cooper’s appointment, rumors began that she allowed an atmosphere of truancy and lax discipline. Allegations were taken to Hughes, and complaints filed, but Cooper persisted, and her students continued to excel. According to her early biographer, Louise Hutchinson, Cooper’s students outscored White students on citywide tests and exams, and Cooper continued to send her students to top colleges and universities throughout the country. Despite these successes, Hughes insisted that M Street adopt an inferior “colored curriculum” more suited to the Black students’ presumed abilities.

Cooper refused. She saw attempts to regulate M Street’s curriculum as part of a larger effort to limit her students’ access to higher education and channel them into trade jobs and vocational training. She underscored her commitment to a classical liberal arts education by inviting Harvard-educated W.E.B. Du Bois, a famed advocate of social and political equality and Black higher education, to address her students at M Street.

In 1904, Hughes took formal charges against Cooper to the D.C. Board of Education, initiating a series of extremely public and vitriolic hearings over whether to remove Cooper from her post. Throughout the fall of 1905, the “M Street controversy,” as it came to be known, played out night after night at board meetings and day after day in the local press.

The tactics used to discredit Cooper followed a recognizable pattern: public shaming, presumed incompetence, questioning her professional judgment and other innuendoes used to cast doubt on her fitness to lead. Even though Cooper was one of the most respected educators in the country, Hughes, along with T.S. Leisenring, a White representative of “taxpaying citizens” who had no children in either the White or Black public schools, questioned Cooper’s fitness as an educator and her ability to uphold academic standards. They alleged that Cooper’s “sympathetic methods” allowed undeserving students to advance and asserted that M Street students were not prepared to pursue the same curriculum as students in the White high schools.

Then there were the rumors about Cooper’s alleged relationship with a fellow teacher and former boarder 10 years her junior, John Love. Because married women were barred from teaching and single women were under constant scrutiny, Cooper’s status as a widow allowed her to remain a teacher but left her vulnerable to attacks about her status and personal affairs. Though not part of the formal “charges,” the rumors allowed her accusers to impugn Cooper’s character, question her propriety and ultimately attempt to shame her into silence.

Hughes also took aim at Cooper’s ability to lead, calling her judgment into question and insinuating that her gender made her too soft on students. After an allegation that one of her M Street students was found to be “intoxicated” and that others smoked cigarettes near school grounds, undercover police were brought in to surveil the students for two weeks, looking for possible infractions. When none were found, Cooper closed the issue, but Hughes and his allies would continue to assert that Cooper was unable to maintain the strict discipline necessary to operate the Black high school effectively.

Finally, in perhaps the most honest allegation, Hughes charged Cooper with insubordination. He found Cooper unwilling to teach the curriculum he had assigned or to hold back or deny graduation to students he deemed had not met the requirements. In sum, he found her headstrong and beyond his efforts to control.

In many ways, Hughes was correct in this final assessment. Cooper was committed to the belief that Black people were entitled to the same learning opportunities as anyone else. She refused to have her right to make decisions about the operation of her school undermined. She believed in and fought for her students, and she would not let someone so unfamiliar with and hostile to them overstep her authority.

Seeing the beloved principal of their esteemed school under assault, members of the Black community rallied. They understood what was at stake, not just for Cooper but also in determining who exercised control over Black education in the District.

Willis T. Menard, son of the first Black man elected to Congress (though he was blocked from taking his seat), summed up the sentiment of the Black community in a Sept. 1, 1905, letter to The Post: “Mrs. Anna J. Cooper … is very popular with the colored patrons of her school, and has done more for the advancement of colored youth than the combined efforts of her predecessors.”

Night after night, parents, students, teachers and local leaders fought in her support. They matched the disparaging remarks of those testifying against her with rallies, petitions and editorials. They fought for Cooper, and they fought to maintain autonomy over M Street.

On Oct. 30, they scored a temporary victory. More than a year after the first allegations were brought against her, the D.C. Board of Education announced that the charges against Cooper would be dismissed. She would be retained as principal of M Street.

