TCU ADD Ran Political Science

World PoliticsSummer Research Program

DEMOCRACY, INTERDEPENDENCE AND WORLD POLITICS
SUMMER RESEARCH PROGRAM

June 3 - July 27, 2012

A National Science Foundation-supported Research Experience for Undergraduates

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No.SMA-1062646. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Department of Political Science
Texas Christian University

Welcome to the new home of the Democracy, Interdependence and World Politics Summer Research Program!

On these pages you will find information on the 2012 program hosted by the Department of Political Science at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. If you have any questions, please contact the program director for additional information:

James M. Scott
Herman Brown Chair and Professor
Department of Political Science
Texas Christian University
j.scott@tcu.edu

I. Basics

The Democracy, Interdependence and World Politics Summer Research Program for undergraduates focuses on important and timely questions related to the impact of democracy on international politics and foreign policy. Supported by summer stipends, research funds, and travel funds, students will work in one of three issue areas:

Foreign Policy in a Democracy
Interdependence and Foreign Policy
Democratization and Democracy Promotion
Democracy and Conflict

The program provides undergraduate students with valuable research training and experiences that enable student learning based on active discovery and inquiry and help prepare students for graduate study.

II. The Program

The Democracy, Interdependence and World Politics Summer Research Program is a residential summer program for undergraduates. The program has four main elements.

1) Faculty-Mentored Student Research. The core of the program consists of independent undergraduate research projects completed under faculty supervision and mentoring. These projects will focus on research questions from one of the program’s three issue areas related to the impact of democracy on World Politics. Students will be expected to design and implement a high-quality, professional-length paper suitable for presentation at an academic conference.

2) Research Training. A critical component of the summer research program is a seminar series training students in research design, research methods, and both quantitative and qualitative techniques in support of their research projects.

3) A Research Community. The participants of the summer program will be active participants in a research community, both during the program and after its completion. In addition to project work, students will be involved in regular research forums (brown-bag lunch forums) to discuss their work and progress with each other and with the faculty mentors. Moreover, students will engage in symposia with guest scholars from major research universities, as well as special sessions with international scholars from universities abroad. In later weeks, the faculty will hold workshops on GRE preparation, graduate school application, and graduate school selection.

4) A Capstone Academic Presentation. Students will present their results to the academic community at Texas Christian University in the final week of the summer program.

Additionally, each student-scholar proposes his/her paper for consideration by the organizers of the International Studies Association Annual Conference. If accepted, the students present their projects at the annual ISA meeting in the spring following the summer program. Funds for registration, travel, and lodging at this conference are provided from the REU program to each participating student.

III. Student Support

The students who participate in the program receive the following support:

A stipend of $4,000.
Housing at Texas Christian University for the duration of the program.
A weekly stipend for meals.
A travel subsidy for students who do not attend TCU.
Funds for registration, travel, and lodging for participation in a conference in the subsequent spring (up to $900 per student).

IV. Eligibility and Qualifications.

Applicants for the 2012 program must have completed their sophomore year by June, 2012 and not be graduating before December, 2012. Preference is given to rising seniors (member of the Class of 2013).

Under NSF-REU guidelines, only US citizens or permanent residents are eligible for support.

Additional Requirements:

Applicants must have a minimum GPA of 3.0
Applicants must have completed course-work related to the summer program’s issue areas.
Applicants must be majors in Political Science or a related field (e.g., Government, International Relations, International Studies, Legal Studies).
Applicants must be willing and able to complete the entire summer program in residence.
Applicants must be interested in graduate training in Political Science or a closely related field.
Preferred: participants who have completed an undergraduate research methods, inquiry, or research design course and/or independent research experience.

V. Applications:

To apply, please complete the APPLICATION FORM and submit the additional required material with two letters of recommendation (using this RECOMMENDATION FORM).

Thank you for your interest. Selection decisions are made in late February and initial invitations made in early March.

James M. Scott
Program Director
Herman Brown Chair and Professor
Department of Political Science
TCU Box 297021
Texas Christian University
Fort Worth, TX 76129
817-257-7395
j.scott@tcu.edu

TCU Department of Political Science | Scharbauer Hall, Suite 2007 | 2855 Main Dr. | Fort Worth, TX 76129
Office: (817) 257-7395 | Fax: (817) 257-7397

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