Graduate Student Advisory Committee

Educational Measurement & Statistics

Department of Psychological & Quantitative Foundations

College of Education

The University of Iowa

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Information on Courses

When Courses are Offered and How Often

Required Courses

Description of Courses

Typical First Year Sequence of Course Work

Third Area of Study Information

Information on When Courses are Typically Offered (pdf)

Required Courses:

This varies depending on several things. First, for students in the master's program there are some required courses (click here). For the Ph.D. program, the general rule of thumb is that there are no specific required courses. Currently the advisory committee is trying to resolve the discrepancy between the university's general catalog which lists four required courses for all Ph.D. students and what is practiced. On the program web site there are information sheets (click here) provided by the program that lists "typical" courses. However, the Ph.D. program is individualized by you and your advisor. Some advisor's do have required courses that their students will need to take so discuss this early with your advisor.

Sequence of Courses:

This again is something that varies depending on your degree objectives, advisor, and the year you start. Many classes are offered on an every two year schedule and the typical offerings can be found at the link above.

The typical sequence for the first year is:

Fall Semester:

Measurement Course:

07P:257 Educational Measurement & Evaluation *

Statistics Course: (at least 1 of the following depending on your background)

07P:143 ~ Introduction to Statistical Methods, or

07P:243 ~ Intermediate Statistical Methods, or

07P:246 ~ Design of Experiments

07P:247 ~ Nonparametric Statistics (every 2 year course)

Third Course: (depends on your degree objectives and advisor)

07P:200 ~ Education Psychology, or

07P:220 ~ Quantitative Educational Research Methodology, or

07P:265 ~ Program Evaluation, or

any other course offered that you and your advisor agree upon

Spring Semester:

Measurement Course:

07P:255 ~ Construction & Use of Evaluation Instruments

07P:262 ~ Item Response Theory (every 2 year course, consider carefully)**

Statistics Course: (Depends on what you took in the Fall)

07P:243 ~ Intermediate Statistical Methods (if you took 07P:143 in the Fall)

07P:244 ~ Correlation & Regression (if you took 07P:243 or 07P:246 in the Fall)

Third Course: (again depends on degree objective and advisor)

07P:165 ~ Introduction to Program Evaluation or

07P:200 ~ Educational Psychology or

any other course offered that you and your advisor agree upon

* Be warned, 07P:257 is a prerequisite for all the other measurement courses you will take while at Iowa. Unless approved by your advisor it is highly recommended that you make sure you take this course your first Fall in attendance at Iowa.

** 07P:262 ~ Item Response Theory (IRT) has 07P:243 & 07P:257 as prerequisites and many first year students are eligible to take this course their first spring if it is offered. This course may be more than first year students want to take on and should discuss it with your advisor. Consider taking 07P:258  (T&T) before taking 07P:262 (IRT). While it is not a prerequisite, knowing classical test theory will help you understand IRT better and perhaps perform better in the course.

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Third Area of Study Information

This is a difficult area to offer information on. Of all the parts of our program this is the one area that is the most flexible and varies from student to student. Discuss your options and interests with your advisor early enough so that you can take course work relevant to your third area that will allow you to take your comprehensive exams in a timely manner. The third area of study also tends to be optional for students working on a masters. Again, discuss this with your advisor.

Typically the third area requires that you take at least three courses (or 9 semester hours) in that area. Listed below are some of the third areas that students in the program have studied:

Mathematical Statistics

Educational Psychology

Program Evaluation

Instructional Technology

Educational Policy

Biostatistics

Language Testing

Teaching & Learning

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