Infuriated that the board would not fall in line, Hughes took his case to a congressional committee. As Alison Stewart explains in “ First Class: The Legacy of Dunbar, America’s First Black Public High School ,” Hughes charged the board with “insubordination,” and had it reorganized. Just weeks before the start of the school year in 1906, the reorganized board reviewed all the teachers in the D.C. public school system. It determined that four members of M Street would not be reappointed: Love, a history and English teacher and Cooper’s rumored romantic interest; C.J.B. Clarke, the assistant principal of Black schools who had been accused of abetting Cooper in her efforts to graduate “undeserving” students; Mary Nalle, a teacher and one of the first four students of the original M Street school; and Cooper herself.

Hughes had finally succeeded in deposing the principal who had refused to relinquish control over M Street. But he did not undo the school’s curriculum. The board, perhaps having received too much scrutiny over Cooper’s ousting, left M Street’s classical curriculum intact. “Our course of study was saved, but my head was lost in the fray,” Cooper would later write .

Cooper’s rise, and her well-engineered fall, represent a historic case of a Black woman “punished for leading.” Her removal was about wresting control for Black education out of the hands of the Black community, and trying to limit access to higher education for Black students. But it was also more than that. Cooper was a highly visible leader charged with stewarding a prestigious academic institution, during a moment of intense political and social backlash against racial advancement and gender equality. She was recruited to lead at a moment when the position for which she was hired was most vulnerable.

As we face another moment of such backlash, with efforts at diversity and inclusion in the crosshairs and schools again becoming a battleground for the culture wars, it’s worth revisiting Cooper’s case as other women, people of color and their allies are punished for leading along similar lines. It’s also worth noting what happened, in the end, to both Cooper and her school.

After being deposed from her position at M Street, Cooper taught for four years at a school in Missouri. But by 1910, the winds shifted, and she was called back to M Street, where she would teach at the school (renamed Dunbar in 1916) for the next two decades. After retiring from M Street, she continued to work well into her 90s, serving as the president and then registrar of Frelinghuysen University and advocating for educational opportunities for Black students and working-class residents of D.C. In 1925, she earned her doctorate from the Sorbonne in Paris, becoming only the fourth Black American woman to hold a PhD.

And Cooper’s courageous stand and visionary leadership helped preserve liberal arts education for an entire generation of Black leaders. Educators Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander and Eva Dykes , author and poet Jean Toomer , surgeon Charles Drew and civil rights lawyer Charles Hamilton Houston all went on to graduate from the high school. They, and in turn the people they served, were all beneficiaries of Cooper’s long fight to preserve advanced education at M Street.

About guest opinion submissions

The Washington Post accepts opinion articles on any topic. We welcome submissions on local, national and international issues. We publish work that varies in length and format, including multimedia. Submit a guest opinion or read our guide to writing an opinion article .

• Opinion | New York judge’s ruling on evidence couldn’t have gone worse for Trump March 21, 2024 Opinion | New York judge’s ruling on evidence couldn’t have gone worse for Trump March 21, 2024
• Opinion | We ignore Trump’s defects at our peril March 20, 2024 Opinion | We ignore Trump’s defects at our peril March 20, 2024
• Opinion | Liz Cheney still plans to make a difference in the election March 19, 2024 Opinion | Liz Cheney still plans to make a difference in the election March 19, 2024

The African Studies Center K-16 Education Program is seeking Graduate Student Assistant Summer/Fall 2024

The BU African Studies Center Outreach Program aims to promote teaching about Africa and Africa-related studies in U.S. schools. In this position , the graduate student assistant will be responsible for assisting the Outreach Director with administrative tasks to help manage the program. Main responsibilities include: 

• Regularly checking and managing the Outreach email inbox and responding to/forwarding messages appropriately.
• Supporting the Teaching Africa Teacher certificate program, its professional development events, and its members as well as recruiting teachers for the program.
• Updating the “Resources for Teachers” pages of the website with relevant links, materials, and lesson plans. The assistant may develop new webpages based on their Africa-related interests of field of study.
• Organizing documents and records in Google Drive.

Other tasks may include: 

• Designing flyers as promotional tools for workshops and events.
• Sending out announcements to mailing lists using MailChimp and Listserv.
• Special projects related to building new curriculum for teachers. 
• Proofreading and editing curriculum submissions.

