Quantitative/Psychometric Methods

An international leader in applications and theory of psychological measurement, the Quantitative/Psychometric Methods Program brings together the talents of program and affiliated faculty. You can specialize in any area of psychometrics, including item response theory, factor analysis and related methods, the analysis of change via latent growth curve and dynamical systems models, aptitude and ability measurement, computerized adaptive testing, structural equation modeling, multivariate methodology, and multidimensional scaling. Affiliated faculty interests include methodological and substantive problems in cognitive measurement (including the measurement of abilities, aptitude, and achievement), psychopathology, personality measurement, and the measurement of preferences.

Our Ph.D. program will prepare you for research, teaching, and technical careers. You will learn research skills that will help you develop innovative solutions to problems in psychological measurement and the analysis of psychological change. Our program's broad perspective covers problems of translating psychological observations into numerical form by developing psychological measurement instruments and developing new methods for scaling psychological data, for investigating the reliability and validity of psychological data, and for analyzing psychometric data using a variety of modeling approaches. The Quantitative/Psychometric Methods Program does not accept students for a terminal M.A.

In our admissions process, we look for quantitative interests and skills and for some preparation and understanding of basic methods, techniques, and approaches to psychological research. We do not require a mathematics major or minor for admission, but you should appreciate the usefulness of mathematical methods as a tool in psychology. Course work in calculus, linear algebra, and statistics are also helpful. We also favorably regard undergraduate training in symbolic logic, in the philosophy of science, in the study of tests and measurements, and in psychological research.

Core Faculty
John Campbell, Professor
William Grove, Associate Professor
Matthew McGue, Professor
Joseph R. Rausch, Assistant Professor
Niels G. Waller, Professor and Area Director
David J. Weiss, Professor

Affiliated Faculty
Mark Davison, Educational Psychology
Ernest Davenport, Educational Psychology