Degree: PhD
Classroom Type: Online and on campus classes
The PhD in Education and Human Development brings together award-winning faculty and doctoral students who ground their approach and research in transdisciplinary and critical frameworks and advocate for educational equity and transformative, liberatory education.
December 15, 2025
Interest Categories: Education & Counseling
Campus: CU Denver
The Critical Studies in Education PhD Concentration will be accepting students for the 2026-27 academic year who have specific research interests in issues related to culture, and literacy and language development with a specific focus on bilingual learners in K-12 schools.
Students of this program see education research and teaching through a transdisciplinary and critical lens. The program itself is framed around race, gender, class, disability, sexuality, language, and culture. Curriculum centers on social justice and promotes ideas of educational equity, transformative education, and educational activism in nontraditional ways.
Students in this concentration will explore how society and schooling, including its structures, policies, and practices are dialectical sites of oppression and liberation. Students delve into the idea of educators as intellectual activists, facilitating liberation. The concentration promotes an activist approach. This includes the opportunity to engage in a monthly faculty and student meeting. Through this meeting, students and faculty collaborate on research, publications, conference presentations, and theory building.
The faculty in this concentration area approach education in critical ways. This ensures the future of a more transformational, liberating, and humanizing educational system and society.
Students trust CU Denver to provide an education that will prepare them for excellence in their career as a faculty member or researcher. The program prepares leaders who value educational excellence and social justice. Additionally, the School of Education and Human Development is counted among U.S. News & World Report's “Best Graduate Schools,” making CU Denver one of the top education schools in the country.
The 75-credit program begins each fall.
The curriculum includes a combination of on-campus, hybrid, remote, and online courses each semester.
Every student must be available to attend on-campus courses each semester.
Recommended Completion Time:4 to 8 years
Required Credits for Completion:75
Application Opens: August 1, 2025
Application Deadline: December 15, 2025
Minimum Requirements:
Pre-Application Consultation: We encourage prospective students to contact faculty in mathematics education for consultation prior to applying. This ensures alignment between student interests and faculty expertise while providing information about potential funding opportunities.
This interdisciplinary Mathematics Education specialization prepares graduates to be transformational scholars who drive positive change in mathematics education. Whether conducting groundbreaking research, preparing future teachers, or developing innovative pedagogies, CU Denver's PhD program empowers educators to shape the future of mathematics learning for all students.