...and another congrats to Peter Russell '12

Peter Russell will soon depart for Jordan to work for ta3mal through the Microsoft Citizenship program. ta3mal works to provide employment opportunities and initiatives in the Middle East.  More here: http://www.ta3mal.com/AboutUs.aspx

Congrats to alum Patrick Olson '12

Congrats to alum Patrick Olson '12 who recently joined the National Democratic Institute in DC as a program assistant.  The NDI "is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to support and strengthen democratic institutions worldwide through citizen participation, openness and accountability in government."

Senior Thesis students are famous

2014 APSA Ralph Bunche Summer Institute Application Cycle is Now Open!

Named in honor of the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize winner and former APSA President, Ralph J. Bunche, the Ralph Bunche Summer Institute (RBSI) program goal is to encourage students to pursue academic careers in political science by helping to:

·         Enhance participants' writing, research, and analytical skills and make them more competitive applicants for graduate school admissions and financial assistance;

·         Improve the students' use of computers for statistical analysis of research data used in the study of political science;

·         Expose interested and engaged students to issues in the discipline and profession of political science;

·         Introduce participants to leading political scientists;

·         Inform promising students about political science career opportunities and encourage applications to Ph.D. programs in political science.

Click here to access the 2014 APSA RBSI application!

The application deadline is Friday, January 17, 2014.

Eligibility
The program targets students from racial/ethnic groups that are significantly underrepresented in science in the United States, e.g. African American, Latino/a, Native American, and Pacific Island students. All students who are members of these groups, or who are interested in broadening participation in political science by students from underrepresented minority populations and pursuing scholarship on issues affecting under-represented groups, are eligible to apply. Applicants must be:

• United States citizens
• Completing their junior year of undergraduate study
• Majoring in political science or a related discipline
• Have an interest in attending graduate school in political science

Application Form and Process
Participants in the Ralph Bunche Summer Institute are drawn from a competitive national applicant pool. The RBSI Selection Committee reviews applications and will make decisions during the month of February. Applicants will be informed of their status via email. Applicants should submit the following required information:

• 2014 APSA RBSI Application Form
• Three letters of recommendation: one from department chair, and two more from other people who are familiar with the applicant's academic qualifications
• A personal statement, not to exceed two double-spaced typed pages, stating the reasons for wanting to participate in the 2014 APSA Ralph Bunche Summer Institute
• Resume
• Official academic transcripts (including Fall semester)

Completed application materials should be mailed to:

APSA Ralph Bunche Summer Institute
c/o Shaunda Ragland
American Political Science Association
1527 New Hampshire Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20036-1206 

Additional Information

For additional information about the APSA Ralph Bunche Program, click here. If you have questions about the program or the application process, contact Shaunda Ragland at 202.349.9362 or sragland@apsanet.org.

Indiana University Summer Language Workshop

Intensive language study in everything from Arabic to Uzbek with Persian, Hindi and Swahili in between. A great opportunity in a beautiful (if humid) setting. Check out the details here: http://indiana.edu/~swseel/

Exciting New PG Course will Feaure Travel to Cuba!

I am happy to announce that a new course, the Latin America Travel Seminar,  will be taught in fall semester 2014.  The course will be offered for one academic unit, will be team taught by Don Share and John Lear (history), will meet once a week during the semester, and will then include a ten-day trip to Cuba in January 2015.  The topic of the course will be “The Political, Economic, Social, and Cultural Evolution of Contemporary Cuba.”  Pre-requisites will include PG 102, PG 380, or PG 381, and acceptance into the course will be by application.  Students enrolled in the course will be required to pay travel costs to Cuba, which we estimate to be between $1500 and $2000 (including airfare and all costs within Cuba).  More information will be forthcoming early next semester.  For more information contact Don Share at share@pugetsound.edu.

Drone Policy Debate with Professor Weinberger at PLU

Drone Policy Debate Wednesday 7:00 PM at Pacific Lutheran University

On Wednesday, 12/4, at 7:00 PM, Professor Seth Weinberger will be participating in a debate on US drone policy at the Scandinavian Cultural Center on the campus of Pacific Lutheran University. The debate topic is: U.S. Drone Policy is Fatally Flawed. Professor Weinberger, who will be arguing against the resolution,  will be debating Pauline Kaurin, a PLU professor of philosophy and two PLU students will be participating as well, one on each side.

