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Doctoral Training Program in Advanced Quantitative Methods in Education Research

The University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Graduate School of Education and Information Studies and Department of Psychology have been awarded a five-year $4 million grant by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), the research arm of the U.S. Department of Education. The grant will support the creation of an interdisciplinary doctoral training program dedicated to producing world-class quantitative education researchers. It will bring together UCLA faculty from the education, psychology, biostatistics and sociology fields to offer advanced training in research design, statistics, psychometrics and educational policy to students in the program. Other highlights of the new program include an invited speaker series, interdisciplinary seminars, and apprenticeships with renowned affiliated researchers in the education and psychology departments, including special opportunities related to mathematics teaching, learning, and testing.

The training program will prepare students to conduct high-quality empirical research in education with the most advanced methodological approaches. Example research issues addressed by program faculty and students include improving the mathematics competence of underperforming students, high stakes testing policy and practice, reducing achievement gaps between students of different ethnic backgrounds, dropout trends and remedies, effects of tracking in schools, and multimedia technologies for teaching mathematics and science.

Students with undergraduate or master's degrees in education, psychology, mathematics, statistics, sciences, social sciences or humanities can apply to enter the new program. Selected students will receive a stipend starting at $30,000 per year for up to four years and coverage of tuition, fees, health insurance, travel funds, and support for research expenses. The core faculty for the new program includes UCLA Education Professors Noreen Webb, Mike Seltzer, Jose-Felipe Martinez, and Li Cai, and UCLA Psychology Professors Steve Reise and Peter Bentler. "The support from the U.S. Department of Education reflects the growing visibility and reputation of our faculty and programs. The program will provide advanced methodological training along with practical research experience with real-world educational issues," said Webb. "We are honored to receive this prestigious grant."

The deadline for applications is December 1, 2008 for admission in Fall 2009. For more information about the program and how to apply, visit the AQM website.

The UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Studies (GSE&IS) is committed to understanding and improving educational practice, information policy and information systems in a diverse society. GSE&IS's academic programs bring together faculties and students committed to expanding the range of knowledge in education, information science and associated disciplines. Its professional programs seek to develop librarians, teachers, administrators and information professionals within the enriched context of a research university. The UCLA Department of Psychology is one of the largest and most productive departments in the nation. Its renowned faculty provide ample opportunity for innovative research and their scientific contributions have hastened the University's emergence as a world-class research institution.