The TLS Doctoral Degree offers a focus area in Children’s and Young Adult Literature as either a major or a minor. TLS doctoral students are required to take two core courses and four research courses in addition to selecting a major focus area and a minor focus area.  

Our courses center on bringing a critical lens to youth literature through examining issues surrounding books and their use with readers. The courses are experiential, involving many interactions with books and engagements to connect readers with books.  We are passionate about books and readers and a focus on diversity within the U.S. and globally. Students in this focus area have many opportunities to participate in projects and events in Worlds of Words Center of Global Literacies and Literatures, and to interact with authors, illustrators, and publishers at the Tucson Festival of Books. 

Core faculty include: Desirée Cueto, Sybil Durand and Kathy G. Short, along with Carol Brochin and Leah Duran. 

The TLS PhD is a 69 unit program delivered in-person and online. The TLS Required Core Courses are: 

• TLS 797, Theoretical and Practical Foundations of Teaching, Learning, and Sociocultural Studies
• TLS 640, Social Justice and Equity as a Framework for Education  

Course options in Youth Literature include: 

• TLS 579, Literature and Literacy for Young Children
• TLS 580, Reading Children’s Literature as a Writer
• TLS 581, Diverse Youth Literatures and Literacies
• TLS 582, The Art of the Picturebook
• TLS 583, Dialogic Pedagogies with Youth Literature
• TLS 585, Young Adult Literature
• TLS 586, Reading the World through Youth Literature
• TLS 680, Reader Response Theories
• TLS 681, Critical Content Analysis of Text and Image
• Special topics classes (TLS 595) include
  • Anti-Colonial Perspectives in Young Adult Literature
  • Book Banning and the Politicization of Schools and Libraries
  • Gender and Sexuality in Youth Literature

The TLS Doctoral Degree offers a focus area in critical youth studies as either a major or minor. All TLS PhD students are required to take two core courses and four research courses in addition to selecting a major focus area and a minor focus area.  

Our Critical Youth Studies focus area courses center on the intricate dynamics of youth culture, agency, and resistance in contemporary society. Youth subcultures are explored as sites of cultural innovation and critique, rather the deviation from societal norms.

Core faculty include: Julio Cammarota, Cindy Cruz, Ashley Dominguez, and Sybil Durand.
 

The TLS PhD is a 69 unit program delivered in-person and online. The TLS Required Core Courses are: 

• TLS 797, Theoretical and Practical Foundations of Teaching, Learning, and Sociocultural Studies
• TLS 640, Social Justice and Equity as a Framework for Education  

Course options in Critical Youth Studies include:

• TLS 503: Critical Youth Studies: Exploring Youth Cultures, Agencies and Resistances
• TLS 518 Participatory Action Research within Schools and Communities
• TLS 581 Diverse Youth Literacies and Literatures
• TLS 585 Young Adult Literature
• TLS 587 Anti Colonial Perspectives and Young Adult Literature
• TLS 596 Critical Indigenous Pedagogy and Education
• TLS 641 Immigration and Education
• TLS 696 Arts-Based Research Methods

The TLS Doctoral Degree offers a focus area in Early Childhood Education: Young Children, Family, & Community Studies as either a major or minor.  TLS PhD students are required to take two core courses and four research courses in addition to selecting a major focus area and a minor focus area.  

Our courses center on contributing to scholarship and teaching related to the growth and development of young children from birth through age eight, early childhood pedagogy, early education programs, curriculum design and implementation, educational policy, and the sociological, cultural, and political constructions of early childhood. We emphasize educational excellence, diversity, and social justice in early childhood education within the U.S. and in global contexts. Students in this program have opportunities to develop their own research or teaching agendas related to young children, their families, and the community, addressing a range of critical questions in the field of early childhood education and early childhood teacher education. Additionally, students can build asset-based and equity-centered partnerships and collaborations with families, local schools, and community members.

Core faculty include: Iliana Reyes, Sung Eun Jung, and Leah Durán.  

