# Partnering in Education Research (PIER) Fellowship ### PIER Public Seminar Series The PIER Public Seminar Series is designed to explore important questions and insights in education research and policy. [ Explore upcoming seminars arrow\_circle\_right ](https://prod-cepr.drupalsites.harvard.edu/pier-seminar) [ View previous seminars in the video archive. arrow\_circle\_right ](https://prod-cepr.drupalsites.harvard.edu/archived-video-recordings) ![PIER fireside chat](/sites/g/files/omnuum9881/files/styles/hwp_1_1__480x480/public/2025-05/PXL_20241112_184008095.MP_.jpg?itok=2onidrEc) ### PIER Fellowship The Partnering in Education Research (PIER) Fellowship is designed to train Harvard University doctoral students on how to conduct quantitative education research in partnership with school districts and state education agencies. PIER Fellows will learn how to: - **identify questions** that are compelling to state and local policymakers as well as to their fellow academics; - **work with leaders not trained in research methods,** but who have a deep appreciation of the implementation challenges created by “academic” research designs; - **assemble and analyze administrative data**—the vast bulk of which was not collected with research in mind; and - **present to multiple audiences,** including the district and state leaders who might act on the results and who control the data for future projects **Contact Us:** [pier\_fellowship@gse.harvard.edu](mailto:pier_fellowship@gse.harvard.edu) [ Become a PIER Fellow arrow\_circle\_right ](https://bit.ly/pier-app-2025) [ Host a Fellow arrow\_circle\_right ](https://prod-cepr.drupalsites.harvard.edu/file_url/2454) ![PIER fellows interacting](/sites/g/files/omnuum9881/files/styles/hwp_1_1__480x480/public/2025-05/pier%20pic.jpg?itok=-j-3bT7M) ## When it Comes to Students, What Are We Measuring? “At the end of the day, we're all trying to help students and support student learning and student outcomes,” says An, a Ph.D. candidate in HGSE’s Education Policy and Program Evaluation concentration. “So we owe it to them to keep looking and keep digging and keep trying to improve our practice.” Read about how PIER Fellow alumna Lily An's work is reshaping how we evaluate students. [ Read the story arrow\_circle\_right ](https://prod-cepr.drupalsites.harvard.edu/news/when-it-comes-students-what-are-we-measuring) ![Lily An](/sites/g/files/omnuum9881/files/styles/hwp_4_3__1540x1160/public/2025-06/Screenshot%202025-06-10%20at%2012.18.00%20PM.png?itok=xl2HVLlt) The PIER Fellowship is not accepting applications at this time. Apply Program Benefits Faculty & Staff News ## Apply **Application Requirements** • Research statement (1000-1200 words) • Curriculum Vitae (2-page maximum) • Unofficial copy of Harvard academic transcript • Two faculty letters of recommendation, with a third optional non-faculty/professional letter **Eligibility** Ph.D. students in social science disciplines at HGSE, HKS, and FAS who are U.S. citizens or U.S. permanent residents are eligible to apply for fellowships that will start in their second or third year of study. Fellows will receive three years of support if starting the PIER program in their G-2 doctoral year, and two years of support if starting in their G-3 doctoral year. (NOTE FOR SPRING 2025 APPLICANTS: Due to the grant timeline, applicants accepted into the fellowship program in Spring 2025 will only be offered two years of support, regardless of doctoral program year. The program will seek additional funding for a third year of support for rising G-2s, but it is not guaranteed.) **Selection Criteria** Applications will be evaluated on the basis of academic promise, the analytic promise of the applicant’s research interests, and the match between the applicant's interests and the strengths of our program and faculty. ## Program The PIER program provides a two-year fellowship for students entering their second or third year of study (current G-1s and G-2s). If you are selected as a PIER Fellow, you will receive the following training and opportunities: **Proseminar Series** Leaders in the field will share how research projects evolved, the challenges they faced, and how they were resolved along the way. The mechanics of executing research projects will also be discussed, which includes topics such as IRB protocols, data transfer and security, and working with longitudinal administrative data. **Policy Internship** Fellows will develop more insight into the role research can and should play in management, as well as a deep knowledge of the agency’s data and the senior relationships necessary for ongoing research partnerships. This will include a 10-week residency on site at an education agency during the summer after the fellow's first year in the program. **Coursework in Quantitative Methods and Education Policy** Harvard has constructed flexible requirements to ensure an understanding of both quantitative methods and education policy that can also be counted towards a fellow’s program requirements. [See