The Educational Research and Assessment Master's degree is designed to ground students in applied research methodology in education, as well as in data-based decision-making for school evaluation and improvement. Unlike other programs that specialize in particular content areas, the Educational Research and Assessment program provides students with research skills that can be applied in any field of education. A student may choose to focus on research methods and statistics courses (especially valuable for those interested in conducting research, entering psychology/sociology fields, or pursuing doctoral studies), or courses that align with the Advanced Certificate in Data-Based Decision Making, which are useful for expertise in school and student performance data, and school evaluation and improvement.