2026-27 AY PT Research Fellowship: The Politics of Education in Crisis, Conflict, and Post-Conflict Settings
The Stanford King Center on Global Development’s Academic Year Part-Time Research Fellowship Program connects King Center faculty affiliates and affiliated researchers with undergraduate students committed to providing research support during autumn, winter, and spring quarters.
Students have the opportunity to engage in world-class research that has real-world impact. Undergraduate student research fellows are paid $19/hour*. Students must be enrolled full-time to participate and must be able to commit to research 8-10 hours per week.
*Students must attend orientation and submit an I-9 form to verify employment and receive payment. Students who cannot accept pay may be allowed to receive academic credit for this research.
Research Project Description:
This project examines the politics of education policy in conflict, displacement, and post-conflict settings. Guiding research questions include: Under what conditions do governments integrate refugees in national education systems? What political considerations shape education policy decisions in conflict and displacement? How do formal education policies align with student experiences in schools? When do governments adopt school reforms to promote peace following conflict? The research draws on quantitative, qualitative, and historical methods with a focus on countries in the Global South.
The research assistant will support several activities including:
- Developing a global dataset reflecting refugees’ right to education;
- Identifying education reforms in post-conflict countries; and
- Supporting analysis of qualitative and historical data. The project is ideal for someone interested in political science, international development, global studies, education policy, and/or humanitarian affairs.
Primary Research Mentor: Shelby Carvalho,
Co-Research Mentor:
Stanford undergraduate students in good academic standing and enrolled full-time are eligible to apply. Co-term students must have undergraduate student status; if co-terms are in graduate billing status (after 12 quarters) they are ineligible to participate.
All majors are welcome!
Students Responsibilities:
- Review and coding of legal and policy documents pertaining to education policy and refugees
- Qualitative coding of open-ended survey responses from refugee households following aid cuts in Kenya and Uganda
- Review of education policy in post-conflict countries
- Support with survey development and testing for new household surveys in Kenya and Zambia.
Students qualifications:
- Experience with detailed review of legal and policy documents
- Interest in education policy, refugees, human rights, and/or conflict and peace processes
- Professional knowledge of Spanish, French, or Arabic is a plus but not required
- Experience with quantitative methods and coding software is a plus but not required.
Time Commitment:
The time commitment is 8-10 hours per week (equivalent to a 3-unit course) each academic quarter. The expectation is that students will work the full academic year with their mentor (Autumn, Winter, and Spring quarters). Students planning on studying abroad may not be eligible.
To Apply:
Along with the application, applicants are asked to submit:
- a cover letter
- resume or CV
- unofficial Stanford transcript (first quarter frosh do not need to submit transcripts for autumn quarter applications)
Research Mentor Questions for Applicants:
