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Summer Research College 2025

 

2019 summer research college presentations

The IR Program is pleased to announce Undergraduate Summer Research Positions

Summer Research College (SRC) is designed to foster close intellectual exchange by involving students in the ongoing research of Stanford professors. Participants will work directly with a faculty mentor for ten weeks and receive a $8,000 stipend. There may be an additional supplement based on financial need.  Students also have the opportunity to attend optional research training seminars to learn additional skills throughout the summer (e.g., Stata, R). Projects will be done in person on campus.

“The International Relations Summer Research College offers students a unique opportunity to experience the process of doing actual research while allowing them to gain valuable job skills, and preparing them for careers in either academia or the corporate world,” says Mike Tomz, Political Science Professor and Summer Research College Director.  

Eligibility:

To be eligible for SRC, you must:

  • be a current undergraduate at Stanford
  • be available to work 40 hours per week for the duration of the program
  • not be serving a suspension or be on a Leave of Absence (LOA) while participating
  • not have received Stanford funding for a full-time experiential learning opportunity in the 2024-25 academic year

Co-term students and seniors are eligible only if the bachelor’s degree will not be conferred before the end of the research appointment.

Student athletes should confirm the impact of any awarded stipend on their athletic eligibility by contacting the Compliance Services Office prior to applying.

Expectations:

Student participation is expected to be 40 hours per week during the program dates June 23 through August 29, 2025. The program is in person on campus. Students and faculty will present their collaborative research in lunchtime seminars that will take place twice per week. Students are expected to attend all lunchtime presentation seminars.

Stipend:

Each student participant will receive a $8,000 stipend with additional funding available based on financial need and/or location.

Restrictions:

IR does not offer course credit for SRC. Students are only eligible to receive the full Summer stipend. Faculty mentor approval is required if taking summer courses. Summer enrollment generally should not exceed 5 units.

Housing:

Students may apply for on-campus summer housing—please note that room, board, house dues, and other academic expenses are paid by the student. Students are responsible for paying their university summer bill, which will include any other academic expenses incurred. To learn more about and apply for summer housing, see the Housing Assignment Services website.

Apply to SRC:

Click on the Project Preference Form and use it to express your preference regarding faculty mentors and research projects (see project descriptions below). Please attach your cover letters, resume, and unofficial transcript to this preference form. If your application is approved, someone will contact you to set up an interview. We are accepting applications only via the preference form link above.

SRC Cover Letter Guidelines 

Deadline:

Monday, February 10, 2025 at 5:00 PM PST.

Questions? Contact pfesta [at] stanford.edu (Paul Festa), Encina Hall Central, Suite 30.

2025 Summer Research Opportunities 

FACULTY MEMBER
PROJECT TITLE 
Avidit AcharyaVoting System Reforms 
Michael AllenThe Politics of Special Economic Zones
Gary Cox and Jonathan RoddenDemonization of Political Opponents
Hakeem JeffersonExploring Race in Political Science and the Politics of Sagging Pants Ordinances
Neil MalhotraCan Weather Shocks Convince Conservatives that Climate Change is a Problem? Farmers as a Case Study
Oriana Mastro China-Russia Security Alignment: Evolution, Drivers, and Implications for International Liberal Order
Michael McFaul, James Goldgeier, and Elizabeth EconomyWho is Winning the New Cold War? The Impact of Great Power Competition in Key Regions
Norman NaimarkStalin's Terror, 1930-1953
Simone PaciMaking the Fiscal Contract Work: The Political Economy of Tax Evasion, Enforcement, and Redistribution
Lowry PresslyArtificial Intelligence and Civic Life
Soledad PrillamanIndian Local Election Study
Roxanne RahnamaIdentity, Conflict, and Mobilization: The Political Consequences of Educational Culture Wars
Doug RiversWhat Happened in the 2024 US Election?
Scott Sagan The Rules of War

Project Descriptions

Voting Systems Reforms

Professor Avidit Acharya

Election reformers in the United States have focused their efforts on advocating for various changes in the electoral process at all levels of government—especially for various forms of ranked choice voting—in the hope that these reforms can lower political polarization and improve representation. However, there are many voting systems that are not being advanced as strongly, including approval voting, and various implementations of majority rule. How does our current voting system and the proposals currently on the table compare to these alternatives? This project will use theoretical analysis and simulations to address this question. Undergraduate RAs should have a strong mathematics background, familiarity with proof-based mathematics, and should be able to code in Python.

The Politics of Special Economic Zones

Professor Michael Allen

We are looking for students to help us study the politics of special economic zones (SEZs) in developing countries. SEZs are areas countries establish with distinct regulatory or tax benefits, typically aimed at promoting domestic manufacturing. We are looking for research assistants to help us verify and expand data we have already collected on SEZs around the globe. This will involve using publicly available sources to verify/identify when zones were created, their location, how they are managed/funded, as well as various aspects of their governance (e.g., tax benefits, regulatory exemptions). We are also looking for assistance in identifying, reading and coding the laws countries pass to regulate zones. Proficiency in foreign languages, particularly Spanish, is a plus.

