Ph.D. by the Numbers

17 members in the cohort.
10 are women; 7 are men.
12 identify Black or African-American, 4 identify as Caucasian, one as Asian.
Age range is 26 years to 68 years.
8 are DC government employees—of the eight, 4 are UDC employees. One is a UDC faculty member and Assistant Dean.
2 are UDC adjunct professors—one is a former UDC adjunct professor.
3 are UDC alumni.
Several have multiple advanced degrees—and, there is one PhD and one MD.
Colleges attended encompass nearly every region of the United States: UDC, Towson State, Harvard, California State, Wake Forest U., Howard U, American U., GWU, St. John’s U., University of Illinois, University of Tennessee, University of Missouri, University of Texas, Beacon College in Florida, University of West Alabama.
Career fields include nutrition, public health, medicine, architecture, engineering, psychology, social work, law, and education. The engineering degrees (two) are held by women.

The applicants:

43 complete applications to the program.
Age range of all applicants is 26 years to 77 years.
Various countries of origin, including Cameroon, Kenya, Iran, Nigeria, India.
Many are affiliated with DC government as employees and include UDC employees and UDC alumni.
Of the 43 applicants, 6 have Masters in Public Administration degrees, 7 have MBA’s, 3 have Masters in Social Work degrees, 2 have Masters in Public Health degrees, two have master’s degrees in Environmental Law and Policy, one has a Juris Doctor, and one is an MD.
One was a Peace Corps volunteer.
One worked for the White House, Office of the Vice President.
Two have master’s degrees in environmental law and policy.

The inquiries:

Aside from the 43 applicants, there have been approximately 130 inquires about the Ph.D. program.

Ph.D. Student – Andrew Narva, MD Inaugural Cohort

“The reason UDC’s program was of interest to me is because of its direct focus on the nation’s capital — Washington, DC is the lab. The entire program is innovative and dynamic, and it does not exist anywhere else. Through UDC’s Urban Leadership and Entrepreneurship program, I hope to forge a new career path through a more formal exploration of my lifelong interest in environmental sustainability. The opportunity to learn in a rigorous and real-world-based program is exciting.”