Training the Next Generation of Pollsters
We carry our mission into the classroom, functioning as professors first and pollsters second. From the beginning, the UMass Poll has offered graduate students a unique academic experience. Students develop poll questions, analyze poll data, and practice real-world applications. Our graduates have gone on to careers in polling, political science, education, and beyond.
The UMass Poll provides opportunities for undergraduate students to work closely with faculty, become knowledgeable about central debates in the fields of political behavior and public opinion, and learn some of the most valuable and on-demand skills for employment, including data collection and analysis. UMass Poll offers a new model for undergraduate education by making hands-on research for students a vital component of education.
Student Opportunities
UMass Poll Undergraduate Fellow Program
As political scientists increasingly analyze quantitative data gathered from public opinion surveys, experiments, and text analysis, they are gaining powerful tools to understand public opinion and political behavior better.
The UMass Poll Fellows Program offers political science students a unique opportunity to dive into this evolving field, equipping them with valuable skills that open doors to diverse career paths in the private, public, or academic sectors.
Since 2023, the program has provided junior and senior undergraduate students with hands-on experience in analyzing public opinion data, guided by UMass Poll Co-Director Jesse Rhodes and Graduate Poll Fellow Adam Eichen. Fellows gain experience designing poll questions, analyzing survey data, writing research reports, and giving professional presentations. Fellows even have the chance to co-author peer-reviewed academic publications with faculty members!
In addition to gaining practical experience, students can earn up to three credits per semester for their participation. Juniors selected as fellows may also have the chance to continue the program into their senior year, further developing their expertise and enhancing their professional opportunities.
UMass Graduate Poll Fellow Program
Since its founding in 2010, graduate students have been an essential part of the UMass Poll. Graduate Poll Fellows develop survey questions and experiments, assist with the undergraduate UMass Poll Fellows Program, analyze and create visualizations of the survey data, write op-eds, and help generate media attention. Graduate Poll Fellows also work closely with UMass Poll faculty, assisting with their research, presenting poll data at academic conferences, and co-authoring publications. The UMass Poll has become a unique resource for emerging scholars of U.S. public opinion to empirically test hypotheses and gain professional and scholarly skills.
The Graduate Poll Fellow program is a three-year commitment. Incoming Graduate Poll Fellows will spend their first year shadowing one of the current graduate fellows, learning how the poll works and what is expected as a member of the team. Subject to a performance review, these fellows may continue on to their second year as full members of the team. Fellows will continue to receive performance reviews during their participation on the team.
The UMass Poll selects several graduate students each year to participate in the Graduate Poll Fellow Program.