The Virginia Education Sciences Predoctoral Training Program

The Virginia Education Science Training (VEST) program, funded originally in 2004, is designed to provide doctoral students with advanced training in conducting scientifically rigorous and policy-relevant education research that can improve outcomes for prekindergarten through postsecondary education students. Fellows will be recruited from the doctoral programs in Applied Developmental Science and Education Policy, Economics, Psychology and Sociology.

Over the course of this 5-year grant, VEST will recruit approximately 23 fellows from participating departments for 2- or 4-year fellowships. Annually, these fellowships include tuition and benefits, a stipend, and a small research/conference travel fund.

PhD students in this training program will participate in an interdisciplinary core curriculum consisting of coursework in educational theory, quantitative methodology, and research. Fellows will also participate in ongoing research apprenticeships with faculty mentors and a year-long policy/practice apprenticeship with a school district, state department of education agency or a non-profit education organization. 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 $6.8 million. In addition to grant from IES, the University of Virginia will be contributing approximately $2.2 million as a cost-share.