Eligibility & Benefits

Eligibility

ITP Fellows must be enrolled full-time as graduate students in doctoral track programs in Sociology, Economics, Psychology, Educational Psychology, Political Science, Social Welfare program in Social Work, Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, or Educational Policy Studies.

Fellows must fulfill all the requirements of their disciplinary homes, including coursework, comprehensive examinations, qualifying papers and/or master’s theses, proposals, and dissertations and be firmly grounded in the theoretical and methodological tools of their respective disciplines. They must also complete the ITP required coursework and programs including ITP courses such as, Education Across the Disciplines, Randomized Control Trials to Inform Education Policy, and the ITP Training Seminar. In addition, they are expected to pursue additional methodological and statistical training outside of their disciplinary home and successful completion of their internship.

Academic excellence and commitment to education research

An essential element in establishing a high-quality predoctoral training program is to recruit excellent fellows. ITP’s goal is to recruit the top applicants who have an interest in the scientific pursuits offered in the training program. The criteria for training program support include academic excellence, particularly in quantitative analysis as represented in application records, research accomplishments, and demonstrated interest in the practical problems of education. This must include a commitment to undertake a dissertation on an applied question of “what works” in education that is theoretically informed and stimulated by practical concerns. Fellows will be drawn from all participating social science departments as well as participating departments within the School of Education. Fellows must be citizens or permanent residents of the U.S. and be enrolled full-time when receiving support.

International Affiliates

Although the UW-ITP program can fund only U.S. citizens or permanent residents, it encourages international students with shared research interests to become part of the UW-Madison ITP community. Please contact the Program Manager for more information about events or becoming an Affiliated International Scholar.

Support & Benefits

Students supported by the project will hold the titles of ITP Fellow and Research Assistant. Fellows will receive a competitive training stipend, along with full tuition remission, and benefits.

Awards will guarantee up to five years of support for students beginning their 1st or 2nd years as graduate students, with the expectation that they will be funded for three years by the training grant ($34,000 stipend per year) and two years by other sources, including research assistantships, departmental funding through teaching assistantships, or other fellowships.

Professional Development Opportunities

ITP Fellows are expected to participate in professional meetings, conferences, and networks. During years in which students are supported by ITP grant funds they can receive up to $2000 in funding to support conference travel or specific research projects. Additional funding for conference participation may available from department and program faculty. ITP Fellows’ participation in the network of Interdisciplinary Training Programs established through this IES grant program also enhances their research and professional opportunities.

Professional Community

ITP Fellows share a suite in the Educational Sciences Building. Each Fellow has access to a personal work space and PC, as well as to high-level statistical software and information processing tools and experts. Although many students also have office space in their disciplinary homes, the ITP Fellows work area provides a common community space that allows students to network and communicate across disciplines.

How to Apply

Please see our application page for specific instructions on how to submit your application to UW-Madison ITP. If you have any questions about the application process, please contact the Program Manager.