The program in Measurement and Quantitative Methods (MQM) invites applications from students who want to study and develop the methods of statistics as applied to problems in educational research. The MQM program offers a Ph.D. degree. Our doctoral students prepare themselves for a variety of 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.

Graduates of the MQM doctoral program hold jobs in prestigious universities around the U.S. and worldwide. They are employed in major educational testing firms such as ACT and the Educational Testing Service (ETS), and in departments of education and educational research organizations in states including Colorado, Michigan, and Wisconsin, and in countries such as Taiwan and Thailand.

Doctoral students in MQM choose between two specializations -- measurement and statistics. 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 interested in applications of quantitative methods to issues relating to classroom and large-scale assessment, instrument development, and program evaluation adopt the measurement specialty. Psychometrics, involving the application of mathematical models to the measurement of behaviors and attributes, combines the two areas. Students who pursue the study of psychometrics may select either specialization, depending on their particular research interests.

Students in the statistics specialization take courses from MQM and other areas in education, and from the Department of Statistics. A strong mathematical background or an undergraduate or master's degree in mathematics or statistics can shorten a student's time in the MQM program, but students with an aptitude for math (but little prior coursework) can also succeed in this specialization. Students in measurement are not required to enroll in courses in the Department of Statistics, but those who pursue cutting-edge research in psychometrics will find such mathematically-based coursework to be of great value.

Explore funding available to MQM students
Needless to say, students in MQM have a myriad of funding opportunities while enrolled at MSU (including both fellowships and teaching and research assistantships), and bright employment prospects upon graduation.

Most MQM students participate in research starting in their first year at MSU, and many students make conference presentations and submit manuscripts for publication before leaving MSU. Students develop research projects within the context of ongoing faculty research or independently. Our MQM students are our future colleagues, and we, the MQM faculty, do all that we can to prepare them for successful careers in the field.

Join us in MQM at MSU!
Contact MQM faculty about our program!