list of potential courses](/file_url/2145) **Research Apprenticeship** Fellows will receive a stipend to spend 17.5 hours per week conducting research on projects led by a faculty mentor during their G-3 year and G-4 doctoral years,. Fellows will learn data assembly and exploratory data analysis, as well as develop work suitable for publication in peer reviewed journals. **Independent Research** The additional funding will allow fellows to reduce their teaching load and focus on independent research. Fellows will be asked to present their work to both faculty and partner education agencies—providing them with experience communicating with different types of audiences. ## Benefits In addition to the benefit of working alongside Harvard faculty and partners, fellows will receive supplemental stipends for their participation in the program. - *G-2 doctoral year*: Up to $2,500 stipend in addition to the standard Harvard GSAS stipend. - *G-3 & G-4 doctoral years*: $28,000 stipend in return for 17.5 hours per week (50% time) spent on their research apprenticeship. - *Summer*: Fellows who participate in a non-local internship will receive $8,000 in addition to the standard summer stipend to pay for housing and transportation. - *Professional support*: $2,000 per year to support research, travel, and conference participation. ## Faculty & Staff [### Desmond Ang ](/people/desmond-ang)PIER Fellowship Faculty Mentor Assistant Professor of Public Policy Harvard Kennedy School ![Desmond Ang](/sites/g/files/omnuum9881/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/cepr/files/ang_photo.jpeg?itok=jlEXr48n) [### Sophia Applegate ](/people/sophia-applegate)Manager of Research Partnerships and Outreach ![Sophia Applegate](/sites/g/files/omnuum9881/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-06/Screenshot%202026-06-17%20at%204.53.24%E2%80%AFPM.png?itok=SzCDzqbo) [### Christopher Avery ](/people/christopher-avery)Co-Principal Investigator, CEPR Faculty Steering Committee, SDP Fellowship Faculty Advisor, PIER Fellowship Faculty Mentor Roy E. Larsen Professor of Public Policy and Management Harvard Kennedy School ![Christopher Avery](/sites/g/files/omnuum9881/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/cepr/files/christopher-avery_1.jpg?itok=qdUtxWGF) [### Peter Blair ](/people/peter-blair)PIER Fellowship Faculty Mentor Assistant Professor of Education Harvard Graduate School of Education ![Peter Blair](/sites/g/files/omnuum9881/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/cepr/files/blair.jpg?itok=fb3J69YC) [### Deirdre Bloome ](/people/deirdre-bloome)PIER FELLOWSHIP FACULTY MENTOR Peter and Isabel Malkin Professor of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School, Professor of Sociology, Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences ![Deirdre Bloome](/sites/g/files/omnuum9881/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/cepr/files/deirdre_bloome.jpeg?itok=nys07o8w) [### Ebony Bridwell-Mitchell ](/people/ebony-bridwell-mitchell)PIER FELLOWSHIP FACULTY MENTOR Herbert A. Simon Professor in Education, Management, and Organizational Behavior, Harvard Graduate School of Education ![ebony bridwell mitchell](/sites/g/files/omnuum9881/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/cepr/files/ebony-bridwell-mitchell-13499.png?itok=bhLzkoJC) [### Michela Carlana ](/people/michela-carlana)PIER Fellowship Faculty Mentor Assistant Professor of Public Policy Harvard Kennedy School ![Michela Carlana](/sites/g/files/omnuum9881/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/cepr/files/carlana.jpeg?itok=Lkmuukyp) [### David Deming ](/people/david-deming)Affiliated Researcher, SDP Fellowship Faculty Advisor, PIER Fellowship Faculty Mentor Professor of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School Director, Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy ![david-deming-74240.jpg](/sites/g/files/omnuum9881/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/david-deming-74240_0.jpg?itok=EmnOW__Z) [### Will Dobbie ](/people/will-dobbie)PIER FELLOWSHIP FACULTY MENTOR Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research ![Will Dobbie](/sites/g/files/omnuum9881/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/cepr/files/will_dobbie.jpeg?itok=wCUZdMcw) [### Susan M. Dynarski ](/people/susan-m-dynarski)SDP Fellowship Faculty Advisor PIER Fellowship Faculty Mentor Patricia Albjerg Graham Professor of Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education ![susandynarski_0_1.jpg](/sites/g/files/omnuum9881/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/susandynarski_0_1.jpg?itok=HeZIC9of) - Previous page chevron\_left - [1](?page=0%2C0 "Current page") - [2](?page=1%2C0 "Go to page 2") - [3](?page=2%2C0 "Go to page 3") - [4](?page=3%2C0 "Go to page 4") - [ Next page chevron\_right ](?page=1%2C0 "Go to next page") ## News [### UT Researcher Warns Grade Inflation Hurts Students’ Long-Term Academic and Career Outcomes ](/news/2026/02/ut-researcher-warns-grade-inflation-hurts-students-long-term-academic-and-career) February 