2014-15 Next Generation Scholars Program: 

Call for Applications

The Next Generation Scholars program was launched in 2010 with the goal of providing new research and mentorship opportunities for promising UT undergraduate students. Involving undergraduates in international affairs early in their career is an important part of the Strauss Center’s mission to prepare the next generation of leaders to help develop solutions to the most pressing global problems.

Program Components

This one-year program includes two key components: First, students will take a 1-credit research training and professional development course, taught in the Fall of 2014. This course is designed to introduce students to policy work, including basic skills in policy research, analysis, and writing. Students will be coached on designing research strategies and proposals, conducting policy analysis, writing resumes and statements of purpose, crafting op-eds and blog posts, and planning for the steps in their career development. Students selected for the program are required to enroll in PA158S, which will meet every other Friday from 10am-12:00pm at the LBJ School of Public Affairs in Sid Richardson Hall. This course will be led by Dr. Kate Weaver, Associate Professor of Public Affairs and Strauss Center Distinguished Scholar.

Second, the program also matches each selected student with a research agenda underway by a Strauss Center Distinguished Scholar to provide opportunities to directly engage in policy-relevant research and practice skills taught in PA158S. Students will apprentice in their assigned research program for the Fall 2014 semester. Students who perform well in their research apprenticeship will be eligible to then continue as a paid research intern for their respective faculty members at the Strauss Center in the Spring 2015. Students promoted to full intern positions will be expected to commit approximately ten hours per week during the spring semester and will earn a stipend of $500 for the spring semester. Students may use this stipend for independent research, travel to a study abroad program or summer internship, travel to a professional conference, or other experiential and scholarly pursuits approved by Dr. Weaver. Funding permitting, and contingent on positive performance evaluations, students may continue as research interns at the Strauss Center after the year-long Next Generation Scholars program concludes.

Biographies of the 2013-14 class of Next Generation Scholars are available at www.strausscenter.org/fellows-and-students.

Application Guidelines

Applications for the 2014-2015 academic year will be accepted from March 6, 2014 to April 1, 2014. Please send your application materials, as detailed below, to Dominique Thuot at dominique.t@austin.utexas.edu.

Requirements:

1. Students must plan to be registered UT undergraduate students during the fall and spring semesters of the 2014-15 academic year. Because this program provides the foundation for a potentially multi-year mentorship, preference will be given to students entering their sophomore or junior years.
2. Students should have a GPA of at least 3.50.

Applications should include:

1. A detailed cover letter that explains your academic and professional interests and why you are interested in participating in the intellectual life of the Strauss Center—an interdisciplinary center devoted to policy-relevant research on issues related to national and international security, law, and diplomacy. The Strauss Center’s research focuses on factors contributing to the destabilization of nation states, diplomatic and military history and strategy, new approaches to diplomacy, intelligence and surveillance, the impact of science and technology on national security, evolving legal architectures to account for new threats in the 21st century, climate security and complex emergencies, and international development and security. Where possible, please identify which Strauss Center research programs or faculty cover your fields of interest.
2. Resume with your complete contact information (including email address and phone number) and the names and contact information of two references. One of these references should be a faculty member who can speak to your academic abilities and potential.
3. One unofficial college transcript.

For questions about the program, please contact Dominique Thuot at dominique.t@austin.utexas.edu.