Starting in Fall 2026, Michigan State University will launch the first cohort of the Educational Statistics and AI online master’s program.
The only program of its kind at MSU, the degree is designed to equip educators, researchers and administrators with cutting-edge data science and artificial intelligence skills tailored specifically for education.
“This program represents the natural next step in MSU’s and the College of Education’s AI leadership,” said Porsche Fischer, the program coordinator and an academic specialist in the college. “The M.A. in Educational Statistics and AI delivers the specialized graduate training educational stakeholders need to harness these tools responsibly, ethically and innovatively in classrooms, districts and policy settings.”
The program is led by the same world-renowned scholars who have long led the college’s distinctive, successful Measurement and Quantitative Methods, or MQM, Ph.D. program. Scholars in the programs will learn together in program-blended virtual classrooms, with activities and assignments to fit their degree and career goals.
The new program — like the MQM program — includes rigorous statistical methodologies and then takes it to the next level, also incorporating practical AI applications. Program participants will also complete a capstone project that applies AI and statistics to real-world educational challenges. Graduates will be prepared to lead the transformation of PreK-12 and higher education through data-driven decision-making and the ethical deployment of AI.
And, just as AI itself is shifting, the program will shift, too, said Kenneth Frank. Frank is a MSU Research Foundation Distinguished Professor of Sociometrics and interim program director for both the Educational Statistics and AI and the MQM degree.
“The skills and credentials earned enable graduates to remain agile and competitive in the education field experiencing rapid growth and change,” Frank explained.
The courses in the 30-credit degree program will remain the same in the coming years, but as technologies advance and adjust, so too will the syllabi and projects students can expect. To also meet the needs of future students, the program is offered in a convenient, online format (as well as in an synchronous format) and is designed for working professionals who can apply what they learn at MSU to their current and future roles.
“We built this program so that our students don’t just adopt and adapt to AI in education. We want them to lead the use of it,” Frank added.
In addition to Fischer and Frank, other College of Education faculty leaders include Kylie Gorney, Kimberly Kelly, Spyros Konstantopolous, Tenko Raykov and John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor Barbara Schneider. Xuran Wang, a specialist at the MSU Engaged Research and Evaluation Center and a graduate of the MQM program (2024), is also part of the faculty as a fixed-term assistant professor.
“Michigan State University didn’t just announce AI readiness; we’re delivering the graduate pipeline to make it real,” Fischer added. “This program turns theoretical AI potential into practical educational transformation.”
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, with priority consideration for future Spartans who wish to join the first-ever cohort of this innovative program.
Apply today or reach out to the program for details.
This story was originally published on the College of Education website.
