Educational Inquiry, Measurement and Evaluation PhD (EIME)

EIME Course Descriptions

EIME Career Opportunites

Page Navigation

Prerequisite Courses

Students admitted to the EIME program are expected to have previously acquired competencies equivalent to satisfactory completion of the following master's level courses:

  • CPSE 629 or IP&T 629: Introduction to Research Methods in Education
  • IP&T 652: Assessment of Learning Outcomes
  • CPSE 651 or IP&T 651: Introduction to Statistical Inference

In lieu of these courses students may provide evidence of their competency in one or more of these areas by describing experiences they have acquired or products they have developed, etc. New students should consult with their program advisor to determine which of these requirements they have satisfactorily completed and which, if any, courses they still need to complete.

Required Core Courses (27 credit hours)

All EIME PhD students will be expected to complete the EIME doctoral core courses listed below or equivalent courses approved by their doctoral advisory committee. EIME PhD students who have specialized course needs or objectives may substitute one 3-credit course for any of these core courses provided they have the consent of their doctoral advisory committee.

  • EIME 630: Philosophical and Psychological Foundations of Education
  • IP&T 653 or CPSE 653: Quantitative Research Methods
  • IP&T 730 or CPSE 730: Multilevel Modeling
  • IP&T 745 or CPSE 745 Statistics 2: Multiple Regression
  • IP&T 747 or CPSE 747: Structural Equation Modeling
  • IP&T 674R: Quasi-experimental Research Studies
  • IP&T 752: Measurement Theory
  • IP&T 761: Program Evaluation in Education
  • EDLF 650: Public Policy Analysis in Education

Elective Methods Courses (minimum of 12 credit hours)

With the advice and consent of their doctoral advisory committee, EIME doctoral students will be expected to enhance the depth and breadth of their inquiry expertise by completing a coherent set of at least four elective courses selected from the categories listed below. Unless directed otherwise by their doctoral advisory committee, EIME PhD students will be expected to complete at least one course in the Designs for Inquiry category plus at least one course in the Qualitative and Quantitative Methods category.

EIME doctoral students may enroll for directed individual study on a selected topic in any category in which they have already completed at least one course.

Foundations of Inquiry

  • IP&T 750: Literature Review and Synthesis
  • CPSE 789 and IP&T 789: Meta Analysis

Designs for Inquiry (at least one course required in this area)

  • EIME 720: Design-Based Research in Education. Principles of formative experimentation in studying developing interventions in natural contexts. Challenges of selecting and integrating inquiry methods, resolving implementation problems, linking programmatic variables to theory, assessing effects, and drawing valid conclusions.
  • CPSE 673: Single-Subject Research Design. Use of applied behavior analysis in designing and conducting single-subject research in schools and other applied settings.

Qualitative and Quantitative Methods (at least one course required in this area)

  • MFHD 706R: Advanced Statistical Methods
  • IP&T 753R/CPSE 753R: Qualitative Research 2

Educational Measurement and Evaluation

  • IP&T 754: Item Response Theory. Types of computerized measurement and assessment methods and item forms, as well as their development, delivery, and statistical theory.
  • IP&T 692R: Advanced Item Response Theory
  • CPSE 693R: Directed Individual Study

Content Area Specialty (12 credit hours)

Each EIME PhD student is expected to choose a content area specialty from one of the four options listed below. EIME doctoral students are expected to complete at least four courses in their chosen area of focus, including one or two required courses depending on the specialty area selected.

The Preparation and Development of Educators

Required courses:

  • TEd 611: Theories of Learning and Teaching
  • TEd 612: Teacher Learning, Development, and Mentoring

Elective courses (at least 6 additional credit hours selected from the following):

  • TEd 660: History of Teaching and Teacher Education. History of teaching as a cross-generational social and cultural activity; teacher education as a professional practice with present-day educational implications.
  • TEd 661: Classroom as Culture and Knowledge System. Classrooms as culture and knowledge systems and how those systems are created and sustained over time.
  • TEd 665: Best Practices in Teacher Education
  • CPSE 605: Ethics, Professional Roles, and Standards
  • CPSE 611: Special Education Law, Regulations, and Policies
  • TEd 610: Foundations of Teacher Education
  • MTHED 590: Foundational Issues in Learning Mathematics
  • MTHED 591: Scholarly Inquiry in Mathematics Education

Language, Literacy, and Communication

Required courses (6 credit hours, including the following):

  • TEd 620: Foundations of Literacy. Historical and theoretical perspective of literacy-related issues and challenges. Implications for making well-informed decisions that benefit all students.

