CHASS Offers Summer Research Opportunities
for Undergraduates
By Christine Kitano, Student Intern of CHASS College
Computing
Undergraduate students Nancy Aguirre, Chioma Chukwu, Jason Hauser, Michael Noffsinger, Ann Ora, William Sung, and Sharon Yoon have been selected for summer research internships with the newly launched Public Policy Initiative at UCR. Chosen from a wide pool of qualified applicants, the students demonstrated strong academic backgrounds in addition to an evident interest in public policy.
Intern applicants were required to submit detailed project proposals outlining specific areas of interest to be researched throughout the duration of the internship. The selected interns have been working with faculty mentors from various CHASS departments and the Graduate School of Education in thematic work groups on research pertaining to their individual projects. This year’s faculty mentors are Professor Anil Deolalikar of Economics, Assistant Professor Robert Ream of Education, Professor Steven Brint of Sociology, Assistant Professor Martin Johnson of Political Science, Assistant Professor Ellen Reese of Sociology, and CHASS Associate Dean and Sociology Professor Scott Coltrane.
The Public Policy Initiative will also create more opportunities for faculty and student research. This summer’s undergraduate research interns will be researching a variety of public policy topics, from the “No Child Left Behind” act to global relations. CHASS is proud to offer a multitude of opportunities for undergraduate research, ensuring that students will have had access to valuable research experience when they graduate. “I think this is a great opportunity to gain experience in our fields of study and apply the material we have learned,” said intern Nancy Aguirre. “It gives us the chance to have a voice in public policies that affect entire communities and gives us the opportunity to have one-on-one interaction with faculty members. UCR offers numerous options for undergraduate research that we should take advantage of.”
The Public Policy Initiative at UCR was launched in Spring 2005 with an interdisciplinary seminar series. The seminars addressed issues of child poverty, global hunger and malnutrition, and the social impact of promised academic scholarships. Proposed benefits of the seminars include the promotion of awareness among UCR students and faculty of local and global policy issues, a fuller understanding of public policy programs, and greater interaction between researchers and policy makers in the surrounding community.
For more information on the Public Policy Initiative,
please visit http://www.ppi.ucr.edu