Farrell Fellowship

About the Farrell Fellowship Program

Starting in 2014, the elite Farrell Fellowship program honors our former professor R. Barry Farrell. Over 60 students and 30 faculty have participated thus far.

Political Science majors work alongside our professors on faculty-generated research projects. As a paid research assistant with the title of Farrell Fellow, you will learn the process of conducting academic research from the faculty mentors and how to handle setbacks and unexpected results that arise in the process.

Benefits: Farrell Fellows do not receive academic credit, but are paid an hourly wage of $15. The program may also fund other expenses that support the research, such as travel to research locations, conference fees, research materials, or provide a small stipend to help offset summer housing costs, depending on budget.
Time commitment: Fellows may work a maximum of 10 hrs/wk during the academic year and 40 hrs/wk during the summer.
Criteria: The selection process is need-blind and not connected to the federal Work Study program.
How to apply: Students must complete the online application, interview, and be selected by a faculty member to participate in the program.

Applications for the 2021-22 Farrell Fellowship will open in April 2021.

Personal and Professional Development

Fellows play an important role in a major project that unfolds over an extended period of time (usually more than one quarter), exposing them to multiple stages of project development.

Faculty are not only supervisors but also mentors, teaching Fellows about the intricacies of political science research. This ranges from identification of a research problem to the development of key research questions to the choice of research design and appropriate method to the collection and analysis of data.
Training sessions are occasionally held on quantitative, qualitative, or interpretive research methods, including incorporating research software. Fellows learn analytical and methodological skills from this hands-on research experience.
Collaborative group meetings with participating faculty and students allow Fellows to share updates on the research projects, to build community and inspire collaboration.
Participating faculty and students have access to shared resources, including templates, training resources, and tutorials.