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The Summer Thesis Research Award description below dates from the 2008-09 academic year. We anticipate no major changes to our program in 2009-10, but urge interested students to check back in at the beginning of the Spring 2010 semester -- any changes will be posted at that time.

Summer Thesis Research Award for Summer 2009

Each spring, the Institute of Politics awards summer research grants to Harvard College juniors writing a senior thesis on any topic related to politics and/or public policy. The award amount is commensurate with the research budget, up to a maximum of $2,500 each. Undergraduates in any concentration are welcome to apply, but the focus of the thesis must be on politics and/or public policy. The purpose of the grant is to enable students to spend a significant period of time on thesis research in the summer preceding his or her senior year.

A complete application consists of the following:

• Submission of the materials listed below by 5pm on Thursday, March 19th, 2009; deliver materials in hardcopy to the Institute of Politics Internships Program, Harvard Kennedy School, Littauer 274:

• Printed output from the Common Application for Research and Travel (CARAT) found at https://admin-apps.fas.harvard.edu/carat/

  Please contact IOP Internships Coordinator Amy Howell (ahowell@harvard.edu) if you encounter any difficulties accessing or using the CARAT application.

• The research proposal, (no more than four pages, double-spaced) including the following three elements: 1) statement of the subject proposed, 2) list and discussion of the sources, libraries and archives to be consulted, and 3) itinerary and plan of summer research. This proposal should be developed in consultation with the recommender (see next item). Please note that all travel funded by the IOP is restricted to the United States.

• One letter of recommendation from a faculty member, tutor or teaching fellow, preferably your thesis advisor. You may direct the recommender to send the letter to the IOP Internships Program by the deadline, or collect the letter yourself for submission along with the rest of the application. If the latter, the letter should be in a sealed envelope, signed by the recommender across the seal. If the recommender will not be the thesis adviser, please say so in the research proposal, with an indication of plans to date towards the identification of the thesis adviser.

• Detailed list of each program and/or center at Harvard to which you have also applied for funding for your thesis. If you receive any funding from another source, you must immediately notify the IOP of the award.

Each Summer Thesis Research Award winner is required to submit in the fall a brief report of his or her summer's research and to give a copy of the completed thesis to the IOP.

Online Applications due March 19, 2009.

Please contact Amy Howell with any questions.

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