The TLS PhD is a 69-unit program delivered in-person and online. The TLS Required Core Courses are: 

• TLS 797, Theoretical and Practical Foundations of Teaching, Learning, and Sociocultural Studies
• TLS 640, Social Justice and Equity as a Framework for Education  

Course options in Early Childhood Education: Young Children, Family, & Community Studies include: 

• TLS 551  Developing Programs for Young Children
• TLS 579  Literature and Literacy for Young Children
• TLS 582  The Art of the Picture Book
• TLS 595  Issues in Language, Reading, and Culture: Assessment in Early Childhood   
• TLS 595   Issues in Language, Reading, and Culture: Language Socialization Across Cultures
• TLS 596  Topics in Teacher Education: Play, Development, and Learning in Early Childhood
• TLS 652  Language Acquisition and Development
• TLS 653 Written Language Development
• TLS 795A Theory and Research in Language, Reading, and Culture: Biliteracy and Multiliteracies across Languages and Cultures
• TLS 795B Vygotsky and Education
• TLS 641: Immigration and Education
• HDFS 546: Foundations of Family and Interpersonal Theory
• HDFS 607:  Topics in Family Studies and Human Development: Child and Adolescent Development
• SERP 602 - Foundations of Development
• SERP 602 - Early Childhood Assessment and Intervention

The TLS Doctoral Degree offers a focus area in Indigenous Studies, Education, and Language Education as either a major or minor.  TLS PhD students are required to take two core courses and four research courses in addition to selecting a major focus area and a minor focus area.  

Our courses center on developing curriculum and research rooted in Indigenous knowledge, values, and language that center Indigenous theories and paradigms. In addition, our courses assert sovereignty and self-determination in the community, not just the classroom, and are focused around justice-centered education. 

Core faculty include: Jeremy Garcia, Sheilah Nicholas, and Valerie Shirley. 

The TLS PhD is a 69 unit program delivered in-person and online. The TLS Required Core Courses are: 

• TLS 797, Theoretical and Practical Foundations of Teaching, Learning, and Sociocultural Studies
• TLS 640, Social Justice and Equity as a Framework for Education  

Course options in Indigenous Studies, Education, and Language Education include: 

• TLS 696  Indigenous Research Methodologies
• TLS 596  Topics in Teacher Education: Indigenous Pedagogies
• TLS 596  Topics in Teacher Education: Critical Issues in Indigenous Education, Curriculum, & Pedagogy
• TLS 642   Oral Traditions Across Societies
• TLS 643   International Indigenous Culture-based Education
• TLS 644   International Indigenous Well-being through Education
• Other courses taught by faculty in the Indigenous Focus area (e.g. TLS 545, Curriculum Theory and Policy; TLS 504, Language, Culture and Society ; TLS 539, Recent Research on Teaching and Schooling)

The TLS Doctoral Degree offers a focus area in Languages and Literacies as either a major or minor. All TLS PhD students are required to take two core courses and four research courses in addition to selecting a major focus area and a minor focus area. 

Within the Languages and Literacies focus area, students can focus on Bilingual Education and English Language Learners or Critical, Digital, and Multimodal Literacies or can combine the two sub-areas. 

Our courses center on sociocultural and critical pedagogies and practices that address meaning making, knowledge building, and learning with bi/multilingual learners in school, home, and community contexts. Theories and pedagogies address reading, writing, language, and meaning making processes. In addition to reading and writing, approaches to literacy include digital and multimodal learning, media literacies, and data literacies, along with content creation and interpersonal skills within a digital environment. 

Core faculty include: Carol Brochin, Jill Castek, Mary Carol Combs, Iliana Reyes, and Yousra Abourehab.

