The Center seeks applications from affiliated faculty researchers interested in hiring a GSR (up to 50% time) for Winter 2015 and/or Spring 2015. The Center anticipates providing four to eight graduate research assistant positions.  Receipt of research assistance funds is contingent on agreement by the affiliated faculty member to write a two page policy brief based on the funded project in collaboration with the research assistant.

The Center seeks proposals from affiliates conducting research related to our core research areas:

• Labor markets and poverty
• The non-cash safety net, broadly construed to include education and health policies
• Children and the intergenerational transmission of poverty
• Immigration and Poverty, especially in connection with the above three areas

Download the Call for Proposals

Terms of the Graduate Research Fellowship
By the end of quarter following the fellowship, the supervising faculty will, in collaboration with the GSR and the Center’s Senior Writer, write and submit a two page policy brief.  The policy brief will be a summary of the faculty member’s own poverty-related research (preferably the project for which the graduate student research assistant is hired), aimed at a general audience.  All briefs will be disseminated by the Center.  Examples of existing policy briefs are currently available on our website.

Students with a concurrent GSR appointment during requested quarter of funding will not be funded. Limited funding is available for non-resident graduate students.

Selection Criteria
Applications will be evaluated by an interdisciplinary group of senior scholars affiliated with the Center for Poverty Research.  Proposals will be evaluated on several factors, including:

• The overall promise of the project’s scholarly contribution;
• The project’s relevance to the Center’s core research areas;
• The student’s academic achievement;
• The student’s seniority—we are particularly interested in funding students who are at an early stage of their graduate career.

Application Instructions
The application must be initiated by an affiliated faculty member. Only applications in which a particular graduate student is identified as the potential GSR for an affiliated faculty will  be considered.  Proposals must be received by 5 PM on November 7, 2014.

Please use the online application link at the top right corner of this page to complete and submit the following elements:

1. A complete webform application, which includes the 500 word description of the anticipated research project, and 1) how it links to least one of the Center’s core research themes, and 2) a description of the project specific tasks that the research assistant will be engaged in.
2. Student’s academic transcript (unofficial is sufficient).