Undergraduate Research

The Political Science Department encourages undergraduates to explore the options for working with faculty on research projects. There are a number of opportunities to become involved in political science research outside participation in research seminars. Below we list a few of the more common programs through which undergraduate students have become involved in faculty research programs.

• Social Sciences students may participate in the Social Sciences Research Enterprise (SSURE).
  
  
• Incoming freshmen may participate in the Rice Century Scholars Program.
  
  
• Juniors and seniors may participate in the Rice Undergraduate Scholars Program.
  
  
• Students can arrange to take a directed readings course (POLI 305/306) or write an honors thesis (POLI 405/406). These course options require working independently with a faculty sponsor. Students who are interested in readings courses or writing an honors thesis should discuss this with Dr. Stoll, Director of Undergraduate Studies. Dr. Stoll can be reached in person in 202 Baker Hall, by phone at ext. 3362, or by email at stoll@rice.edu.
  
  
• Some faculty hire undergraduate students to serve as research assistants, either during the summer or part time during the academic year. These are paid positions. Many undergraduate research assistants use these posts to fulfill their work study obligations, but positions are often available for non-work study students also. The availability and nature of undergraduate research assistantships vary depending on levels of funding at a given time. For more information about undergraduate research assistantships in the department, please contact Dr. Stoll, Director of Undergraduate Studies. Dr. Stoll can be reached in person in 202 Baker Hall, by phone at ext. 3362, or by email at stoll@rice.edu. 

   

  Current Undergraduate Research Opportunities in Political Science

  Professor and Contact Information	Description of Research
  Royce Carroll.  BB284. x2103. rcarroll	Comparative Legislative Research - Student will be involved in gathering and organizing information on legislatures from various countries. Credit: None Pay: Yes Position Filled for Fall 09
  Mark Jones. BB200. x2107. mpjones.	The Evolution of the Texas Political Party System, 1975-2008.  At present the tasks would be working with party primary vote results as part of a larger database creation project (coding/data entry/archival research). Credit: None. Pay: Yes. Special Skills Needed: None.
  Ashley Leeds. BB230. x3037. leeds	The project title is "Interests, Institutions, and Foreign Policy  Change".  What undergrads would do is research domestic political institutions and domestic political transitions in countries around the world between 1919 and 2008.  The ultimate goal of the research is to judge the conditions under which domestic leadership transitions result in foreign policy change. Credit: None. Pay: Yes. *** This position will not begin until the Spring Semester at the earliest***
  Bob Stein. BB 218. x2795. stein	1.  Electoral Campaigns and Election Administration.  Students will read and conduct research about how recent electoral reforms have influenced who participates in electoral contests and how candidates and political parties use election procedures to further their electoral ambitions. Students have the opportunity work with several recently collected data bases on electoral administration, candidate strategies for mobilizing supporters, the partisan basis of non-partisan elections, and voting on referenda (i.e., school bonds). Credit: possible. (Poli 431). 2.  Hurricane Risk Assessment and the Design of Evacuation Policies.  An opportunity to learn about and apply tools and technologies from civil and environmental engineering, political science and computer science to evaluate plans for Houston’s response to a major hurricane and flood hazards. Credit: possible (Poli 481)