Knowledge of K-12 education and knowledge of Africa are highly preferred. The position will start this Fall 2024, with potential for some summer hours. Students are expected to work 8 hours in the office weekly, but there is flexibility with schedule planning and some remote days are possible. Pay is $17/50/hour. To apply, please send a CV and email cover letter to [email protected] . Contact us at [email protected]  if you have questions. 

Best Global Universities for Mechanical Engineering in Russia

These are the top universities in Russia for mechanical engineering, based on their reputation and research in the field. Read the methodology »

To unlock more data and access tools to help you get into your dream school, sign up for the  U.S. News College Compass !

Here are the best global universities for mechanical engineering in Russia

Tomsk polytechnic university.

See the full rankings

• Clear Filters
• # 74 in Best Universities for Mechanical Engineering
• # 879 in Best Global Universities  (tie)

• Request info
• Majors & Degrees
• Prospective Students
• Current Undergraduate Students
• Current Graduate Students
• Online Students
• Alumni and Friends
• Faculty and Staff

USM Graduate Student Paige Mason to Present Baird Lecture March 26

Fri, 03/22/2024 - 03:37pm | By: David Tisdale

The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) Center for the Study of the Gulf South’s Baird Fellow for 2023-24 is Paige Mason, a Master of Arts student in the USM History program, who will give the annual Baird Lecture Tuesday, March 26 from 6-7 p.m. in the Liberal Arts Building (LAB) room 108 on the Hattiesburg campus. Her presentation is titled "We Won't Give Up on This Until We Get It: Mississippi Women's Organizations and the Long Fight for Jury Service.”

A native of Gilbertown, Alabama, Mason’s graduate program focuses on 20th century U.S history, with her research looking specifically at the women’s jury movement in Mississippi during the 1950’s and 1960’s. Mississippi was the last state to allow women to serve on juries. Mason examines the factors causing women in the state to be barred from serving on juries, including during the civil rights movement.

The 2023-24 Baird Fellowship supported Mason’s travel for her research efforts at the Mississippi Department of Archives in History and in the Archives and Special Collections at the University of Mississippi in examining the significant role women’s organizations, including the League of Women Voters and the National Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, had in the decades-long campaign for women’s jury service in the state.

“I hope my audience will come away from the lecture recognizing the significance of the women’s jury movement in Mississippi, and the privilege of jury service,” Mason said. “Mississippi became the last state to allow women to serve on state court juries in 1968. Mississippi women, including women’s organizations, were at the forefront of the women’s jury movement.

“Despite being met with obstruction from opponents, advocates remained steadfast in their quest for jury service and recognized that without the right to serve on a jury of their peers, they were not being treated as equal citizens.”  

Mason came to USM in 2022 after graduating with honors from Judson College in 2021; she has presented her research at the Gulf South History and Humanities Conference. Her major advisor is USM Associate Professor of History Dr. Rebecca Tuuri, who also serves as interim associate dean of the USM Honors College and co-director of the Center for the Study of the Gulf South.

The USM History Program is housed in the College of Arts and Sciences School of Humanities. Learn more about the USM History Program and its Center for the Study of the Gulf South.

Categories: Arts and Sciences Graduate School

Recent News Articles

Student organizations hosting ramadan iftar dinner program march 26, usm's marine education center offers all ages outdoor coastal experiences of a lifetime.

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

Guest Essay

One Way to Help a Journalism Industry in Crisis: Make J-School Free

By Graciela Mochkofsky

Ms. Mochkofsky is the dean at CUNY’s Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism.

Many uncertainties haunt the field of journalism today — among them, how we can reach our audience, build public trust in our work, and who is going to pay for it all. But one thing is certain: as complicated and dark as the world looks today, it would be much worse if journalists were not there to report on it.

Research shows that towns that have lost sources of local news tend to suffer from lower voter turnout, less civic engagement and more government corruption. Journalists are essential just as nurses and firefighters and doctors are essential.

And to continue to have journalists, we need to make their journalism education free.

This might sound counterintuitive given the state of the industry. Shrinking revenue and decreasing subscription figures have led to a record number of newsroom jobs lost. Much of the local news industry has fallen into the hands of hedge funds focused on squeezing the last drops of revenue out of operations by decimating them. Billionaires who appeared as saviors just a few years ago have grown tired of losing money on the media organizations they bought. Public trust in the value of news is at historical lows, while a growing percentage of people are avoiding the news altogether.

