Research Opportunities at SIPA

We are often asked about the opportunities for research that exist as part of a SIPA curriculum. Much sought after, this aspect of academic life as part of a masters degree continues to be widely misunderstood. Let’s clarify what is, and what is not, available to graduate students seeking to conduct research during their time at SIPA.

Research as an opportunity, not a feature

The first thing to clarify is that academic research does not feature as a core element of any SIPA masters program. As with many graduate schools, there are no direct pipelines through which graduate students may unlock research positions during their time with us. You are not expected to conduct research to graduate either.

Nevertheless, though it may not be a feature of the program, it is certainly possible for students to pursue research on campus. The classic pathway for this pursuit is through research assistant positions. Again, no clear pathway exists to obtain these roles: students should not expect to be presented with a research opportunity without having stood out in their classes, gotten to know their professors, and established long-term relationships with faculty. Such opportunities will depend on the faculty’s current research endeavors, and will also depend on the alignment of the research needs with that of the student’s background and skills.

In my time at SIPA, opportunities came up in the Cybersecurity program to assist professors with cyber research, as well as within the International Security & Diplomacy concentration. The faculty was seeking research assistants for work linked to the war in Ukraine. The opportunities therefore exist, but you must position yourself such as to grasp and benefit from them when they arise.

Research within the classroom

Some classes offer opportunities for students to produce research papers based on real data. Those interested in this pathway should consider classes such as professor Dawkins’ Data & Conflict course. It guides students through the ethics of research in field work and data use, and includes simulations of planning for and navigating conflict environments in the context of conducting research. More importantly, it requires students to produce a final project interacting with real datasets through R and ArcGIS. Students in the course are encouraged and expected to align their research with current internships, professional projects, or to build the foundations of future research when possible. Many use it as a structured path towards completing deliverables outside the classroom, and it is otherwise a solid starting point for those of you who may want to enter the research field with little or no prior experience.

Going it alone: Funding for research

It’s also worth noting that students are not bound exclusively by formal Research Assistantship roles in their pursuit of research opportunities. A great alternative to working directly with professors is to pursue research on your own standing. 

The Harriman Institute provides financial support for research projects, travel, and internships for graduate students across the entire university through a variety of grants and fellowship awards. Their website has a comprehensive list of opportunities and I highly recommend checking it out. Likewise, the Weatherhead East Asian Institute offers funding opportunities  for research, language acquisition, unpaid internships during the summer and dissertation write-up. Lastly, I can think of the Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy which may offer research funding options as well.

These could be good alternatives to traditional research assistantships in supporting your work or research-related travel, though publication and dissemination will undoubtedly be harder than traditional alternatives.

The Thesis Alternative to a Capstone

Lastly, students who are considering a PhD should look into the possibility of completing a Master’s Thesis instead of the usual SIPA Capstone. For students of our MIA program, this option is a built-in feature of the program: you can easily request to complete the thesis rather than the capstone. This pathway does not exist for MPA students, who are required to complete a capstone project in alignment with the nature of the MPA programs.

Students interested in pursuing a thesis must apply in the fall and will be notified of their admission status before the Capstone application deadline.