Puget Sound students are welcome and encouraged to come, ask questions, and to vote (yes, there will be voting to see who "wins")! Seating is limited, so if you'd like to attend, please let Professor Weinberger (sweinberger@pugetsound.edu) know ASAP so seats can be reserved.

A map to the Scandinavian Cultural Center can be found here: Directions to SCC 

One Heart Source Sub Saharan African Volunteer Program

Dear Professor Sousa,

My name is Callan Hajosy, and I am a representative of One Heart Source, a grassroots, non-profit organization founded by university students. Since 2008, over 700 international volunteers have joined One Heart Source in the pursuit of providing high-quality education and care for vulnerable children in Sub-Saharan Africa.

We are currently accepting applications for our 2014 Volunteer Programs and we believe that your students, both graduate and undergraduate, will greatly benefit from the experience of working, living, and teaching in a different culture. This year we are also offering a 2-week program for working professionals!

Respectfully,

Callan Hajosy

Chief of Staff

One Heart Source

www.oneheartsource.org

___________________________________________

Attention Students of the Politics & Government Department!


One Heart Source is currently accepting applications for our 2014 Volunteer Programs in Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2014, we are offering a variety of 2 and 4-week programs in Zanizbar, Tanzania and Cape Town, South Africa!

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, and 

our next deadline is DECEMBER 6th, 2013! 

Your application can be completed online via our website.

As an OHS Volunteer, you will:

* Integrate yourself into and work closely with local communities.

* Work with primary school students through a mentorship program focused on building strong Math and English foundations while empowering students.

* Work closely with members of the community to create positive social uplift.

* Lead after-school programs in non-traditional subjects like dance, debate, art, and sports.

* Work with a small, dynamic team of international university and graduate students.

*Develop yourself intellectually through leadership, service, and dialogue.

We at One Heart Source believe in creating lasting social change through education and human connection. We encourage you to take a step towards providing a more socially just future for the youth of some of the most marginalized communities in the world.

Both Graduate and Undergraduate students are encouraged to

APPLY NOW FOR OUR 2014 PROGRAMS!

For more information and to apply visit: www.oneheartsource.org/volunteer

___________________
ONEHEARTSOURCE is a non-profit organization designed to empower young people through education, and to provide high quality education and care for vulnerable children in Tanzania and South Africa.
www.oneheartsource.org

Guaranteed Internships from the Institute on Comparative Political and Economic Systems

LIVE. LEARN. INTERN.
Institute on Comparative Political & Economic Systems
Washington, DC - Summer 2014
www.DCinternships.org/ICPES

*Guaranteed Internships - Courses for Credit - Housing in DC
*Early Deadline: December 9, 2013
*Scholarship Funding Available

Spend a summer in Washington, DC making an investment in your future that will help set you apart after college. These comprehensive programs sponsored by The Fund for American Studies include a guaranteed internship placement, courses for transferable credit, and furnished housing in downtown Washington.

EXPERIENCE
We’ve been creating academic internship experiences for over 40 years and guarantee all participants an internship placement. Your options are endless – we work with many different federal agencies, policy groups, public affairs firms, government relations offices, and nonprofit organizations.

CONNECTIONS
Who you know does matter - especially when it comes to your future job search. Our programs are designed to allow students to make valuable professional connections and practice networking skills in a real-world setting. You can participate in a mentor program, as well as attend professional development seminars, roundtable discussions, and networking receptions with program alumni.

LOCATION
Washington, DC is the perfect place to explore a variety of career paths while enjoying a vibrant arts and culture scene. Take advantage of the free Smithsonian museums, many musical and theatre performances, as well as sports events. You can explore DC and meet fellow program participants through program-planned social activities including a guided tour of the monuments, a day trip to Mt. Vernon, canoeing on the Potomac River, and outing to the National Zoo.

COURSES FOR CREDIT
Earn up to 9 academic credits from the DC Metro Area’s George Mason University. In 2012 Mason was ranked the #1 Up and Coming University by U.S. News and World Report. The curriculum, focused on comparative economics and the American political development, is designed to complement the internship experience.

BACKSTAGE PASS
You will have a front row seat to a variety of exclusive briefings and uniquely DC events, allowing you to further explore international relations and public policy career fields, make important professional connections and have fun while doing so. You will have the chance to attend once-in-a-lifetime tours and hear from leaders within such institutions as the State Department, U.S. Congress, World Bank, Federal Reserve, and CIA.