Generative artificial intelligence, which is on the verge of reshaping almost everything around us, is bringing yet another technological disruption to the industry. Against this grim backdrop, authoritarian leaders are increasingly targeting journalists as political enemies both at home and abroad.

And yet there are still tens of thousands of jobs in news media in America, with exceptional journalism being produced every day. Some major organizations have even found ways to thrive in the digital age. Prominent foundation leaders have started an effort to pour hundreds of millions of philanthropic dollars into local journalism, and a movement has formed to push for federal and local legislation to direct public funding to news. An initiative to replant local news has founded dozens of nonprofit newsrooms in cities around the country. And a small but growing number of organizations are redefining the way news agendas are set, focusing on rebuilding public trust within small communities.

No matter how the news industry evolves, we will continue to need journalists. Successful business models for media are necessary, but the most crucial element for strong, independent journalism is the people who make it. Given the present stakes in the industry, our society and the world, we need mission-driven, imaginative news leaders who are not bound by the models of the past, who have the motivation and freedom to reimagine the field, and the empathy and commitment to serve the public interest, undaunted by attacks and threats.

We must also move beyond the lack of economic and demographic diversity that has long been a problem in the industry. News has too often been reported by predominantly middle-class, white, male journalists, resulting in coverage that has repeatedly missed the issues that are most important to the people receiving the news, contributing to the public’s lack of trust in the media.

In a resource-starved industry, few newsrooms can offer the type of mentoring, guidance and time that it takes to shape a great journalist. This is now primarily the responsibility of journalism schools. It is the civic duty of these schools to find and train reporters and news leaders, instill in them an ethical foundation, help develop their critical thinking skills, allow them to try and fail in a safe environment, open doors and provide a support network. (Journalism schools should also contribute research in a variety of areas, from the impact of A.I. to new business models to identifying and responding to emerging threats.)

But the cost of a journalism education has become an insurmountable barrier for exactly the kind of people we need the most. And those who, with great effort, manage to overcome that barrier, carry a weight that could limit their professional options.

Reporters burdened with debt are less likely to take professional risks and more likely to abandon the field. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median reporter salary in America is less than $56,000 a year, or about $27 per hour. In low-income areas, where news deserts are more prevalent, annual salaries can be as low as $20,000. A Wall Street Journal report about the debt-to-income ratio of alumni of 16 journalism masters programs found that many graduates leave with debts that exceed their postgraduate income.

As the dean of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York, I can tell you that half measures won’t solve this quandary. My school was founded in 2006 as a public alternative to elite journalism schools in the city and it remains one of the most affordable in the nation.

Our in-state students pay about a quarter of the cost of an equivalent degree from top-tier schools with which we successfully compete. This year alone, 90 percent of our students are on scholarships, and a record 25 percent are attending tuition-free. We also waived the $75 application fee this admission cycle and saw an increase of more than 40 percent in our applicant pool.

Thanks to these policies, we have succeeded where the media industry keeps failing. Over 50 percent of our students are people of color and from underserved communities. Many couldn’t have attended our school if we hadn’t offered significant scholarship support. But that’s not enough. Though we rank as one of the journalism schools with higher-medium-income and lower-median-debt alumni, our students still don’t graduate fully debt-free.

This is why this year, we began a campaign to go fully tuition-free by 2027. While other schools might face different financial challenges, we hope that many more will follow us.

We need journalists whose only obligations are to the facts and the society they serve, not to lenders; who are concerned with the public interest, not with interest rates; who can make risky decisions and take the difficult path if that’s what the mission requires, free of financial burden. Journalism schools can help achieve that. In tough times, it is natural to mourn the past or lament the present, but what we really need is bold action.

Graciela Mochkofsky is the dean at CUNY’s Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism. She is the author, most recently, of “ The Prophet of the Andes: An Unlikely Journey to the Promised Land .”

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

Follow the New York Times Opinion section on Facebook , Instagram , TikTok , WhatsApp , X and Threads .

Graduate School

Across a wide range of doctoral, master’s and medical degree programs, students and faculty at the Graduate School work together to shape rigorous, research-based experiences that respect and develop each student’s interests and ideas in ways that ultimately advance the trajectory of their careers.