Demonization of Political Opponents

Professors Gary Cox and Jonathan Rodden

To what extent do political and media elites characterize allies and opponents as extremists? A team of research assistants will work to develop approaches using large language models to characterize political speeches and media content according to the extent to which they characterize political elites as extremists. We would like to understand broad changes in these characterizations over time and variation across localities. Ideal candidates will have some coding or data science experience. 

Exploring Race in Political Science of Sagging Pants Ordinances 

Professor Hakeem Jefferson

This project offers students the opportunity to contribute to two research endeavors: one examining how race is addressed in leading political science journals and another investigating sagging pants ordinances implemented in the 2000s. The first project involves refining and expanding a dataset of articles from top journals to analyze trends in how race is studied within the discipline. The second project focuses on mapping sagging pants ordinances, gathering information on their enactment, public debates, enforcement patterns, and broader implications for policing and social control. Ideal candidates will have strong organizational skills, an interest in race and identity politics, and the ability to work independently. While prior experience with data collection, coding, or analysis is helpful, it is not required; training and guidance will be provided.

Can Weather Shocks Convince Conservatives that Climate Change is a Problem? Farmers as a Case Study

Professor Neil Malhotra

Many argue that climate change mitigation requires political support from the business community. This raises fundamental questions about how businesses’ preferences and engagement surrounding climate politics stems from their own climate threats, mitigation costs, and policy experiences. We propose to investigate these dynamics by studying agricultural producers—a population that faces both uniquely intense climate change exposure and extensive government protection against climate change damages, with rich variation in both dimensions across the industry. Understanding how agricultural producers perceive and respond to climate threats and related policies could advance our theoretical understanding of how businesses respond to environmental risk and government relief, while also providing a policy-relevant case study for how conservative business owners can become supporters of policies designed to address climate change. To examine these questions, we propose conducting a survey of American farmers. This SRC project would involve students in building the sampling frame for the survey, conducting the survey, and analyzing survey data. Prior expertise is not required, but we seek students with strong quantitative and analytical skills. Successful applicants will have taken some quantitative subjects (e.g., math, economics, computer science, statistics) and done well in them. Successful applicants should also have computing skills and be able to effectively troubleshoot.

China-Russia Security Alignment: Evolution, Drivers and Implications for International Liberal-Order 

Professor Oriana Mastro

Are China and Russia aligning militarily against the United States? Scholars and policymakers alike are becoming increasingly concerned that the nightmare of a China-Russia bloc will soon become a reality. U.S. allies in Europe and Asia echo the concern that the two countries are forming a countervailing coalition against the United States and its allies. Yet, there is no consensus about whether the Sino-Russian relationship is indeed a cause for concern. The China-Russia Security Alignment project proposes a new framework for understanding the nature and purpose of the China-Russia strategic alignment. It outlines a new method for evaluating and weighing observations about security cooperation between great powers – one that is internally consistent and empirically valid. This line of research aims to provide a firm theoretical foundation for measuring alignment degree, scope, and impact, using metrics more appropriate to great powers. It then evaluates the China-Russia relationship within this framework. This research has implications for Chinese foreign policy, regional security, alliance politics, and balancing theory. To support this project, Dr. Oriana Skylar Mastro, Center Fellow with CISAC at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, is seeking tenacious research assistant(s) with first-rate analytical capabilities and outstanding academic credentials. Responsibilities include conducting literature reviews, drafting memos, revising and editing documents, and evaluating primary and secondary sources relating to China-Russia military relations and US-China relations. Previous relevant research experience related to military and/or political Russian or Chinese history is an advantage. We welcome applications from Russian and Chinese linguists, though proficiency in English alone is sufficient. Additional important skills include professionalism, self-motivation, and organizational skills. The exact requirements of the work will be catered to the level of experience of the RA.

Who is Winning the New Cold War? The Impact of Great Power Competition in Key Regions

Professors Michael McFaul, James Goldgeier, and Elizabeth Economy

We are looking to hire two student research assistants to support a book project about the impact of great power competition between China, Russia, and the United States around the world. The research assistants should be prepared to work both individually and collaboratively on thematic and historical chapters that discuss themes such as power, ideology, multilateralism, and interdependence in the 21st century. Previous research and writing experience, fluency in Russian or Mandarin, and demonstrated interest in Russia or China are preferred.

