Program for Interdisciplinary Education Research @ Carnegie Mellon

Purpose

To train scientists to do rigorous research needed for evidence-based educational practice and policy. A full description is available.

Benefits

Up to 5 years of support, including $30,000 annual graduate stipend + $10,500 toward tuition.

Eligibility

  • U.S. citizen or permanent resident (non-citizens and non-permanent residents may apply but cannot be funded according to IES)
  • Must be accepted to any existing PhD program at Carnegie Mellon relevant to PIER

Themes

  • Bi-directional flow of ideas and challenges between basic laboratory studies and real-world instructional applications
  • Knowledge assessment at multiple grain sizes, both temporal and cognitive
  • Leveraging educational technology to collect and mine educational data

Program requirements and canonical schedule

Years 1-5 Integration into PIER Community via:
  • PIER Social Events (Welcome Reception for first cohort of students & advisors)
  • Colloquium Series & Students-only Pro-Seminar with Speakers
  • Bi-Weekly Ed Bag Series
Years 1-2 Engagement in research as part of an augmented research apprenticeship, with interdisciplinary faculty committee, and yearly public presentation of original research
Years 1-2 Department coursework plus three course PIER Core Sequence:
  • Scientific Research in Education (Klahr – Spring)
  • Educational Goals, Instruction, and Assessment (Carver – Fall)
  • Research Methods in the Learning Sciences (Coordinated by Koedinger –Spring)
Prior to Year 3 Field Experience in Educational Context to develop understanding and appreciation for the reality of classroom and school based systems
Years 1-3 Additional Coursework / Individualized Training Experiences to meet PIER Core Competencies not otherwise covered in the Student's prior experience or the Home Department's Program (e.g., Statistics, Experimental Design, Educational Technology, etc.)
Year 3 Interdisciplinary Research Project provides immersion in a PIER research team for an educational research project taken from initial inquiries through presentation
Years 4-5 Dissertation Research addressing practical questions in education
Years 1-5 Progress Evaluation via student's self-assessment relative to the PIER Core Competencies and Faculty Graduate Evaluation Meeting (GEM), together with Home Department graduate evaluation

Application Materials

PIER application (doc)

Please note: While PIER decisions are contingent on your first being accepted into your departmental program, we suggest that you submit the PIER application at the same time as your departmental application, or very soon thereafter.

For more information

Audrey Russo, PIER Program Coordinator
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
e-mail: ar3v@andrew.cmu.edu
phone: (412) 268-4701
fax: (412) 268-2798

Copyright 2007 PIER. Supported by Institute of Education Sciences