Graduate Programs

Brown has a friendly scale and collaborative culture. With more than 3,000 graduate and medical students and more than 700 full-time faculty members, Brown offers excellent academic training and mentoring within a supportive environment.

Ph.D. Requirements

Master’s requirements, application information, living & support, providence, ri, offices & resources, more about the graduate school, news & communications, deans & staff, social media.

Salisbury University reaches landmark moment with launch of graduate school with 14 degrees

In 1962, Salisbury University launched its first graduate program, the Master of Education.

Since then, SU’s graduate offerings have grown to include 14 master’s and two doctoral programs. More than half a century since that first program was approved, they now have a new home with the establishment of the Graduate School at SU.

“The creation of the Graduate School at SU aims to not only enhance our initiatives in expanding graduate enrollment, but to also elevate our rankings and reinforce our institutional identity,” said SU President Carolyn Ringer Lepre. “Reinforcing our commitment to graduate education through the creation of a formalized graduate school will open doors to new opportunities for progress and provide our graduate students with a heightened sense of pride and belonging within the SU community.”

“The Graduate School at SU represents not only a new era for the University, but new opportunities for our current and future master’s and doctoral students,” said Dr. Laurie Couch, SU provost and senior vice president of academic affairs. “This is an exciting moment as we work to transform graduate education at Salisbury.”

“This new school is built on the hard work and research of our faculty, our students and our alumni who have risen to the challenge of completing an advanced degree — something fewer than 15% of Americans have done,” said Dr. Clifton Griffin, founding dean of the Graduate School at SU. “We look forward to doing our part to increase that number in the future.”

Salisbury University graduate programs have received high praise

In addition to overseeing SU’s graduate programs, the new school will be located within the same administrative unit as the University’s Office of Sponsored Programs, as well as the Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (OURCA).

“Support for faculty research and graduate education go hand-in-hand,” said Griffin. “Additionally, today’s undergraduates are tomorrow’s graduate students. The more we support undergraduate student research now, the better prepared they will be to continue their education. Having these three unites together provides great synergy and opportunities for continued growth.”

SU’s graduate programs have received high praise from publications like U.S. News & World Report, which consistently has named SU’s online M.B.A. and graduate nursing programs among the nation’s best.

Jan. 6 defendant has trial moved: Salisbury, Maryland defendant in Jan. 6 US Capitol riot case has court date moved again

Salisbury University offers wide variety of graduate programs

Additional master’s programs at SU include an M.S. in applied biology, history, health and human performance, GIS management, mathematics education and social work, as well as an M.A. in conflict analysis and dispute resolution, and teaching. A new master’s program in public communication is pending approval.

Doctoral programs at SU include the Doctor of Nursing Practice and an online Ed.D. - literacy studies: literacy.

The University also offers post-baccalaureate certificates in health care management and teaching English as a second language (TESOL), post-master certificates in advanced study in education leadership and advanced study in educational leadership, and a post-doctorate certificate of completion for family nurse practitioner.

The Graduate School joins SU’s six other dedicated schools and colleges: the Charles R. and Martha N. Fulton School of Liberal Arts, Richard A. Henson School of Science and Technology, Franklin P. Perdue School of Business, Samuel W. and Marilyn C. Seidel School of Education, College of Health and Human Services, and Glenda Chatham and Robert G. Clarke Honors College.

OC's new bus app: Ocean City launches new transportation app. All to know before you hop on for a ride.

For more information about SU’s graduate programs, visit www.salisbury.edu/explore-academics/graduate-studies.aspx.

Five Graduate School Diversity Scholars will share their work during Graduate Education Week

21 Mar 2024

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Copy address link to clipboard

Five graduate students will share their work as 2023-24 Diversity Scholars at the Graduate School ’s annual Diversity Scholars Showcase on Thursday, March 28, at noon.

The event will take place at the multipurpose room of the Graduate Life Center, 155 Otey St. in Blacksburg. The scholars will present their projects in lightning round format at the showcase. Lunch will be provided. Registration is required .

Diversity Scholars specialize in and advocate for the awareness, knowledge, and skills associated with inclusion and diversity in the Graduate School and the greater community. Past projects have included film festivals, a powwow, developing student support groups, finding ways to make curricula more inclusive, and more. 

