Fellowships

Mariam K. Chamberlain Fellowship in Women and Public Policy

IWPR will offer one fellowship for 2012-2013:

The Mariam K. Chamberlain Fellow works as a general research assistant on a variety of research projects and reports. Research tasks may include reviewing literature; collecting, checking and analyzing data; gathering information; and preparing reports and report graphics. Attending relevant Congressional briefings, policy seminars and meetings is also an integral part of the fellowship program. Applicants should have at least a bachelor's degree in a social science discipline, statistics, or women's studies. Graduate work is not required. Applicants should have strong quantitative and library research skills and knowledge of women's issues; familiarity with Microsoft Word and Excel is required. Knowledge of STATA, SPSS, SAS, and graphics software a plus. Qualitative research skills also a plus.

Research areas for 2012-2013 include:

• The quality of women’s jobs, including wages, access to health insurance, paid sick leave, and workplace flexibility.
• Increasing access to higher education and non-traditional jobs for low-income women.
• Strategies for improving child care access, affordability, and quality.
• Older women's economic issues, including social security and pensions.
• The economic status of women and girls, women of color, and immigrant women across the United States.

All Fellows are also responsible for a certain amount of general office work, including such tasks as responding to information requests, photocopying, assisting in maintaining the library, and answering telephones.

Compensation for the fellowship is $25,500 over the 9-month period, plus health insurance and a public transportation stipend. The positions are full-time and generally span the academic year (September-May), but starting and ending dates are somewhat flexible. IWPR is committed to diversity and encourages people of all ethnic, cultural, economic, and sexual orientations to apply.

To Apply:
Mail a cover letter, a resume, a list of relevant classes taken (this list can be included with the resume), a 3-7 page writing sample, and two confidential (sealed) letters of recommendation to the address below.

Fellowship Coordinator
Institute for Women's Policy Research
1200 18th Street NW, Suite 301
Washington, DC  20036

Applicants may email the above materials to yi@iwpr.org. However, letters of recommendation must be emailed or sent by mail to the Fellowship Coordinator directly by the recommender.

Applications for the 2012-2013 Fellowships are due by March 1, 2012. Please note that only complete applications will be considered.  Applicants will be contacted only if selected for an interview. Questions may be addressed to the Fellowship Coordinator via E-mail at yi@iwpr.org.  No phone calls, please.

The IWPR/GWU Fellowship in Women's Public Policy Research 2011-2012



The recipient of this fellowship will participate in research at the Institute for Women's Policy Research during the fellowship year, while enrolled as a full-time graduate student at The George Washington University.

Research areas for 2010-2011 include:

• The quality of women’s jobs, including wages, access to health insurance, paid sick leave, and workplace flexibility.
• The work and welfare experiences of low-income women at the state and national levels, including an ongoing study examining the policy needs of women in the Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina.
• Increasing access to higher education and non-traditional jobs for low-income women.
• Expanding access to income supports for women such as Unemployment Insurance and Family Leave.
• Strategies for improving child care access, affordability, and quality.
• Older women's economic issues, including social security and pensions.
• Women’s civic activism and new strategies for engaging a diverse range of organizations in activism on women’s issues.
• The economic status of women and girls, women of color, and immigrant women across the United States.
Specific research projects will be mutually agreed upon by IWPR, the fellow's academic advisor, and the fellow.

Research tasks may include reviewing literature; collecting, checking and analyzing data; gathering information; and preparing reports and report graphics. Attending relevant Congressional briefings, policy seminars and meetings is also an integral part of the fellowship program. Applicants should have strong quantitative and library research skills and knowledge of women's issues; familiarity with Microsoft Word and Excel is required. Knowledge of STATA, SPSS, SAS, and graphics software a plus. Qualitative research skills also a plus. All Fellows are also responsible for a certain amount of general office work, including such tasks as responding to information requests, photocopying, assisting in maintaining the library, and answering telephones.

Awards: 
This fellowship provides a stipend of $15,000 plus $1,000 toward the cost of health insurance and 18 hours of tuition credit at The George Washington University.

Eligibility: 
Preference will be given to advanced graduate students, particularly to students in the Gender and Social Policy field of the Public Policy & Public Administration PhD program, or the MA in Public Policy with a Concentration in Women’s Studies, whose interests and background relate to IWPR research interests. Current or previous fellows may reapply once.

Students must be enrolled full time (9 credits per semester) during the fellowship year.

Relationship between research and course work: 
Students may arrange to use their time at IWPR as a field placement for WSTU 283 Practicum in Women’s Studies, and/or to use their research at IWPR as the basis for an independent research (WSTU 295) or independent study (WSTU 280) paper or a thesis. Such arrangements require faculty approval.

Applications: 
Those who wish to apply for this fellowship should complete the Fellowships and Assistantships application form available in pdf form here. Applications should be sent to the "IWPR Fellowship" at the Women's Studies Program office (837 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC, 20052).

Application Deadline: 
The deadline for all materials for this fellowship is March 1, 2011.