Dr. Cynthia Coburn

Professor

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Biography

Cynthia E. Coburn is the Margaret Walker Alexander Professor at the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University. Her research focuses on the intersection of instructional policy and teachers' classroom practices within urban school settings, as well as the dynamics of school district policymaking. Coburn has received numerous awards for her contributions to scholarship and teaching, including the American Educational Research Association Early Career Award in 2011, and she was elected to the American Educational Research Association as a Fellow in 2015. She holds a Doctor Honoris Causa from CU Louvain in Belgium awarded in 2019. Notably, she is a member of the National Academy of Education since 2020 and was awarded Northwestern University’s Ver Steeg Distinguished Research Fellowship and Charles Deering McCormick Professorship for Teaching Excellence in 2020 and 2021, respectively. Before entering academia, Coburn worked with a national non-profit focused on enhancing educational opportunities for poor and minoritized communities. Her academic credentials include a PhD in Education and an MA in Sociology from Stanford University, and a BA in Philosophy from Oberlin College. She has published extensively on the themes of educational policy, practice, and the importance of research use in educational settings.

Research Interests

Awards

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Elected Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences

2025-01-01
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Charles Deering McCormick Professorship for Teaching Excellence

2021-01-01
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Dorothy Ann Clarence L. Ver Steeg Distinguished Research Fellowship

2020-01-01
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Elected Member, National Academy of Education

2020-01-01
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Doctor Honoris Causa

2019-01-01
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Elected Fellow, American Educational Research Association

2015-01-01
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Early Career Award

2011-01-01

Requirements for Northwestern University

Doctorate Program
Requirements
GPA Requirement
Required:3
TOEFL
Total
Required:90
IELTS
Overall
Required:7
Prerequisites
U.S. Bachelor's degree or equivalent
Application Checklist
  • Online application
  • Transcripts
  • Letters of recommendation
  • Statement of purpose
  • Resume/CV
  • TOEFL/IELTS scores (if applicable)
Specialization Notes

Standard PhD requirements for TGS departments including Chemistry, Physics, and Sociology.