University of Chicago Predoctoral Training Program in the Education Sciences

In 2005, the University of Chicago established the Interdisciplinary Training in Educational Research Methods (R305C050076) training program. Through this 2014 grant, the training program provided doctoral students from social science disciplines with advanced training in state-of-the-art quantitative methods and experience conducting research on the contributions of schooling to labor market success of youth.

Over the course of this grant, the University of Chicago offer fellows 5-year positions that included tuition and benefits, $30,000 stipends, and a small research/conference travel fund. Fellows received 3 to 4 years of funding from the grant, followed by 1 or 2 additional years of funding from the University.

The training program focused on the role of schooling for developing skills required in the labor market with a focus on the success of urban youth. Fellows in the training program participated in an interdisciplinary core curriculum consisting of coursework in human development, schooling, education policy, and discipline-based statistical methods. In addition, students developed a research portfolio and received additional training through a series of methods workshops and an ongoing workshop series on education in Chicago.

The training program was also part of the University of Chicago's research initiative Successful Pathways from School to Work that supports inquiry and problem solving to improve education for urban youths' entry into the modern labor market. The initiative brought together researchers, policy makers, and practitioners to address the urgent problem of improving the academic preparation of youth in Chicago and other major cities. Fellows attended the initiative's seminar series and also had opportunities to apply for dissertation support from the initiative.

The total projected costs of the training program are $9,839,005. In addition to the $3,926,745 grant from IES, the University of Chicago committed to contributing $3,038,596 during the award period with an additional $2,873,664 in tuition support to continue to train fellows for up to 2 years after the grant concluded.