Six Graduate students were selected for APSA grants and fellowships:
- Aura Gonzalez: 2021 APSA Diversity Fellowship Program
- Joseph Yinusa: 2021 APSA Diversity Fellowship Program
- Thalia Gerzso: 2021 APSA Centennial Research Grant
- Joseph Lasky: 2021 APSA Centennial Research Grant
- Lindsey Pruett: 2021 Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant
- Stephen Roblin: 2021 Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant
APSA Diversity Fellowship Program
Aura Gonzalez and Joseph Yinusa were selected for The APSA Diversity Fellowship Program. This program is a fellowship competition for individuals from underrepresented backgrounds applying to or in the early stages of doctoral programs in political science. The DFP was established in 1969 as the Black Graduate Student Fellowship to increase the number of African American graduate students in the discipline. In 1979, the Chicano Student Fellowship was established. Over time, the fellowship program evolved into the Minority Fellowship Program (MFP), expanding to include support for all scholars from traditionally underrepresented racial and ethnic backgrounds. As of Fall 2020, the program was renamed to the APSA Diversity Fellowship Program to better mirror language that reflects, encourages, and uplifts aspiring scholars of color and to acknowledge the current and projected demographic shifts in racial and ethnic populations in the US.
Since its inception, the APSA DFP has designated more than 600 fellows and contributed to the successful completion of doctoral political science programs for over 100 individuals. Each fall, the DFP awards between 12-14 funded fellowships in the amount of $5,000 over two years to students applying to doctoral programs in political science. Each spring, the DFP offers fellowships to graduate students in the pre-dissertation stage of their doctoral program. The Spring DFP is a one time award of $2000, depending on funding availability.
APSA Centennial Center Research Grants
Thalia Gerzso and Joseph Lasky were 2021 Summer Centennial Center Research Grant recipients from the William A. Steiger Fund for Legislative Studies. The Steiger Fund enables Congressional Fellowship Program alumni to extend their stays in Washington for research. It also supports scholarly research in any aspect of domestic or international legislative politics. Summer Centennial Center Research Grants are open to all APSA members. Grants are supported by a set of endowed funds, some of which target specific research topics. The summer application deadline also offers a limited number of grants for mini-conferences, workshops, and other collaborative projects. The maximum grant amount for research is $2,500 and the maximum grant amount for conferences, workshops, etc. is: $10,000.
2021 APSA Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants
Lindsey Pruett and Stephen Roblin were awarded DDRIG grants in 2021. The APSA DDRIG program provides support to enhance and improve the conduct of doctoral dissertation research in political science. Awards support basic research which is theoretically derived and empirically oriented.
In 2020, The National Science Foundation (NSF) made an award to APSA to administer the Political Science Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant (DDRIG) program. The total award of the grant was $1,410,000 for a three year period, starting with the 2020 Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grants competition.
The Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant project provides support to enhance and improve the conduct of doctoral dissertation research in political science. Awards will support basic research which is theoretically derived and empirically oriented. The APSA Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant program will award around 20 grants yearly of between $10,000 and $15,000 to support doctoral dissertation research that advances knowledge and understanding of citizenship, government, and politics.
The program also connects awardees to APSA’s extensive professional development and public engagement networks and resources, to amplify the effect of the award on the awardee’s career and on the impact of their work as they explore solutions to a wide range of institutional, political, and social challenges. In addition, it will support the advancement of national health, prosperity, and welfare, by supporting projects that identify ways to use knowledge of citizenship, government, and politics to benefit society. The APSA Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants was funded under NSF award number 2000500.
Advancing diversity and inclusion in the profession is a key priority of the association and the APSA Strategic Plan. As such, APSA is committed to identifying and supporting especially promising doctoral dissertation research, particularly research by scholars from groups, institutions, and geographic areas that are underrepresented in political science. The APSA Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants Program is dedicated to recruiting diverse applicant and reviewer pools to fund doctoral students from diverse groups and institutions, and ultimately support increased participation of women and underrepresented minorities in political science research.
