undergraduate research assistant program northwestern

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

• Undergraduate
• Research Opportunities

Undergraduate Research Opportunities

Political science research.

It can be hard to know where to begin with research. This video, courtesy of  Northwestern’s Office of Undergraduate Research , outlines research paths in Political Science.

• What ideas interest you when you think about politics?
• How can you convert an interest into a project?
• How do you ask for faculty mentorship?
• Is there a research method that would best fit your project's goals?

Take advantage of several exciting research opportunities, ranging from collaboration with faculty to engaging in your own research.

Political Science Department Opportunities

Farrell Fellowship In our competitive research mentorship program, Political Science majors work alongside professors on faculty-generated research projects. As paid research assistants, Farrell Fellow receive in-depth research training and learn the process of conducting academic research from faculty mentors.

Ginsberg Undergraduate Research Grants Have an idea of your own for a research project? Ginsberg Grants support student-initiated projects conducted in the collaboration with a Political Science faculty member.

Honors Thesis Did a class or experience inspire you to think more deeply about a topic? Paired with a faculty advisor, conduct your own research and write an honors thesis in the political science honors program.

Additional research opportunities

Northwestern offers a range of opportunities for undergraduate students to get involved in conducting research. Political Science students are encouraged to explore the variety of research opportunities available throughout Northwestern. Some of the research opportunities and resources that Political Science students commonly purus include:

• Opportunities and resources offered by the Northwestern Office of Undergraduate Research: t he Office of Undergraduate Research offers the Undergraduate Research Assistant Program (URAP) for students to gain research experience through working with faculty; research grants during the summer and academic year for students to pursue their own research; and advising and resources on finding research opportunities or working on your own research project.
• Research programs offered by other departments and research centers, such as the Institute for Policy Research's Summer Undergraduate Research Assistant Program and the Chabraja Center for Historical Studies' Leopold Fellowship .

GET STARTED

I think every undergraduate should do research, which was not something I previously thought. This project is the first thing in my undergraduate career that was fully about my interests and pushed me to design and manifest exactly what I wanted. – Student SURG Winner, Summer 2019

How Does Research "Work", Logistically?

Isn't research for other people, not me.

Research, at its core, is about passion and exploration. If you are interested in something, it is natural to want to learn more about it, but what happens after you have exhausted Google and Wikipedia? What if you want to learn more? Research involves  critical thinking, problem-solving, detailed analysis, and synthesis of ideas . The Office of Undergraduate Research can support you in various ways as you explore  your  interests. Undergraduate research helps you develop transferrable skills that are applicable no matter your future career goals – whether it is a career in industry, graduate school, professional school, or anything else you may pursue!

Can I Do Research in My Major?

YES! The methods may vary, but research can happen in any discipline! Research can happen anywhere – on a cluttered bench in a scientific laboratory and in the dirt of the great outdoors, in the dusty archives of a medieval library and on a computer screen in your home, in our neighboring communities and in lands abroad. If you’re wanting to know more about kinds of possible methodology, we’ve come up with a   list and definitions   to help. Additionally, one key distinction in planning how to get started on your project is whether your research will take place in a lab/field/team environment or whether it typically takes place in a more individualistic environment. As you continue in the “Get Started” section  (we recommend you start with  1) How to Develop Your Interests  and move through each of these sections) , we will talk more about the different kind of research environments. No matter what kind of environment research occurs in, you will be working with the support of a faculty mentor who is an expert in your field. We also want you to think about ethical implications of how research is done, and so you are going to want to read this resource to help frame your thinking:  Principles of Ethical Research.

When Should I Get Involved?

There’s not a right or a wrong time – it’s more a matter of what makes the most sense of you and your particular fields of study! Some students prefer getting involved right away because it is an opportunity to gain experience in project management and develop other transferable skills. In this way, research can differentiate you as a candidate for internships or other opportunities down the line. On the other hand, some students may need more advanced coursework (such as gaining proficiencies in a foreign language or research methods courses) before they are ready to pursue projects in which they are interested. The more you know, the better you can get a sense of how research could fit into your goals. Advisors in the office can help you work through what makes the most sense for you.

What Kind of Commitment Would I Need to Make?

This really depends on what you are hoping to accomplish, and your particular circumstances. First, there are a lot of ways to get involved. Click to learn more about each of these ways students can pursue research (and many do pursue multiple options over time).

Work-Study Research Assistant

Work-study is a federal need-based financial aid program.  If you are eligible, work-study is awarded as part of your financial aid package. The way it works at Northwestern is that the government pays for 75% of your hourly wage, and the department that hires you pays the other 25%. You can learn more about eligibility and earning this allotment  here !

In general, the average work-study amount is between $3,000 and $4,000. While  most jobs are posted  on the work-study website, sometimes you can work to create a work-study position for yourself. Some faculty may have funding (through grants, etc.) to hire you, while others may not. With the federal wage subsidy, it would cost a faculty member about $750-$1,000 to hire you for the year (if you earn your full allotment). If you are hired at $15/hr, this ends up being about 200-260 hours of work during the academic year. Usually students work 8-10 hours a week for their work study job. Sometimes it may be helpful for you to advocate for yourself and explain how this process works to the faculty member; they may not be familiar with work-study, or they may not realize how simple the process is to create a work-study position. For example, Feinberg faculty at the medical school are eligible to hire work-study students, but they often are not familiar with the logistics of hiring a student via work-study.

That being said – we don’t recommend immediately emailing faculty asking for a job!  Please work through the  “Getting Started” modules  1-4 to learn best practices on how to identify and reach out to potential faculty mentors.

