Research Opportunities for Undergraduates
The Bill Lane Center for the American West, in collaboration with the office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education (VPUE), offers on-campus research opportunities for Stanford undergraduates to work with faculty on projects related to the American West. We welcome students from a wide variety of disciplines engaged with issues related to western land and life in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
The Center's Research Assistants (RAs) pursue original research with faculty, working part-time for a maximium of 10 hours per week during the school year and up to 40 hours per week during the summer. Students meet regularly with their mentors to discuss goals and plans for research. There are three types of research projects: student-initiated (application below), faculty-initiated, or pre-identified projects posted on the Center's website below.
State Environmental Regulation Project
The State Environmental Regulation Project, led by Professor Bruce Cain, incoming Director of the Bill Lane Center, will examine the evolution and current status of environmental regulation in the western states. With much of the post-election focus on the federal government's policies, there has been less attention to the state arena. Some western states have been more innovative and others more resistant to environmental regulation than the federal government. While California is the obvious example of an innovating state, Montana also has a strong environmental regulation record but neighboring Idaho does not. Why? This project will begin by developing case studies of regulatory evolution in a sample of Western states working with faculty and post-docs associated with the Lane Center.
Project Duration: Ten weeks, full-time during the summer 2013
Compensation: Stipend of $6,000
How to Apply: Email a cover letter, resume, and PDF of your unofficial transcript to Madeline Weeks (mweeks2@stanford.edu).
Deadline: 5:00 p.m. on Friday, March 8, 2013
Application Process for Student-Initiated Research:
1) Email Madeline Weeks (mweeks2@stanford.edu) to check on funding availability and to discuss your preliminary topic idea and confirm that the project fits within the research focus of the Bill Lane Center for the American West.
2) Identify a faculty mentor and discuss the proposed research.
3) Complete the attached application with basic information and a written project description.
- Basic information: Title of your proposed project, your name, class, and major, tentative work plan, and name(s) or your faculty advisor(s).
- Project Proposal: This should be written in paragraph form and address the following questions: What is the broad research question? What are the objectives of the research? What methods will you use? What new skills do you hope to gain? The proposal should be 2-5 pages (double spaced).
Deadline: Applications are reviewed on an ongoing basis.
Questions? Please contact the Center's Program and Research Associate, Madeline Weeks, to schedule a time to meet.
