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Interdisciplinary
Education Research 

APPLICATIONS ARE NOW BEING ACCEPTED FOR FALL 2012. 

 

The Carnegie Mellon and RAND Traineeships (CMART) in Methodology and Interdisciplinary Research program is an interdisciplinary, inter-institutional post-doctoral training program built on the research and training strengths of Carnegie Mellon University and RAND Corporation's Pittsburgh office, to launch new PhD's on successful careers in education research.

 

Funded by the US Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences, CMART focuses on practical statistical, quantitative and methodological training needed for scientifically rigorous education research. CMART postdoctoral work on one or more interdisciplinary projects led by researchers affiliated with Carnegie Mellon, RAND, or the NSF-funded Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center (PSLC), as well as their own research.

 

Possible projects include:

  • Development of an online tutoring system for middle school math;
  • Randomized controlled trials evaluating instructional coaching, online geometry or reading tutors, and other interventions;
  • Study of the consequences of broad reform in large urban school districts;
  • Educational data mining for online tutors; and
  • Value-added and related evaluation of teacher performance.

Inquiries about additional projects/opportunities are also welcome.

 

In addition, CMART fellows participate in a rich array of seminars, brown-bags, and visiting speaker series offered by RAND, PSLC, Carnegie Mellon's IES-funded predoctoral Program in Interdisciplinary Education Research (PIER), CMART itself, and affiliated departments. Fellows will receive guidance through a two-tiered mentoring system designed to help with both narrow and broader challenges of building an education research career; and additional training through courses and workshops offered at Carnegie Mellon and in the larger Pittsburgh research community. 

To apply

CMART is open to

  • New PhD's in education research--educational psychologists, cognitive scientists, curriculum specialists, education policy specialists, etc.--interested in augmenting their quantitative training while working on significant education research projects;
  • New PhD's in quantitative research--statistics, machine learning, economics, etc.--interested in immersing themselves in education research. 
  • More senior candidates interested in moving into education research.

The fellowship carries a stipend of $50,000/yr, full-time benefits including health insurance, and funds for professional travel and startup costs (computer, software, books, etc.).  Opportunities exist to augment the fellowship stipend through other sources (teaching, additional research projects, etc.), subject to approval by the CMART management committee.

 

Applicants should arrange to send a letter of interest (including a summary of research interests), curriculum vitae, relevant transcripts, up to two publications or working papers, and three letters of recommendation, to cmartsearch@stat.cmu.edu.  Postdoctoral fellowship candidates must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States, and must have received their doctorate prior to beginning the fellowship.

 

We anticipate hiring four two-year CMART fellows, one starting each Fall in 2010-2013.  Review of applications for the 2012 fellowship begins immediately and will continue until the position is filled.