04, 2026 University of Texas associate professor Jeffrey T. Denning argued that grade inflation in K-12 schools and colleges may boost short-term outcomes but undermine students’ long-term academic and career success at a Tuesday event at the Harvard Graduate... [### Girls fell further behind in math during, after pandemic ](/news/2025/11/girls-fell-further-behind-math-during-after-pandemic) November 24, 2025 It’s no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic was a seismic event for the nation’s schoolchildren. But the disruption wasn’t evenly distributed. And scholars are only now beginning to understand the differential effects. Sean Reardon, a renowned sociologist... [### Stanford Professor Says The Gender Gap in Test Scores Widened After Covid-19 at Ed School Talk ](/news/2025/11/stanford-professor-says-gender-gap-test-scores-widened-after-covid-19-ed-school-talk) November 19, 2025 Standardized test scores for female students in low-income areas were disproportionately lower than male students after the Covid-19 pandemic, Stanford University professor Sean F. Reardon told attendees at a Harvard Center for Education Policy Research... [### Helping Others Find Their Path ](/news/2025/06/helping-others-find-their-path) June 04, 2025 Read Harvard Graduate School of Education's profile of Harvard Strategic Data Project and PIER fellow alumnus Salman Khan, whose work helping students apply to college, researching universal FAFSA policies, and building community on campus have made a... [### When it Comes to Students, What Are We Measuring? ](/news/when-it-comes-students-what-are-we-measuring) January 30, 2025 Ph.D. candidate Lily An helps shape how we evaluate students with her research Educators want to help students, and oftentimes that involves measuring them. The numbers stem from important questions: How much are they learning? How is their learning... [### Spring 2024: CEPR Newsletter ](/news/spring-2024-cepr-newsletter) April 04, 2024 It was a busy winter at CEPR, as we released the latest edition of the Education Recovery Scorecard and welcomed onboard our new executive director, Dr. Christina Grant. As the Scorecard revealed, the COVID-19 pandemic has had lasting impacts. Students in... [### CEPR Insights: Looking Ahead into 2024 ](/news/cepr-insights-looking-ahead-2024) January 01, 2024 As we start a new year, our team at the Center for Education Policy Research is looking forward to the exciting work we have planned across our various projects. After a year of many challenges in education, as schools grapple with issues from pandemic... [### December 2023: Looking back on a year of impact ](https://mailchi.mp/gse.harvard.edu/ceprdecembernewsletter-7095740) December 15, 2023 Over the last two years, education leaders, lawmakers and journalists have looked to CEPR research to understand the ongoing effect of the pandemic on academic achievement. The Education Recovery Scorecard, led by our Faculty Director Thomas Kane, has... [### Harvard’s Partnering in Education Research Program Awarded Funding to Continue Training Future Education Scholars ](/news/harvard%E2%80%99s-partnering-education-research-program-awarded-funding-continue-training-future) August 05, 2020 Cambridge, MA (August 5, 2020) The Partnering in Education Research (PIER) Fellowship, an initiative of the Center for Education Policy Research (CEPR) at Harvard University, has received $4.5 million in funding from the federal Institute of Education... [### Got Data? ](/news/got-data) October 30, 2019 How partnerships make it easier for doc students to get much-needed data for research One of the hallmarks of student research, especially for doctoral students, is having good data to back up findings. But getting your hands on that data, especially when... - Previous page chevron\_left - [1](?page=0%2C0%2C0%2C0 "Current page") - [2](?page=1%2C0%2C0%2C0 "Go to page 2") - [3](?page=2%2C0%2C0%2C0 "Go to page 3") - [4](?page=3%2C0%2C0%2C0 "Go to page 4") - [ Next page chevron\_right ](?page=1%2C0%2C0%2C0 "Go to next page") [### PIER Fellow Profiles ](https://prod-cepr.drupalsites.harvard.edu/people/role/pier-fellows) [### PIER Job Market Candidates ](https://prod-cepr.drupalsites.harvard.edu/job-market) [### PIER Public Seminar Series ](https://prod-cepr.drupalsites.harvard.edu/pier-seminar) [### PIER Workshops for Education Agencies ](https://prod-cepr.drupalsites.harvard.edu/pier-workshop) ## Contact Us Email [pier\_fellowship@gse.harvard.edu](mailto:pier_fellowship@gse.harvard.edu). ## Stay Informed For the latest seminars, workshops, and/or fellowship information: [Subscribe](https://prod-cepr.drupalsites.harvard.edu/subscribe) See also:- [ Postsecondary Access & Success ](/focus-areas/postsecondary-access-and-success) - [ School Improvement & Redesign ](/focus-areas/school-improvement-and-redesign) - [ Teacher Effectiveness ](/focus-areas/teacher-effectiveness) - [ Project ](/page-type/project) - [ Current ](/project-status/current)