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Educators hope a joint doctorate program between two educational systems will create more accessible and affordable education, while bolstering urban school district leadership throughout the Bay Area. 

Made possible by a $405,000 grant, the University of California at Berkeley and California State University campuses in San Francisco, San Jose and Hayward on Wednesday announced plans to offer a joint three-year doctorate degree in education, beginning next year. 

"This joint doctoral program builds upon the mutual strengths of our four universities to prepare future leaders for California's urban public school systems and community colleges to meet the needs of K-12 students,'' said Emily Brizendine, co-coordinator of the joint doctoral program and associate dean of Cal State Hayward's School of Education and Allied Studies.  

By creating the joint program and using CSU campuses, the universities are developing a more affordable and accessible alternative for working educators. 

According to CSU figures, only 21 percent of Californians live within 10 miles of a UC campus, compared with 56 percent who live the same distance from a CSU campus. In relation to cost, CSU tuition and fees for graduate study is less than half the cost of the University of California. 

California's lack of affordable Ed.D programs is evident in comparison with other states, since it is less than two-thirds the national average, California State University Chancellor Charles Reed said in a speech last year. 

Brizendine explained that the degree program will provide up to 15 graduates a year with the skills to lead urban school districts in the state. 

The initiative to allow California State University campuses to offer doctoral studies programs was formalized last November after the two systems agreed on the need to make such programs more accessible and affordable to working educators in all regions of the state.