Elective courses (at least 6 additional credits selected from the following):

  • TEd 603: Content-Area Literacy Instruction. Content-area instructional strategies attuned to vocabulary, concept development demands, nature of content-area texts. Issues of negotiating and creating texts in content-area disciplines.
  • TEd 622: Literacy Development and Instruction. Emergent, early, and adolescent literacy development; ideas for constructing appropriate literacy learning environments, experiences, and instructional interventions for students pre-K–12.
  • TEd 623: Reading Comprehension Instruction. Current theories and models of reading comprehension. Implications for comprehension instruction considering cultural, linguistic, and cognitive differences; curriculum; curriculum integration; motivational strategies.
  • ComD 630: Early Child Language Development and Intervention. Theories and practices in language treatment, emphasizing assessment and intervention for developmentally young children.
  • ComD 679: School-Age Language Disorders. Impact, assessment, and treatment of language impairment in children, emphasizing evaluation and intervention for school-aged children.

Learning and Instruction

Required course (6 credit hours, including the following):

  • CPSE 622: Theories of Learning and Cognition. Learning and cognitive development theories and their application to attitudinal and behavioral change.
  • IP&T 620: Principles of Learning. Improving classroom learning through understanding underlying psychological principles and theories.
  • TEd 611: Theories of Learning and Teaching

Elective courses (at least 6 additional credit hours selected from the following):

  • CPSE 622: Theories of Learning and Cognition. Learning and cognitive development theories and their application to attitudinal and behavioral change.
  • CPSE 693R: Directed Individual Study
  • IP&T 693R: Directed Individual Study
  • CPSE 649: Human Growth and Development
  • IP&T 564: Instructional Design. Identifying instructional problems; specifying objectives, instructional strategies, and media; analyzing learning outcomes; developing instructional materials and assessment instruments; validating instructional systems.
  • IP&T 692R: Advanced Topics

Social-emotional Development and Intervention

Required course:

  • CPSE 649: Human Growth and Development. Psychoeducational aspects of developmental theory across the life span, including psychosocial, moral, ego, cognitive, faith, and identity. Developmental implications in the counseling process.

Elective courses: A minimum of 9 additional credit hours selected from the following:

  • CPSE 614: Behavior Assessment and Intervention. Functional assessment of behaviors using formal and informal behavioral observations. Utilizing collected data to develop and monitor behavioral interventions.
  • MFHD 660: Child and Adolescent Socialization. Child and adolescent development in the context of social interaction, with particular emphasis on the family. Current theory and research evaluated.
  • CPSE 693R: Directed Individual Study
  • CPSE 655: Crisis Intervention

Education Policy Analysis

Required courses (9 credit hours):

  • EDLF 721 or EDLF 621: Economics of Education
  • EDLF 722 or EDLF 622: The Law and Education
  • EDLF 751 or EDLF 665: Education Policy and Politics. Educational policy at the state and national levels emphasizing political theory, normative and empirical dimensions, and political factors that shape policy process, legislation, and practice.

Elective courses (at least one of the following 3-credit hour courses):

  • EDLF 657: Language, Policy, and Education
  • EDLF 661: Education and International Development
  • EDLF 663: Education, Culture, and Economic Development
  • EDLF 662: Comparative and International Development Education
  • EDLF 655: Social History of American Education

Seminar (2 credit hours)

EIME PhD students are expected to enroll in the weekly seminar (EIME 690R) in each fall and winter semester during their first two years in the doctoral program. Enrolled students earn 0.5 credits of seminar credit per semester.

Internships (6 credit hours)

After completing their coursework, all EIME PhD students will be expected to participate in two 3-credit education doctorate internships or apprenticeships. Internship placements will be based on the interests of each student as well as the needs of the sponsoring agency. Applications must be submitted in writing and approved by both the students' graduate advisory committee and the EIME advisory council prior to beginning the experience.

  • EIME 781: Internship in Educational Research. Mentored applied experience working on educational research projects for a college, university, government agency, foundation, or private company.
  • EIME 782: Internship in Educational Measurement and Assessment. Mentored applied experience working for a company or government agency that develops tests or administers testing programs. Written reports required.
  • EIME 783: Internship in Educational Evaluation. Mentored applied experience working as an evaluator for a college, university, government agency, or private company that conducts evaluations for clients.
  • EIME 784: Internship in Educational Policy Analysis. Mentored applied experience working in policy analysis for a government agency, private company, or foundation.
  • EIME 785: University Teaching Apprenticeship. Mentored experience teaching a university course.
  • EIME 786: Design and Analysis Consulting Apprenticeship. Mentored applied experience working as a design and analysis consultant for a university.

Dissertation (18 credit hours)

  • EIME 799R: Dissertation successfully completed and defended.