Collaborative Urban Problem-Solving:
Community-Based Studio
UofM’s PhD in Urban Affairs program is designed to prepare graduates with the necessary skills in research, evaluation, and policy design to address the kinds of socioeconomic challenges that face Memphis and other cities like it. The program increases the capacity to address urban challenges in Memphis and the Midsouth by providing training in evidence-based practice to local and regional organizations selected each year.
The program in Urban Affairs uses a two-course sequence (Collaborative Urban Problem Solving I and II), allowing doctoral students to engage with a selected community organization to address community problems collaboratively and with interdisciplinary knowledge and expertise. This course is required for all second-year students in the program.
Organizations selected to work alongside students in this capacity will benefit from a team of dedicated doctoral-level researchers working to solve a critical issue. The course(s) will have a faculty member who works with the students and the organization to ensure that the final product provided to the organization meets their needs.
The year-long studio sequence serves as the synthesis mechanism for the Urban Affairs and Public Policy PhD program, which is 1) interdisciplinary, 2) geared at preparing researchers to address urban or metropolitan issues, and 3) designed to allow students to learn through engaging in local research that benefits the greater Memphis community.
QUALIFICATIONS: Organizations who apply must have the capacity to provide the necessary workspace, data, and collaboration throughout the academic year. Organizations must also have a significantly sized project or idea requiring more than a few months' work. Organizations will help shape the end product, but the work must allow students to develop the necessary tools (surveys, fieldwork, interviews, comprehensive literature reviews, organizational analysis, or environmental scanning) in order to provide a finished product to the organization after the year's work is completed.
You can view last year's application here.
For the 2025-2026 academic year, one organization will be chosen for the year-long studio.
Slides from the Winter 2023/2024 interest meeting can be found here.
If you have further questions about this program or other SUAPP Initiatives, please get in touch with Dr. Katherine Lambert-Pennington (k.lambert-pennington@memphis.edu).