The Penn Graduate School of Education announced plans yesterday to begin two new science-oriented degree programs at the school starting next fall.
GSE will now offer its students the chance to earn a Master of Science in Statistics, Measurement and Research Technology and a Master of Philosophy in Policy Research, Evaluation and Measurement, all within the span of two years.
Skill development within the one-year, eight-credit Master of Science degree program will range from data collection to statistical analysis.
In achieving the six-credit Master of Philosophy degree -- a one-year course that follows the Master of Science program -- students will build skills such as implementing research design and performing field trials.
According to Education Professor Erling Boe, one of the project's developers, the programs were developed specifically around some of the policies outlined in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 as well as other national legislation that emphasized the need for broad reforms in education based on scientific research.
With the "gradually increasing emphasis on achievement" as outlined by the act, Boe notes that there will be "a rather dramatic increase in the amount of national achievement testing."
"School districts all over the country are becoming more involved in this," Boe said, illustrating the growing need for graduates with experience in education research "who are preparing for success in information-rich environments."
Each of the degrees is designed to prepare graduate students for mid-level positions in the realms of academia, research and other human services fields.
The Master of Philosophy degree is a "higher level, more advanced degree that builds" on the Master of Science degree, according to Boe. A Ph.D. is also offered as part of the program for advanced level studies.
"We're proposing with these two degrees to prepare educators... to perform and understand research in ways that are very relevant to education right now," GSE Assistant Dean Tom Kecskemethy said.
"I think the significance of this is that we're taking intellectual product and expanding on it and leveraging it... [to] address the professional needs of students interested in coming to the school," he added.
Kecskemethy described the program as being essential for students to "understand research in ways that are very relevant to education right now."
The curriculum for each degree will be built to suit each student's needs and goals. Students will study advanced policy research as well as current developments in a specific field of policy of their choice.
Choices of policy development fields vary from child abuse to the prevention of school dropout. The program places emphasis on students gaining research experience throughout their studies.
Although the statistics, measurement and evaluation degree program has been in existence in some form at the GSE since 1964, the new program developed by Boe and his colleagues makes "the curriculum more appealing," Boe said.
"We talked about how we could improve the content of the curriculum," Boe said. "We saw emerging some new niches in which statistics and measurement are becoming more and more in demand."
Boe added that he believes the new program will appeal to students because of "content [and the] number of courses required," he said.