Research for Credit (During Academic Year)

Many students are interested in getting academic credit for their research. Essentially, when you enroll in an independent study course, the time you would typically spend in class or doing homework will be spent actively working on your research project. Independent studies can occur in your major/minor (they often satisfy upper level elective requirements, and they can help you progress towards an honors thesis), or they can occur in a department more closely aligned with your faculty mentor’s area of study (if this is not the same as your major/minor). Many research projects are interdisciplinary and could work as independent studies in more than one department.

To enroll in an independent study, you need to look at what the department requirements are. Every department has their own ways of handling this – the course numbers vary, as well as eligibility requirements (some are restricted to juniors or seniors), who can serve as the faculty “teacher” for the course (sometimes it has to be a faculty member affiliated with the department), and expectations for completing the course. If you want to know what it looks like for your department, we recommend googling “independent study” AND “northwestern” AND “department name”, and you should also talk to the department’s Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS). Typically, enrollment in these kinds of courses requires approval from the DUS, and you need to submit paperwork to describe what kind of work you will be completing through the independent study.

If you enroll in an independent study, you are eligible to apply for an  Academic Year Undergraduate Research Grant ! We can’t pay you to take a class – so this grant provides $1,000 towards research related expenses. Think creatively – how could $1,000 make your project better?!

Summer Research

This is typically a very popular option because it allows you to engage in research in a more immersive way. You think about research totally differently when it’s the only thing you’re focusing on! Many times, summer research is equivalent to an internship – you can work towards the project full time for eight or more weeks.

The Office of Undergraduate Research has a number of   summer grants   to fund your research! Additionally, there are many smaller programs available through schools and departments. We recommend googling “undergraduate research” AND “department name” AND “northwestern” to see what opportunities are available. Sometimes they may simply link you back to our website, but other times there will be a list of additional funding sources.

Other university resources can help you explore other research related opportunities, too. For example, you can   make an appointment   with your Career Adviser in Northwestern Career Advancement and explore research related internships on the Handshake job database. You could also  make an appointment   with an Adviser in the Office of Fellowships if you are interested in an opportunity you found in the  Fellowships Finder.

Volunteer Research Assistant

This is the most flexible way to get involved (no set requirement for how many hours a week you need to work), but it is not financially feasible for many students. Sometimes students start by shadowing or volunteering for a few hours each week to get a sense of the kind of work the research entails, and if it would be a good fit. The more involved you get, the more it makes sense that you would be compensated for your work- whether that’s through credit, or financially, or through recognition like co-authored publications.

If it is not financially feasible for you to volunteer and that has been the only option presented to you, it may be helpful to have an honest conversation with your faculty member about your constraints. Exploring options like work-study (see above) or one of our funded grant program may help to alleviate these stresses.

Paid Research Assistant

Sometimes it is possible for you to get hired as a paid research assistant, too (i.e. not necessarily paid through work-study). This opportunity will depend on whether the faculty member has money to hire you in this capacity, or perhaps you can be funded through a specific grant like the Undergraduate Research Assistant Program .

Many students choose to take gap years before applying to medical school or graduate school, and pursuing a full-time research job after graduation to gain additional experience can be one way to spend that time. If this is something you’re interested in, look for these kinds of jobs to be posted on the HR Careers site for the research institution that you would like to work for. Use search terms like “research coordinator”, “research technologist”, “research project manager” or “research study assistant”. Most academic research institutions will be hiring for these sorts of positions!

WE’RE HERE TO HELP!

We’re here to help you navigate this journey – and everyone’s journey is different! Make an appointment to talk with our researcher advisors about your interests and ideas. You do not have to have a developed project to come talk to us. We can work with you one-on-one from the first “I think I might (maybe) possibly want to do research, but I have no idea how that works!” stage, right up to a final proposal.

I’m ready to learn more! Help me figure out my interests!

Global and Research Opportunities at Northwestern University

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• Office of Undergraduate Research

Additional Information

Directory topics: , my opportunities, undergraduate research assistant program - urap.

The Undergraduate Research Assistant Program (URAP) offers students the opportunity to assist faculty members with their actual research and/or creative projects.  This program allows students to learn about research practices and realities from faculty mentors without the burden of having to come up with an independent project.  However, the goal of the program to provide more than just a person to work the copy machine or clean test tubes.  Projects for this program should offer substantial experiences for the undergraduate with mentoring and inclusion in the resear

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Undergraduate Language Grants (ULG) support the intensive and experiential learning of foreign languages.  The Office of the Provost will award Undergraduate Language Grants to help defray the costs of summer intensive language study abroad or in the United States. Study programs must be at least six weeks in duration, and language instruction must be the predominant (if not the sole) aim of the program.  Grants are for $5,000.

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Our research group uses behavioral methods (eye-tracking methodology, corpus studies of child-caregiver conversations, child appropriate experimental tasks) to study how children acquire dialectal variation during the acquisition of their native language. We also examine how adult speakers acquire variation during the acquisition of Spanish as a second language or as a Heritage Language. We are looking for enthusiastic and highly motivated undergraduate students to work on existing projects, either as a volunteer or for SPAN 494 or LING 494 credits. The only requirements are intermediate or advanced proficiency in Spanish and enthusiasm for gaining research experience. Some background in linguistics and computing skills would also be helpful, but not required.

During the Spring Semester 2024 RAs will be involved in reading transcriptions of sociolinguistic interviews with bilingual Spanish-English speakers living in the U.S. and coding tokens of the Spanish copulas 'ser' and 'estar' for various linguistic and sociolinguistic properties. RAs will also present their work at the PSUxLing undergraduate linguistics conference at Penn State in March. Training will be provided.

Students who are interested in applying for this position should contact Professor Karen Miller at ( [email protected] ) to set up a meeting. At that time, Professor Miller will also ask applicants to send their resume/CV indicating their academic interests and previous work experiences.

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