AERA Undergraduate Student Education Research Training Workshop

Call for Applications

Now Accepting Applications

Extended Deadline: December 16, 2024

Introduction

The American Educational Research Association (AERA) invites fellowship applications for an Undergraduate Student Education Research Training Workshop to be held Wednesday, April 23 – Saturday, April 26, 2025, during the AERA Annual Meeting in Denver. This workshop is designed to build the talent pool of undergraduate students who plan to pursue doctorate degrees in education research or in disciplines and fields that examine education and learning from early childhood to workforce participation. This research can be in areas such as children and youth, school and schooling issues, higher education, education policy, student achievement, curriculum and instruction, education psychology, or education leadership.

This undergraduate fellowship seeks to attract students who have an interest in pursuing careers as researchers, faculty members, or other professionals engaged in advancing knowledge or solving challenging problems in the field. Applicants are expected to have recent or ongoing research exposure related to an education research question or topic. Such work might be an independent project pursued with the benefit of an advisor or mentor, research recently undertaken or being done in the context of a course, or a research experience that is part of a research group or team.

Successful applicants will participate in an invited AERA Annual Meeting undergraduate student poster session to share their research. This poster session provides an opportunity for the students to visually display their work and receive comments and guidance from the education research community. Additional workshop activities will include interactive lectures led by senior scholars and researchers, participation in key Annual Meeting events, and networking opportunities with graduate students, faculty, and other education research professionals.

Read the AERA Highlights story about the workshop held at the 2024 Annual Meeting in Philadelphia

Workshop Description

The workshop will offer an overview of the field of education research and significant areas of inquiry, address how quantitative and qualitative research methods are used in studies and present some innovative methodological approaches and speak to the relevance and applications of research to education policy and practice. The workshop will also provide attendees with an understanding of the education research profession and professional work in the field.

Instructors for the workshop are faculty and researchers from both academic institutions and research organizations (e.g., American Institutes for Research, Educational Testing Service, NORC, and RAND Corporation) will introduce education research as a field and share their area of expertise and knowledge with the fellows. The workshop will also focus on exploring graduate education, applying to graduate school, and beginning a career in education research. Further components of the workshop include a poster presentation session and a designed experience of exposure to the Annual Meeting, both of which are described below.

Part of the workshop experience engages fellows in presenting their research in an invited undergraduate student poster session during the Annual Meeting. This session provides an opportunity for the fellows to visually display their work and be able to discuss what they found, are doing, or accomplished with session attendees that include other undergraduates, graduate students, and early career as well as senior scholars. The poster session component of the workshop allows those participating to have experience of presenting research and receiving feedback in a supportive environment and in a way similar to graduate students and career-long professionals. Each poster will reflect the original work (solo authored) of the undergraduate fellow.

Fellows will interact with faculty members and graduate students who serve as program mentors. An additional component of the workshop is that fellows will attend pre-selected paper sessions, symposia, or key events at the AERA Annual Meeting. This part of the workshop curricular provides fellows with the opportunity to learn about the research enterprise and experience what research professionals do at research conferences.

Award and Eligibility Details

Dates: The Workshop activities will take place Wednesday, April 23 – Saturday, April 26, 2025 during the AERA 2025 Annual Meeting in Denver.

Award: Fellows will participate in the Undergraduate Student Education Research Training Workshop during the AERA 2025 Annual Meeting in Denver. The award includes conference registration and three nights of lodging at a designated hotel. The fellows and/or their home institutions are responsible for transportation costs to Denver. Most meals are part of the Workshop activities.

Eligibility: Candidates may come from a broad range of fields across the arts and sciences. Underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities and women are encouraged to apply. Candidates must be:

• Students in their sophomore, junior, or senior year of college in good academic standing.
• Interested in pursuing a graduate or professional degree that can lend itself to education research areas such as children and youth, school and schooling issues, higher education, education policy, student achievement, curriculum and instruction, education psychology, or education leadership.
• Have current or ongoing research that can be presented in a poster session.
• U.S. citizens or permanent residents; non-U.S. citizens attending a school in the U.S.

Application Submission Procedures and Requirements

How to submit a proposal:

You will need to either access your “MyAERA” profile or create a new profile at AERA Apply. Please review and your contact and background information. After you save the information on each webpage you will be directed to the submission portal. Please read the submission instructions. Select the program to which you are submitting the application and follow the prompts to submit the required documents.

Application Requirements:

• Research poster synopsis of no more than 500 words (double spaced) describing the following elements:

1. Study objectives or purposes
2. Perspective(s) or theoretical framework
3. Research methods, techniques, or modes of inquiry
4. Data source(s)
5. Key features or preliminary results

• Personal Statement
  In one statement of no more than 500 words (double spaced) the applicant should address the following:
  • How are your course work, extra-curricular activities, leadership roles, work experiences, and/or other academic and life experiences preparing you to pursue a graduate or professional degree?
  • What are your education research interests and what are you doing to help further develop these interests and enhance your research and writing skills?
• Resume (one page) which includes any educational background, training, jobs, activities, honors, and other academic achievements. Include information on any research experiences you may have had.
• An unofficial undergraduate transcript

• Letter of recommendation from a faculty member who is familiar with your academic ability and potential. The recommender must address: (a) the quality and potential of the applicant’s academic work and research skills and (b) the applicant’s potential to pursue a graduate or professional degree in the field of education research. The letter of recommendation must be sent electronically through the application portal.

The applicant must include the name and email address of the person they have requested a letter of recommendation on the online application form. The identified letter provider will receive an email message with instructions to upload the letter. Please start an application and request the letter of recommendation prior to the Close Date. It is important that your recommender have ample time to upload your letter of recommendation before the deadline (December 16, 2024, 11:59pm (PT).

 All applications for the AERA Undergraduate Student Education Research Training Workshop must be completed using AERA Apply, the  online application portal by 11:59 p.m. Pacific time on December 16, 2024.

About AERA: AERA, founded in 1916, is concerned with improving the educational process by encouraging scholarly inquiry related to education and evaluation and by promoting the dissemination and practical application of research results. AERA shares the products of scholarly research with peers, future educational researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and the public through its annual meeting, publications, and professional development activities.

Direct all questions to George L. Wimberly, Director of Professional Development, at 202-238-3200 or fellowships@aera.net.