APPLICATION INFORMATION
Students will be accepted on a rolling basis until the final deadline of March 18, 2014. Applicants are encouraged to apply for the early deadline of December 9, 2013 in order to receive preference in admissions and scholarship consideration, as well as a 5% tuition discount.

For more information and to be begin an online application, please visit www.DCinternships.org/ICPES.
Questions may be directed to admissions@tfas.org or 202.986.0384.

Chris Kendall accepts the Phibbs Professorship in International Relations

We are pleased to announce that Chris Kendall has accepted our offer and will begin teaching at Puget Sound in January, 2015 as the Phibbs Professor of International Relations.  Kendall earned a B.A. from Miami University (OH), a J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, where he served as publications editor of the law review, and is now a Ph.D. candidate at Princeton completing a dissertation, "Courting Compliance: Judicial Politics as a Constraint on Domestic Enforcement of International Law."

PhD Partnership between Sciences Po and Columbia University

Dear Patrick O'Neil,

I am writing to inform you of an exciting new opportunity for students seeking to begin work on their PhDs in political science.  Recently, Columbia University and Sciences Po in Paris established a PhD Partnership that enables students in the PhD program at Columbia to earn a PhD at Sciences Po as well.

Building on a set of close relationships that have existed between Columbia and Sciences Po for more than a decade, the PhD partnership grants students access to the faculty and resources of two of the most highly regarded departments of political science in the world.  The partnership seeks to take advantage of the complimentary strengths of the two institutions to provide a unique and innovative graduate training experience that opens up new intellectual and career opportunities for students in political science.

The program allows students to spend two years at the partner institution where they take courses, serve as teaching assistants, pass qualifying exams, conduct research, write dissertations under the direction of joint Columbia-Sciences Po dissertation committees, and become eligible to receive the PhD degrees of both institutions. Students will be granted unique opportunities to broaden and deepen their knowledge of their discipline in an international intellectual environment and pursue their doctoral research under the supervision of joint faculty teams of the highest academic quality.

The program is much more than just the kind of exchange arrangements that exist between many universities.  Both institutions make deeper investments in students in the partnership, who formally enter the Doctoral School/Graduate School of the host institution and are treated in the same manner as students in single-degree programs with respect to rights, privileges, access, responsibilities, and registration status.  During the two-year stay at the host institution, the student pursues a course of study and research not available at the home institution. The student and the adviser at the host institution design a course of study that advances the student's intellectual interests and career goals.  After fulfilling the requirements of the partnership, students are awarded both a PhD from Columbia and a PhD from Sciences Po.

Given that Sciences Po is an academic and professional hub of the discipline of political science in France and Europe, Columbia students in the program will become members of an extensive network that is not widely accessible to scholars trained only in the United States. Since students will be fully enrolled at both Columbia and Sciences Po--and not simply exchange students--the faculty at the host school will be more invested in and familiar with their work and therefore will be better able to support them in their applications for positions in the United States and in France and Europe.  This will significantly expand the job market opportunities for students in the partnership.

In the links below, I have provided some suggested courses of study that will give potential applicants an idea of the scholarly opportunities available to them through the partnership.  Additional information may be found at http://alliance.columbia.edu/node/82.

We have recently expanded the program to enable students who want to pursue the educational opportunities offered by the partnership to apply for admission when applying to the Columbia PhD program (in previous years, students had to first be enrolled in the PhD program and then wait until the third year of their graduate careers to apply).  On the Program of Study page in Columbia's online application system, students should select “Political Science” for their Program of Study and then select the “Autumn Ph.D. partnership with Sciences Po 2013” as their Degree.

Please forward this information to any students who you think might be interested in the program.  I would be happy to answer any questions that you or interested students may have about the PhD Partnership.

Sincerely,

Gregory Wawro

Professor and Deputy Chair
Department of Political Science
Columbia University
gjw10@columbia.edu

------------------------

For more information:

·         Presentation brochure (.pdf)

·         Application Guidelines 2014-2015 (.pdf)

·         Faculty and list of course (.pdf)

·         FAQ for Columbia Student (.pdf)

·                                 FAQ for Sciences Po Student (.pdf)