The IES Pre-Doctoral Training Program is designed to support and enhance the Ph.D. training of students committed to careers in applied, field-based education research. In addition to the graduate training offered through their home departments within the University, fellows will receive training and field based experience in multi-disciplinary research methods, including randomized controlled trials of educational interventions and innovations. Most program-supported field-based projects are expected to entail students, teachers, and/or administrators in K-12 schools. However, some research may involve studies of preschool age youth and some may involve postsecondary school students. Settings for the research may include both inner city schools serving high-poverty neighborhoods and schools in working-to-middle class communities.

The Benefits

Fellows receive a $30,000 apprenticeship stipend and up to $10,500 to support tuition and academic fees annually for up to four years through the completion of the dissertation, or through the termination of the program support from the U.S. Department of Education or whichever comes first*. This financial support may come from a combination of IES PreDoctoral Training Grant monies, school support, and/or funded research projects.

Fellows will participate in research apprenticeships supervised by faculty members or other senior professionals who are partnering with the training program for 20 hours a week, year round. During the period a student is supported through this fellowship program, he or she may not do other work for the University in so far as the apprenticeship requirements associated with the fellowship exhaust the 999 hours of paid support per year allowed for full-time students in coursework or on dissertation status. However, both the stipend and tuition support may be provided through a blend of fellowship monies and funded research projects to accommodate the likelihood that many fellows will participate in funded research during their graduate training.

However, consistent with University policy, in the aggregate students may not work in their apprenticeships for more than 999 hours a year. Coursework supported under the fellowship that is in fulfillment of Ph.D. requirements will be approved by the degree-granting program within the University; other coursework supported under the fellowship will be approved by the IES PreDoctoral Training Program faculty.

Fellows will be regular participants in the Field-Based Research Seminar organized by the Training Program. In this capacity, they will have voice in selecting the Experts in Residence invitees, planning and organizing special colloquia, and scheduling summer institutes and technical training programs. In addition, they may have access to program resources such as computer hardware and software financial support for participation in relevant professional conferences.

Mentoring and Professional Development

Trainees are expected to achieve proficiency in seven areas: (1) education foundations; (2) a disciplinary foundation (demography, economics, political science, psychology, or sociology); (3) field research design and methods; (4) information sources, survey design, and data collection methods; (5) research synthesis methods; (6) protection of human subjects; and (7) project development and management. Students may achieve these proficiencies through standard course offerings; summer institutes in advanced methods; weekly seminars; periodic visits by "experts in residence;" and participation in collaborative field-based research projects directed by members of the faculty leadership team in collaboration with program partners (see above).

Expectation

Fellows should be committed to becoming a scholar of and/or active contributor to field-based researcher in education. All fellows are expected to pursue academic coursework in a discipline — such as, economics, sociology, political science, psychology, and demography — and in education. Students may have matriculated in the Ph.D. within the Graduate School of Education or in another academic department within the University. All fellows will be expected to complete a minimum of two foundation courses in an academic discipline. It is expected that the foundations requirements will consist of a minimum of two courses in education and two foundation courses in an academic discipline - economics, sociology, psychology, or political science. The courses should build on and complement each other, and serve as a relevant foundation for research in education/education policy. The education and disciplinary foundation course requirements will be determined by the relevant degree-granting department within the University, in consultation with the IES Pre-Doctoral Training Program Leadership Team (Rebecca Maynard, Chair).

Fellows are expected to participate in the ongoing workshops and seminars organized by the program and to participate in the summer institutes and the experts in residence programs. In addition, all fellows are expected to contribute to the design and conduct of collaborative field-based projects. However, the level of engagement in such projects may vary depending on the extent to which fellows are committed to funded research projects as a part of their research apprenticeship.

Partnerships

Partners in the training program include four Pennsylvania school districts (Philadelphia, Lower Merion, Springfield, and Upper Dublin); two New Jersey districts (Trenton and Haddonfield); Research for Action; and the Robin Hood Foundation. In addition, experts in various aspects of education and experimental design research will provide on-site technical support to fellows. Examples of the individuals who will serve in this capacity include: Judith Gueron (former president of MDRC); Stephen Kennedy (senior scientist at Abt Associates); Ellen Kisker (independent consultant); Jean Layzer (director of the Institute for Research in Early Childhood Development at Abt Associates); and David Myers (senior vice president at Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.).

Laura Kitson, Program Manager

Rebecca Maynard, Program Director

Spotlights

Penn GSE
The University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education

IES
The Institute of Education Sciences

ED.gov
The U.S. Department of Education

Doctoral Training Programs @ IES
Building the Capacity for Education Research