Over the past decade, hundreds of graduate students in Political Science have participated in EITM summer institutes. These institutes are held at universities across the country and improve participants’ ability to advance science and serve society. Participants emerge from EITM summer institutes better able to leverage interactions between theoretical models that clarify relevant logical relationships and empirical endeavors that clarify critical implications of observation and data.
The EITM Scholarships provide funds for students to attend classes at the Inter University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) Summer Program in Quantitative Methods of Social Research as a way of strengthening their methodological abilities in preparation for attending a future EITM summer institute. An EITM Scholarship is not required to attend an EITM institute; instead, it is another way to benefit from EITM. Likewise, there is no requirement that EITM Scholarship recipients apply to attend an EITM summer institute.
Every year, EITM selects a minimum of ten students to receive scholarships. Each scholarship covers tuition to attend up to two four-week sessions at the next ICPSR summer program. The scholarship covers tuition fees for up to two full sessions of ICPSR during the summer program. Each scholarship covers tuition only and is paid directly to ICPSR. Scholarship recipients or their home institutions are responsible for all other costs (e.g., course materials, lodging, meals, or transportation) associated with attending ICPSR.
Eligibility
To be eligible for an EITM Scholarship, you must be enrolled in a graduate program in Political Science or a related field. Also, you must have completed at least one year of coursework in your graduate program by the start of your time at ICPSR. We are particularly interested in receiving applications from members of groups that have been historically underrepresented in math and science and/or underrepresented in previous EITM summer institutes. We are also interested in receiving applications from individuals who are studying or working at institutions where coursework in statistical inference and formal modeling is not regularly offered.
Evaluation of Applications
We evaluate applicants on the following criteria:
- Your description of how participating in an EITM Scholarship will prepare you for participation in a future EITM summer institute and how these activities are likely to enrich your subsequent scholarship and ability to provide insight of significant social value.
- How the content of classes at ICPSR can benefit your research objectives.
- Your letters of recommendation.
- The quality of your application overall.
How to Apply
The following materials are required:
- A transcript showing classes taken and available grades from your graduate education. Undergraduate transcripts will not be accepted.
- An essay of 250-1000 words explaining how receipt of an EITM Scholarship and participation in EITM summer institutes will benefit your research agenda. The essay must name the specific classes you will take at ICPSR and relate the content of these classes to the research objectives stated in the essay.
- A copy of your CV.
- Letters of recommendation from three faculty members with whom you have taken classes or with whom you have engaged in research-related activities.
The transcripts, essay, and CV should be uploaded as a single PDF file (16MB max) when submitting your application.
Faculty members listed in the application will receive an email notification with instructions for how to upload the letters of recommendation. This notification will be sent automatically once the applicant submits the materials. Applicants should consider uploading materials well in advance of the deadline so faculty members may submit letters in a timely manner.
Applications for the 2024 ICPSR Scholarship are now closed.
Course Selection and Certification
EITM Scholarships are designed to expand the pool of students who feel adequately prepared to benefit from participation in an EITM summer institute. It is open to all potential and prospective EITM applicants.
A key part of the scholarship application is naming the ICPSR courses that you want to take. Past participants report that fully appreciating the advantages offered by participation in an EITM summer institute requires some degree of graduate training in both statistical methods and formal modeling. With these requirements in mind, we also offer an EITM Certification.
About the ICPSR Summer Institute
ICPSR is a unit within the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan and maintains its office in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Every summer since 1963, ICPSR has run its Summer Program in Quantitative Methods of Social Research. The ICPSR summer program is well-known and highly regarded throughout the social science community. It provides opportunities to obtain advanced training in sophisticated research strategies and techniques. These include both formal modeling and the types of quantitative inference that are used by scholars at multiple research frontiers in Political Science. The summer program’s comprehensive methodological curriculum is ideal for social scientists who desire such training but cannot obtain it at their home institutions.