The TLS PhD is a 69-unit program delivered in-person and online. The TLS Required Core Courses for all students are: 

• TLS 640  Social Justice and Equity as a Framework for Education
• TLS 797  Theoretical and Practical Foundations of Teaching, Learning, and Sociocultural Studies

Course options in Languages and Literacies include: 

Bilingual Education and English Language Learners:

• TLS 514  Reading and Writing in Bilingual and Second Language Settings
• TLS 528  Curriculum & Instruction in Bilingual & Second Language Settings
• TLS 581  Diverse Literatures and Literacies
• TLS 615  Critical Pedagogy: The Life, Work, and Pedagogies of Paulo Freire
• TLS 641  Immigration and Education
• TLS 795A Theory and Research in Language, Reading, and Culture: Biliteracy and Multiliteracies across Languages and Cultures
• TLS 795C Language Planning and Policy

Critical, Digital, and Multimodal Literacies:

• TLS 515  New Media and Learning
• TLS 530  Literacy Technology
• TLS 547  Data Literacy
• TLS 561  Multimodal Literacies
• TLS 564  Literacy and the Arts
• TLS 596  Digital Literacies for Disciplinary Learning
• TLS 615  Critical Pedagogy: The Life, Work, and Pedagogies of Paulo Freire
• TLS 651  Reading, Writing and Texts: A Socio-Psycholinguistics Perspective
• TLS 653  Written Language Development

The TLS Doctoral Degree offers coursework in science education, mathematics education, and environmental and sustainability education. 

This focus area prepares students to be researchers and teacher educators in science education, mathematics education, or environmental and sustainability education. Coursework is primarily focused on P-12 teaching and learning in both formal and informal environments. Courses offered include content related to learning theory, curriculum theory, equity and social justice, and contemporary issues in these fields. 

Core faculty include: Alberto Arenas, Erin Turner, Patricia Moriera, and Marcy Wood. Stephen Arnold also teaches courses in this focus area.

The TLS PhD is a 69-unit program delivered in-person and online. The TLS Required Core Courses are: 

• TLS 797, Theoretical and Practical Foundations of Teaching, Learning, and Sociocultural Studies
• TLS 640, Social Justice and Equity as a Framework for Education  

Course options in science, mathematics, environmental, and sustainability education include: 

• TLS 519  Learning in Science & Mathematics
• TLS 541  Equity and Social Justice in Math/Science Education
• TLS 542  School Mathematics and Science History, Curriculum and Reform
• TLS 538  Research on Preparing Elementary Teachers in Mathematics and Science
• TLS 563 Collaborative Writing Groups in Education
• TLS 531 Environmental Learning
• TLS 560 Education & Sustainability
• TLS 562 Groupwork for Diverse Classrooms
• TLS 565 Discourse and Identity
• MATH 506C Research on the Teaching of Mathematics 

The TLS Doctoral Degree offers a focus area in Social Justice in Education as either a major or a minor. TLS doctoral students are required to take two core courses and four research courses in addition to selecting a major focus area and a minor focus area.  

Our Social Justice course offerings address urgent issues in education, including the critical study of race, gender, class and sexuality issues in schools; the educational experiences of linguistically diverse children and youth in the Southwest borderlands; and power, ideologies, and politics in public education. 

Core faculty include: Julio Cammarota, Mary Carol Combs, Cindy Cruz, Desiree Cueto, Ashley Dominguez, and Sybil Durand.  

The TLS PhD is a 69 unit program delivered in-person and online. The TLS Required Core Courses are: 

• TLS 797, Theoretical and Practical Foundations of Teaching, Learning, and Sociocultural Studies
• TLS 640, Social Justice and Equity as a Framework for Education  

Course options in Social Justice in Education include: 

• TLS 633    Critical Race Theory
• TLS 595e  Anthropology and Education
• TLS 641     Immigration and Education
• TLS 575a   Education of Latinas/os/x
• TLS 584     Equity Literacy
• TLS 685     Microaggression Theory and Racial Battle Fatigue
• TLS 615     Critical Pedagogy and the Life, Work, and Pedagogy of Paulo Freire
• TLS 696a   Gender and Sexuality in Youth Literature
• Special topics courses