Stalin's Terror, 1930-1953

Professor Norman Naimark

The project examines the dramatic period of Stalin's terror in the 1930s. Students will reconstruct the major episodes of the period, when possible using primary documents in the Hoover Archives or published. Each student will be assigned a particular aspect of the terror to investigate. They will be responsible for taking notes on what they have read, and for writing a short essay on what they have learned from their research. Students with a reading knowledge of Russian and/or Ukrainian will be given preference, but there is much English-language material to be examined, as well. The final product will be a comprehensive book on the subject.

Making the Fiscal Contract Work: The Political Economy of Tax Evasion, Enforcement, and Redistribution

Professor Simone Paci

Tax collection poses an enduring challenge to modern states. Evasion and avoidance undercut revenue across contexts, from an estimated 15-20% loss in the US and Italy to over 50% in Zimbabwe, Bolivia, and Georgia. This phenomenon undermines effective government policymaking and contributes to economic inequality. We are seeking undergraduate research assistants for a project examining when and why governments invest in enforcement and when instead they reduce the resources available to tax authorities. Students will collect and manage cross-country data on major tax reforms, with a focus on changes in audit systems. They will also conduct case studies on specific reforms by gathering legislative roll-call data, debates, and related news sources. Responsibilities include systematic data collection from public and academic sources, integrating GenAI methods for analyzing unstructured text, and performing basic data management in R. No prior knowledge of these topics or R is required, but an enthusiastic willingness to learn is more than appreciated!

Artificial Intelligence and Civic Life

Professor Lowry Pressly

This project will investigate the contemporary implementation and proposed use of artificial intelligence in political life. States and municipalities are beginning to turn to generative AI as a tool to improve citizen participation in political decision-making, to increase government responsiveness to the wishes and needs of voters, and to effect large-scale democratic deliberation. In response, there is a rapidly developing literature in political science and philosophy concerning the promise and hazards AI presents to the deliberative, representative, and policymaking dimensions of democratic governance. This project seeks to take stock of these developments in governance, technology, and scholarship, and to ask new questions about the effects of weaving intelligent machines into civic fabric of everyday life. The research assistant will be responsible for developing and drafting literature reviews, investigating the spread of civic AI across the globe (from actual use to pending proposals and citizen response), and producing reports on the state of both the technology and political discourse around it. Some background in (1) political theory and/or ethics and (2) machine learning and/or artificial intelligence is preferred.

Indian Local Elections Study

Professor Soledad Prillaman 

India has institutionalized the largest electoral gender quota policy in the world, ensuring that at least 33% of all local elected officials are women. Electoral gender quotas have been implemented in more than 100 countries worldwide, yet evidence from across the globe shows that electoral quotas are unmet 77% of the time. The Inclusive Democracy and Development (ID2) Lab seeks to understand who runs for office and who ultimately becomes politicians in the presence or absence of quota-reserved government seats for women in India. To do so, our lab is assembling the first and most comprehensive database of its kind, which will include data on local election candidacies, outcomes, and the reservation statuses of local government seats. We are seeking an undergraduate research assistant with intermediate to advanced data handling skills in R, Python, or Stata. The research assistant should be able to write code to clean large data sets and should additionally have advanced organizational and time management skills. Prior experience with using data handling software outside of the classroom is a desired qualification.

Identity, Conflict, and Mobilization: The Political Consequences of Educational Culture Wars

Professor Roxanne Rahnama

We are seeking two research assistants for a project analyzing the impact of culture wars in local education politics, focusing on issues like book bans (on topics relating to race, gender, LGBTQ+ identity and American history), educational gag orders, and their influence on democratic representation in school board elections. The project, led by Roxanne Rahnama (Stanford) and Elisa Wirsching (Princeton/LSE), examines who benefits from these culture wars and their broader political consequences. Responsibilities include assisting with data collection (e.g., FOIA requests, syllabi searches), data cleaning, and simple analysis, with a strong preference for prior intermediate or advanced experience in R and/or STATA. Any prior experience with scraping is also ideal. The RA will receive mentorship, guidance, and the opportunity to contribute to cutting-edge research on identity and ideology, education politics, and the politicization of bureaucracies. Ideal candidates should be detail-oriented and proactive, with the ability to produce regular progress updates.

What Happened in the 2024 US Election?

Professor Doug Rivers

What happened in the 2024 US election? Using a unique survey dataset comprised of over 1 million interviews, you will try to separate fact from fiction. Analyses will be done using R and some familiarity with R and data science are required, but this will be an opportunity to learn how to answer important questions with data. Each week you will be asked to analyze a particular aspect of the election and produce a research note summarizing your results.

The Rules of War

Professor Scott Sagan

Students will help me evaluate public opinion surveys about the use of force and specifically will code open-ended answers from respondents about how and why the make trade-offs between expected collateral killing of an adversary’s civilians and deaths of compatriot soldiers. Students will also read historical case studies of how political leaders, military officers, and the public made similar tradeoffs during war. Some background coursework in international relations, just war theory and the law of armed conflict, and the history of warfare would be helpful.