Quantitative Methods (M.Ed.)
Program Overview
Students enroll in our master's in Quantitative Methods to develop skills in using quantitative, statistical, and measurement models in applied research settings. Data science and quantitative analysis are some of the most modern and exciting professions available in our workforce. Consider a master's degree in Quantitative Methods (QM) from Vanderbilt University's Peabody College.
You’ll work closely with Quantitative Methods faculty members to develop expertise in both the theory and application of quantitative analysis in behavioral, social, and educational sciences. Upon graduation, you’ll be equipped to apply research in school systems, health and medical settings, government and industry, dedicated research institutes, and other academic settings.
Internship
The master’s degree in Quantitative Methods is a two-year program that culminates in a summer- or semester-long internship in which you provide design, measurement, and statistical support for a public or private organization in Nashville or the broader research community. You’ll be placed in an internship based on your quantitative methods skills and interests, using your training in research design, measurement, and statistical software skills.
Quantitative Methods Colloquium Series
The Quantitative Methods program offers a biweekly colloquium series, featuring talks on various aspects of methodology. Speakers include faculty and graduate students within the program and from across the university, as well as occasional invited speakers from other institutions. Some weeks, there are professional development and journal club discussions.
Program at a Glance
Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Quantitative Methods
Department of Psychology and Human Development
Program Director:
Shane Hutton, Ph.D.
Admissions Coordinator:
Ally Jacobs
Admission Term: Fall
Credit Hours: 33
Priority Application Deadline: December 31* for fall entrance
* We will continue to accept applications after this date, but applications will be evaluated for admission and scholarships as space and funds are available.
Careers in Quantitative Methods
Quantitative psychologists study and develop methods and techniques for measuring human behavior. They use data collected from psychological and educational measurement to design research studies, form analyses, and build models of psychological processes. Graduates of this program typically continue with doctoral studies in Quantitative Methods or find employment in research and data analysis settings such as:
- social/behavioral research laboratories
- public school systems
- medical school research
- testing companies
- university research programs
- industrial research
- government research laboratories
Click here to see a list of recent career placements:
- Data Analyst, Tennessee Department of Health
- Health Policy Analyst, Vanderbilt University Medical School
- Health Policy Researcher, Rand Corporation
- Neuroimaging Technician and Analyst, Washington University School of Medicine
- Senior Data Analyst, Capital One Financial Services
- Statistical Research Analyst, Tennessee Department of Health
- Statistician/SAS Programmer, BWX Technologies
- Graduate Programs
- Biostatistics, Vanderbilt University
- Clinical Psychology, Vanderbilt University
- Clinical Psychology, University of California San Diego
- Organizational Behavior and Human Resources Management, Georgia State University
- Quantitative/Psychometric Methods, University of Minnesota
- Quantitative Methods, University of Maryland
Internship Experience
In addition to required coursework, you’ll integrate quantitative research and theory with effective practice through an intensive internship. Through this experience, you will develop and contribute to research designs, measurement plans, sampling schemes, and data and statistical analysis.
You’ll be placed in your internship based on your skills and interests. The internship takes place in an applied research setting, such as a school system, medical school research setting, testing company or policy institute. You’ll collaborate with, and be supervised by, a Vanderbilt faculty member throughout the process.
On completing the internship, you’ll be required to write a research summary of your activity. You’ll also be required to give a short presentation in the Quantitative Methods forum. A program co-director and an additional faculty member will formally evaluate your internship experience. The summary and presentation must indicate research activity on which you worked, your specific contribution, analytic methods employed, software employed, and the products of the research activity. The conclusion should critically evaluate the contribution of the internship to your personal career goals.
Program Curriculum
You’ll take three required core courses in Quantitative Methods during this 33-hour program, one required hour of seminar activity, two required hours of internship activity and seven additional courses, one of which may be a content course outside the Quantitative Methods program and one Quantitative Methods course outside of the Psychology and Human Development Department.
Required Courses: 9 hours
You’ll be required to complete PSY-GS 8861 Statistical Inference, PSY-GS 8864 Experimental Design and PSY-GS 8878 Statistical Consulting.
Required Seminar Enrollment: 1 hour
You must enroll in one hour for the Quantitative Methods seminar series during your last semester, PSY-GS 8855 Quant Methods Forum.
Required Internship Enrollment: 2 hours
You must enroll in two hours for the required internship during your last semester, PSY-PC 7982 Quantitative Methods Internship.
Elective Courses: 21 hours
Of the seven 3-hour elective courses, one Quantitative Methods course can come from outside the Quantitative Methods program e.g., biostatistics, or other quantitative methods courses within Peabody. One course can be a content course from within the Psychology Department.
Thus, of the seven electives, five must come from within the Psychology and Human Development Quantitative Methods curriculum (and six or seven can come from the Quantitative Methods curriculum), including:
- PSY-GS 8867 Multivariate Analysis
- PSY-GS 8870 Correlation and Regression
- PSY-GS 8873 Structural Equation Modeling
- PSY-GS 8850 Advanced SEM
- PSY-GS 8876 Psychological Measurement
- PSY-GS 8850 Exploratory and Graphical Data Analysis
- PSY-GS Nonparametric Statistics
- PSY-GS 8879 Factor Analysis
- PSY-GS 8882 Multilevel Modeling
- PSY-GS 8888 Latent growth Curve Modeling
- PSY-GS 8885 Latent Class and Mixture Modeling
- PSY-GS 8850 Applied Bayesian Analysis for Latent Variable Modeling
- PSY-GS 8880 Introduction to Item Response Theory
- PSY-GS 8881 Advanced Item Response Theory
Faculty
The Quantitative Methods program maintains its own quantitative computer lab, and individual faculty also have labs and computing resources that support their research programs.
- Program Director, Quantitative Methods
- Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychology and Human Development
- Professor, Department of Psychology and Human Development
- Assistant Professor of Psychology and Human Development, Department of Psychology and Human Development
- Patricia and Rodes Hart Professor of Psychology, Department of Psychology and Human Development
- Professor, Department of Psychology and Human Development
- Professor of Psychology, Department of Psychology and Human Development
- Professor of Psychology, Emeritus, Department of Psychology and Human Development
- Research Professor, Department of Psychology and Human Development
- Research Professor, Quantitative Methods
- Professor of Psychology, Department of Psychology and Human Development
- Associate Professor, Department of Psychology and Human Development