Application Form

Interested William and Mary undergraduates are invited to apply for positions as Congressional Research Scholars and work with me on the Congressional Whip Count Project, a multiyear research program funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation. Congressional Research Scholars will assist me in examining documents collected from the archives of former congressional party leaders, coding and entering data from these records into Excel files, and conducting analysis about party coalition building on major legislation considered by the U.S. Congress, 1955-present.

View a list of the student participants in the Congressional Whip Count Project.

Although some background with Microsoft Excel and a basic understanding of statistics would be a plus, there are no formal prerequisites to participation as a Congressional Research Scholar beyond a strong academic record, dependability, and a deep interest in American politics or political history. Participation in the program should be especially valuable for students interested in pursing graduate work in political science, public policy, history, or the law. In addition, students considering professional careers in government or politics would benefit from the program. Certain of the Congressional Research Scholars will be invited to coauthor research papers with me and co-present them at major scholarly conferences held in cities around the country. Participating students also will be encouraged to devise independent study courses associated with the project, as well as senior honors theses and papers for classes.

The application form and instructions can be downloaded from this site and should be returned to me as an email attachment. - . Application Form. I will review the applications, contact references, and conduct personal interviews and respond via email to all of the applications. Any questions about the Congressional Research Scholars program should be directed to me.