Apply to the Public Policy Undergraduate Research Experience Program
The positions below are still open. Faculty are reviewing applications and will respond to inquiries on a rolling basis.
While you may apply to more than one UREP position at a time, please only accept one research role within the School of Public Policy in a given semester to ensure opportunities for other students.
Fall 2024 | 2 credits | 6 hours/week
Position Description: Researchers needed to hand-code videos from popular video platforms. Students will work with a professor and professional researcher to build a codebook, to watch and code videos, to develop hypotheses about how videos in different languages reflect different usage patterns. There are some opportunities for English speakers, but we particularly need native speakers of Russian, Portuguese, Spanish and languages of South Asia. What You Will Learn: Understanding how quantitative and qualitative methods work together in exploring novel data sets. Develop and test hypotheses about video content. Skills in developing qualitative research codebooks. Prerequisites: None. How to Apply: Please send your resume and letter, particularly specifying language and cultural knowledge to Professor Ethan Zuckerman (@email).
Spring 2025 | 2 credits (negotiable) | 6 hours/week
Position Description: Are you curious about how philanthropic foundations address social justice in their grantmaking? This fall, join my team to explore the grantmaking decisions of foundations, with a special focus on social justice initiatives and their impact on marginalized communities. As an Undergraduate Research Assistant, you'll play a crucial role in this multi-method study, engaging in tasks such as developing a literature database, analyzing data, and assisting with interview preparations. This opportunity allows you to enhance your research skills through practical experience and methodological training and deepens your understanding of the intersection between philanthropy and social justice. Your involvement is crucial to our goal of examining and potentially improving the ways in which foundation grantmaking can act as a catalyst for positive change. I will provide continuous support and guidance, including pairing you with another URA for peer support and weekly 20-minute check-ins with me to review progress, address challenges, and offer feedback. What You Will Learn: As a nonprofit scholar specializing in philanthropy and collective action, I emphasize a reflective, experiential learning approach in my mentoring, fostering empowerment for change. I am eager to welcome undergraduate students into my research team and offer tailored guidance and support for their academic growth. The project will provide the URAs with hands-on experience in quantitative and qualitative research. They will also gain a deeper insight into social justice issues within the realm of philanthropy, current grantmaking practices, social justice initiatives in grantmaking, and the impact of funding on marginalized communities. URA will also help in documenting and organizing research findings and reports. The project will provide the URAs with hands-on experience in quantitative and qualitative research. They will also gain a deeper insight into social justice issues within the realm of philanthropy, current grantmaking practices, social justice initiatives in grantmaking, and the impact of funding on marginalized communities. URA will also help in documenting and organizing research findings and reports. Prerequisites: Must be a rising junior or senior. How to Apply: Please send me (Professor Wu - @email) your resume, unofficial transcript and cover letter if you are interested in joining my team to work on this important research.
Before Applying...
Have you had your resume and cover letter reviewed by SBS Pathways? During the semester, there are walk-in hours with Peer Advisors in Thompson 128 (M, T, W 10-4 and Th, F 10 - 2) to get you started.