An interdisciplinary training program in the education sciences helps prepare a new generation of outstanding scholars with expertise in the design, implementation, and statistical analysis of evidence on “what works” in education. The training program focuses on three themes: 1) Design and implementation of field-based randomized studies in schools and other complex, real-world settings; 2) Statistical analysis of quantitative survey, observational, and assessment data on education, with special attention to questions of causal inference; and 3) The impact of policy innovations at the federal, state, and local levels.

The program will accommodate 30 fellows over 5 years during the project's second five-year award from 2009 to 2014. Students in the training program must be enrolled full-time as doctoral students in economics, political science, psychology, sociology, or the social welfare program in social work. Support for up to 5 years for entering students will attract the most talented students in our disciplines. Two-year advanced fellowships will enable top students to carry out dissertations that both advance their disciplines and answer questions on education policy and practice.

Adam Gamoran, professor of sociology and educational policy studies and director of WCER, is Program Director. Training faculty includes over 25 outstanding scholars from the departments of sociology, economics, psychology, and political science, and the professional schools of education, public affairs, and social work. Partnerships with Mathematica Policy Research, with the Center for Data-Driven Reform in Education, and with three major urban school systems provide research sites and internship opportunities for our students.

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