Inside IES Research

Notes from NCER & NCSER

How to Develop Your Career in Education Research: IES Training Opportunities

By Corinne Alfeld, NCER Program Officer

In honor of career development month, we would like to remind you about training opportunities funded by IES. We have invested in training programs since 2004 with the aim of increasing the supply of scientists and researchers in education who are prepared to conduct rigorous education research that advances knowledge within the field and addresses issues important to education policymakers and practitioners. These efforts are intended to lead both to the training of talented education researchers from a variety of backgrounds and to the incorporation of diverse ideas and perspectives in education research.

In this blog we describe five types of training opportunities currently offered through the National Center for Education Research (NCER) and the National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) that span from undergraduate to the postdoctoral level and beyond.

Training Opportunities for Current or Future Doctoral Students
Are you a current or aspiring doctoral student wondering what training opportunities are available to you? You may be interested in applying to one of 10 training programs funded by NCER’s Predoctoral Interdisciplinary Research Training Program in the Education Sciences that train predoctoral fellows in interdisciplinary programs involving a number of academic disciplines (e.g., economics, education, psychology, public policy, sociology, and statistics, among others). These fellowships can be from 2 to 5 years in length depending on the training program model and typically include tuition and benefits, a $30,000 stipend, and a small research/travel fund. Fellows who complete their training program have the skills necessary to produce research that is rigorous in method as well as relevant and accessible to education stakeholders such as practitioners and policymakers.

If you are interested in becoming a predoctoral fellow, you must apply directly to one of the training programs, not to IES.  Each of the 10 fellowship programs funded in 2014-15 has its own application process and acceptance criteria. For more information on becoming a predoctoral fellow, check out this resource on Applying for a Predoctoral Interdisciplinary Research Training Program Fellowship.

 

Postdoctoral Training Opportunities
Are you finishing up your doctorate and wondering how you can get more experience in education research? Or perhaps you’re looking to return to academia through a postdoctoral position? If so, you may want to apply to one of the our programs funded under the Postdoctoral Research Training Program in the Education Sciences Program (NCER) or the Postdoctoral Research Training Program in Special Education Program (NCSER). Through these two grant programs, IES funds training programs at doctoral-granting institutions to further prepare researchers who have obtained their Ph.D.s or Ed.D.s to become scholars capable of conducting high-quality, independent education or special education research. These postdoctoral training programs provide practical, hands-on experiences; enrichment of theoretical and empirical knowledge; and opportunities for fellows to build professional skills and networks that will support working with other researchers and relevant education research stakeholders.

To inquire about postdoctoral fellowship openings, follow the hyperlinks in this section to search for currently (awarded in 2010-15) funded programs at various universities around the country. For example, here are the 2015 NCER-funded programs and 2012 NCSER-funded programs.

 

Other Upcoming Training Opportunities:

  • Undergraduate, Post-baccalaureate, and Master’s Students. If you are an upper-level undergraduate student, recent graduate, and/or master’s student, especially from a group that is underrepresented in doctoral study (including racial and ethnic minorities, first-generation college students, economically disadvantaged students, veterans, and students with disabilities), you may be interested in the Pathways to the Education Sciences Research Training Program (Pathways). Established in 2015, the Pathways program funds training programs at minority-serving institutions (MSIs) and institutions of higher education that partner with MSIs. These training programs will provide fellows with education research experience and professional development to prepare them to pursue doctoral study in the education sciences or in fields relevant to education research.

Up to five Pathways training programs will be awarded to MSIs (and their partners) in 2016. These new programs will begin recruiting fellows in 2016 and 2017, so keep your eyes and ears open for more information about where and how to apply!

 

  • Early Career Education Researchers. Are you an early career researcher at your first appointment? If so, you may qualify for and be interested in one of our programs that target early career researchers in statistical and research methodology (NCER) and special education (NCSER).

Look for upcoming training opportunities for early career researchers in future Request for Applications for training grants (CFDA 84.305B and 84.324B) and statistical and research methodology grants (CFDA 84.305D).

 

  • Active Researchers Looking to Improve Their Methodological Expertise. Are you a current researcher (e.g., at a university or research firm) who would like to add tools to your methodological toolkit or further refine your skills with such tools? If so, then the Methods Training for Education Researchers Program may be for you.

If you are interested in methodological training, sign up for the IES Newsflash for announcements of upcoming workshops or periodically check our list of IES-funded workshops.

 

If you have questions about our training programs, please contact Corinne.Alfeld@ed.gov.

 

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