If you require accommodations such as assistive devices, services, or other resources to participate in this activity, please contact Catherine Cotrupi at at least 10 business days prior to the event. 

2024 Diversity Scholars

Oziomachukwu Chinaka

Chinaka, a Ph.D. student in translational biology, medicine, and health , is a first-generation doctoral student and earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from Virginia Tech. She describes her research interests as evaluating issues related to health disparities and representation.

The proposed project, titled the "Black Women in Research Showcase," strives to connect, inspire, and educate by highlighting the achievements and experiences of Black women Ph.D. students at Virginia Tech, promoting a more inclusive and informed community through a platform for Black women Ph.D. students to exhibit their research, their why, and their journey toward earning a Ph.D. through photography. This initiative intends to foster connections among Black women in their Ph.D. journeys at Virginia Tech while reaching out to those who are not currently engaged in research or are undergraduate students. Moreover, the showcase seeks to bridge the knowledge gap for Black women who may be unfamiliar with graduate school or the pursuit of a doctoral degree. 

Mohammad Hossein Heydari

Heydari, a Ph.D. candidate in the  Department of Environmental Design and Planning in the College of Engineering , focuses research on identifying the barriers to diversity and inclusion and solutions in the construction workforce considering the ongoing shortages in the industry. He earned a master’s degree from the University of Tehran in 2022 and a bachelor’s degree from Amirkabir University of Technology in 2019 in Iran.

Heydari said the aim of his project is to not only to raise awareness and make practical improvements in education, but also to improve the sense of belonging among students and faculty. Initially, he is focusing on creating an introductory newsletter featuring overviews and interviews shedding light on the perspectives of both faculty and students regarding inclusion barriers and areas requiring improvement within construction engineering. The insights shared in the newsletter and the feedback he receives from those who read it can lead to transformational change, Heydari said.

Huda, a Ph.D. student in the School of Neuroscience in the College of Science , focuses on understanding thermoreceptor function using fruit flies as a model organism. She earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Washington, Seattle. Before beginning her doctoral degree, Huda worked at Virginia Tech. During this time, she became a mother and started her doctoral program when her daughter was 1 year old. Utilizing lactation rooms on campus enabled her to balance work and motherhood. However, she noticed a lack of accessible information about these facilities on campus.

Motivated by her own experiences, Huda is undertaking a project to create a comprehensive database of resources available in lactation rooms across campus. Her goal is to update campus maps with this information, ensuring easy access for anyone who needs to use these facilities. Through this initiative, Huda aims to improve support for parents and caregivers on campus.

Chrishma Perera

Perera, master’s degree student in the  Department of Geography in the College of Natural Resources and Environment , is a student at the Indigenous Resilience and Innovation Lab. Prior to Virginia Tech, she earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Her research focuses on Indigenous people's health under climate change. She uses a systematic review approach and key informant interviews. She is a member of an international research network titled Indigenous Peoples Observatory Network and is the 2023-24 Rachel Carson Council Sustainability Fellow for Virginia Tech.

For her fellowship project, she is developing guidelines on how students can contribute to the Virginia Tech Climate Action Commitment. Perera said connecting with Indigenous communities for her research and engaging with different groups on the campus for the fellowship project highlighted the idea that diversity and inclusion is not only a concept that we should acknowledge and it is something to be inculcated with everyone. 

Charis Tucker

Tucker is a Ph.D. candidate in the Howard Feiertag Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management in the Pamplin College of Business . Her current research investigates the intersections between the historical and contemporary experiences of Black travelers. This exciting research has led to a deeper understanding of how the past impacts present day experiences for Black travelers and offers suggests to ensure inclusion is central to the industry’s product development. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at East Carolina University.

Tucker’s diversity scholar’s project seeks to gain insights, opinions, and feedback from Black consumers regarding their perceptions of racial justice advocacy campaigns. Through qualitative methods, the project seeks to uncover which types of campaigns resonate with Black consumers such that results inform strategic decision-making for organizations engaged in social advocacy.

Cathy Grimes

540-231-8795

• College of Engineering
• College of Natural Resources and Environment
• College of Science
• Graduate Education
• Graduate Students
• Inclusion and Diversity
• Myers-Lawson School of Construction
• Neuroscience
• Pamplin College of Business
• Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health

Related Content