Improving Education Systems Through Interdisciplinary Training and Practice: Applying Social Science to Education Policy and Implementation Research

The Michigan State University Predoctoral Interdisciplinary Research Training Program, first funded by IES in 2009, will provide training to prepare doctoral students to conduct education policy research in collaborative partnerships with education agencies and postsecondary systems. The training program is housed primarily in the College of Education and draws fellows and faculty primarily from the departments of educational administration, economics, and political science. Some fellows and faculty may also come from other departments in the College of Education and the College of Social Science.

The program will recruit approximately 21 fellows for 2- to 3-year fellowships. Fellowships include tuition and benefits, stipends, and a small research fund. All fellowships will start during students' second year in their doctoral programs. Because doctoral training typically lasts 5 years to complete, participating departments have committed to funding fellows via standard department packages for years not covered by IES funding to ensure fellows have 5-years' worth of doctoral training.

The fellows will participate in an interdisciplinary core curriculum consisting of coursework in quantitative methodology, research design and education policy. Fellows will also participate in ongoing research apprenticeships with faculty mentors and a year-long policy/practice apprenticeship with an education agency or university system. The training program also includes an ongoing interdisciplinary seminar on conducting education research and a speaker series.

The total projected costs of the training program are $5.55 million. In addition to the IES grant, the University of Michigan will cost-share approximately $1.5 million.