The Elections Research Centers provides funding for both undergraduate and affiliated graduate students. Each year, students are encouraged to submit their applications to funding competitions and receive financial support for elections-related research.
Click on the funding opportunities below to open a drop-down panel with more information. Additional stipulations are noted at the bottom of this page.
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Graduate Conference Participation ($2,000)
Graduate student applicants may request up to $2,000 to support travel to or virtual participation in an academic conference between September 1, 2024 and September 15, 2025.
Funds may generally be used for transportation, lodging, conference registration, and meals. A committee of faculty affiliates will review applications.
Students must submit their CV and a one-paragraph summary describing the conference, its location, their expected role, and how it relates to elections.
Before receiving funding a student must provide evidence of participation in the meeting, such as a program listing the student’s name or receipt for conference registration. If a student decides not to attend the conference after receiving an Elections Research Center grant, the student may appeal to the Director to use the funds for alternative conference activities.
Submit your application here
Deadline: September 11, 2024
Collaborative Summer 2024 Research Initiative (50% Graduate PA Appointment)
The Elections Research Center is pleased to offer a summer research collaborative opportunity for affiliated graduate students and faculty, made possible by funding provided by the Mai Family Foundation.
Funding is available on a competitive basis for several pairs of faculty and graduate students. Awards will provide students with 50% PAships for the summer of 2024 to pursue specific research projects in collaboration with faculty members. The summer appointment runs from approximately mid-May until late August.
Winners of the award must be willing to present a poster at the Elections Research Center’s 2024 Election Symposium on November 22, 2024 if requested.
The application shall be prepared jointly by the faculty and student who intend to collaborate during the summer. Either member of the team may submit the application on behalf of the pair. The research being proposed may be a new project or a continuation of an ongoing project. In the event that a faculty member wishes to work with more than one student on the same project, multiple applications should be submitted. However, it is unlikely that more than one student will be awarded a PAship to work with a faculty member on the same project.
Faculty and graduate students must be affiliated with the ERC. UW faculty and graduate students who wish to become affiliated with the ERC should contact the Director.
The application must contain the following four sections in a single PDF document:
- Working title of project
- Statement of the research problem, inquiry, questions, or expectations (300-word limit)
- Short description of relevant literature or theory (300-word limit)
- Research plan that describes what the student will be doing during the summer including such things as data that will be collected, documents that will be analyzed, interviews that will be conducted, or experiments that will be administered (600-word limit)
- Short description of the likely research products of the collaboration including planned conference papers and publications (100-word limit)
A faculty committee will make awards based on the degree to which the project focuses on elections and the potential for impactful publications coauthored by the faculty and graduate student. Students on normal progress in their graduate programs are also given priority.
Submit your application document here
Note: You must sign in to Google with a valid wisc.edu email to fill out the application
Deadline: Wednesday, March 20, 2024
Rose Family Undergraduate Research Project ($3,000)
Through the generosity of the Rose Family Undergraduate Research Project fund, undergraduate student applicants may request up to $3,000 to support a research project.
The award is designed to defray the costs of a single research project conducted under the guidance of a faculty member affiliated with the Elections Research Center. Funds may be used for a variety of research-related activities such as the purchase of data, travel to archives, participation in training opportunities, funding of experiments, and salary for the applicant.
It is anticipated that up to four grants will be awarded. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year. Applications will be reviewed by a committee of faculty affiliates
Students must submit a project description (no more than one page) and an itemized budget (no more than one page). Students are also required to have one letter of recommendation (no more than two pages) submitted by a faculty recommender of their choosing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
If human subjects review is required for the project, a copy of the Institutional Review Board approval must be submitted to the Director before funds are distributed. An applicant may also submit the IRB approval or the proposed protocol with the initial application.
Submit your application here
Faculty recommender submits letter of recommendation here
Note: You must sign in to Google with either a wisc.edu or Gmail email to fill out the application or submit a letter of recommendation.
Deadline: None
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year
Graduate students must be affiliates of the Elections Research Center to be eligible. Undergraduate students must be currently enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and in good academic standing to be eligible.
Funding will be administered by staff in the Department of Political Science. Grants must comply with university regulations including the use of Travel Incorporated/Concur for booking flights and adhering to state maxima for meals. Please consult the Department of Political Science KnowledgeBase, departmental staff, or ERC Director Barry Burden with questions.
Students who receive funding should acknowledge support from the Elections Research Center in any papers or publications that benefit from the funding.