MQM Program Overview

The Measurement and Quantitative Methods (MQM) Program offers a doctoral program for students wishing to specialize in the methodology of educational research, the development of educational and psychological tests, and the methodology of statistics as applied to problems in educational research. Specifically, our students prepare themselves for positions as faculty members in education, psychology, or applied statistics; in the testing industry; and in state-level and national departments of education where program evaluation and the development, administration and analysis of tests and surveys are key activities.

Doctoral students in MQM choose between two specializations-measurement and statistics. Students interested in applications of quantitative methods to issues relating to classroom and large-scale assessment, instrument development, survey administration, and program evaluation adopt the measurement specialty (assessment, measurement, and evaluation). Students with a strong interest in the development of new statistical analyses, the examination of research designs, and inquiry into the statistical properties and behaviors of statistical analyses pursue the statistics specialty.

Students in the assessment, measurement, and evaluation specialization take courses from MQM and as well as establishing a cognate in education or another field (such as psychology, sociology, economics, or epidemiology). Students who pursue a specialization in statistics typically take courses in MQM and the Department of Statistics. All MQM doctoral students take courses to fulfill breadth requirements in the field of education.