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The American Institutes
for Research and the Johns Hopkins University Department of Sociology
are pleased to invite applicants for the AIR Fellowship Program for Predoctoral
Studies in Education Research. The program supports advanced training
in educational research and evaluation for exceptionally able candidates
in the Department of Sociology at Johns Hopkins University who wish to
pursue a concentration in sociology of education as a core component of
their graduate studies. AIR Fellows receive financial support for two
years of graduate study (tuition and school-year stipend at the prevailing
level established by the department for its financial aid packages), a
paid summer internship at AIR's Washington, D. C. division to introduce
Fellows to research opportunities and allow first-hand participation in
on-going research, and a $500/year training supplement for professional
development activities, including attendance at professional meetings.
At the dissertation stage, Fellows may also apply to AIR for dissertation
funding to support research costs (other than salary), up to a maximum
of $5000.
The Department of Sociology, for its part, provides
up to three years of additional financial aid (including training supplement),
research training through coursework and apprenticeships, and close, supportive
mentoring.
This partnership between AIR and the Department of
Sociology is to encourage educational research and evaluation that is
sensitive to the social context through rigorous formal training and "hands
on" research involvement,
AIR Fellows are selected by AIR from among candidates
nominated by the department who have been admitted into the Ph.D. program
under its regular admissions review. One Fellow will be appointed annually.
It is expected that most Fellows will be appointed from among incoming
students, but advanced students also are eligible.
Sociology of Education at Hopkins
Sociology as a recognized discipline was introduced
at Hopkins in 1959, when James S. Coleman was recruited from the University
of Chicago to found a new department. He arrived with an exciting vision
for sociology at Hopkins: empirically rigorous, theoretically eclectic,
and problem driven. As the preeminent sociologist of education of that
era, problems surrounding the functioning of schools as social institutions,
including the role of schools in furthering the dual causes of educational
quality and educational equality, were at the forefront of Coleman's personal
scholarly agenda. Under his leadership, the Hopkins sociology department
quickly established itself as one of the premier graduate programs in
the world for training and research in the sociology of education. It
remains so today.
Half the department's faculty conduct research in this
area, including three (Alexander, DeLuca, and Plank) for whom sociology
of education is a primary focus. And in 2004 - 2005 the list will expand
to include Pam Bennett, who will be joining the Department as a new tenure-track
member of the faculty (Bennett did her Ph.D. at the University of Michigan
and is at Hopkins this year as a Spencer Foundation Post-doctoral Fellow.).
Additional training opportunities are available with distinguished affiliated
faculty at the Center for Social Organization of Schools, an on-campus
education research and development center, and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg
School of Public Health.
Since 1990 five Chairs of the Sociology of Education
Section of the American Sociological Association and three editors of
the journal Sociology of Education have been Hopkins faculty or
former students. The department's graduates occupy positions of distinction
in the academy, research centers, and government service agencies.
These accomplishments flow from a deep institutional
commitment to the field of sociology of education and its advancement.
The AIR Fellowship Program for Predoctoral Studies in Education Research
both honors and furthers that commitment by providing the means to recruit
and then prepare exceptionally able students to engage in educational
studies of the highest quality.
The American Institutes for Research
Since its founding in 1946, the American Institutes
for Research has been using the tools of the social and behavioral sciences
to inform public policy and improve practice in the areas of education,
health, organizational performance, and life quality. The firm's involvement
in education R & D is longstanding: AIR was the lead contractor for the
massive Project Talent study, launched in 1960 as the first large scale
study of American youth.
Education studies currently make up the largest area
of AIR's portfolio, involving about half of its 800 professional staff.
AIR's education program areas include adult education and literacy, education
finance, education technology, education assessment, elementary and secondary
education, higher education, international and comparative education,
special education, and the Education Statistics Service Institute, which
services the R & D needs of, and provides programmatic support for, the
National Center for Education Statistics.
AIR has offices in Palo Alto, California, Concord,
Massachusetts, and the Washington, D. C., area. The company's merger in
1995 with Pelavin Associates, Inc., a Washington research firm specializing
in education studies, expanded its D. C. presence dramatically. Sol H.
Pelavin, who founded Pelavin Associates, Inc. in 1982, now serves as AIR's
President and Chief Executive Officer.
This partnership between AIR and the sociology department
is an expression of the firm's commitment to the advancement of the social
sciences and to the use of the social sciences in addressing social problems.
The AIR Fellowship Program: Programmatic Structure
Fellows will pursue the same program of study as all
department Ph.D. candidates, using the elective component of the Ph.D.
curriculum to concentrate studies in the substance and methods of sociology
of education. Specifically, Fellows will take, as elective courses, at
least two advanced courses in research methods beyond the three that are
required of all students and two substantive courses in sociology of education.
Students who receive fellowships at the pre-dissertation phase of their
studies will be encouraged to participate in research with faculty members,
either by working on an existing study or developing, with faculty supervision,
an independent project. Additionally, at least one of the two research
placement certifications required for the Ph.D. will involve research
in the sociology of education. Fellows will spend one summer, usually
the summer between the first and second year of Fellowship support, working
as paid interns at the D.C. offices of AIR.
Acceptance of an AIR Fellowship entails no obligation
to AIR beyond the curricular requirements specified above.
For additional information on the AIR Fellowship Program
for Predoctoral Studies in Education Research, contact Amy Cline (sociology@jhu.edu).
The Johns Hopkins University is an equal opportunity
employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender,
religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability,
marital status, veteran status, or any other occupationally irrelevant
criteria. The University promotes affirmative action for minorities, women,
disabled persons, and veterans.
The Johns Hopkins University is a smoke-free
environment and as such, prohibits smoking in all facilities.
The Johns Hopkins University is a drug-free workplace.
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