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ICPSR Summer Internship

The Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), the world's largest archive of digital social science data, offers an exciting undergraduate internship program each summer. ICPSR is a unit within the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. ICPSR's data are the foundation for thousands of research articles, reports, and books. Findings from these data are put to use by scholars, policy analysts, policy makers, the media, and the public. ICPSR's holdings span many substantive areas, such as sociology, political science, demography, history, economics, gerontology, public health, criminal justice, substance abuse and mental health, education, health and medical care, and international relations.

Program Structure

Interns will work in the UNIX and Windows environments and gain experience using statistical programs such as SAS, SPSS, and Stata to check data. Data processing skills will be applied to prepare social science data for permanent archiving and distribution for secondary analysis; preserving respondent anonymity; and composing descriptions of data collections. These positions are supervised by an experienced Research Associate. Interns will attend courses in the ICPSR Summer Program in Quantitative Methods of Social Research. Interns will be required to attend a weekly Lunch and Lecture series that will expose them to various aspects and departments of ICPSR and the Institute for Social Research (ISR). There may be additional social and work-related functions involving other ICPSR staff and interns from other ISR units and summer programs.

Qualifications

  • Undergraduate standing and completion of sophomore year in a social science major. Typical social science majors include history, psychology, sociology, economics, political science, public policy, anthropology, geography, and criminal justice, but are not confined to the majors listed
  • Strong academic credentials
  • Knowledge of a statistical software package such as SPSS, SAS, or Stata
  • Previous relevant social science research experience via work or class project
  • Demonstrated leadership, problem solving, and strong verbal and written communication skills
  • Ability to prioritize tasks, to work on multiple assignments, and to manage ambiguity
  • Ability to work both independently and as part of a team with professionals at all levels
  • Authorization to work in the United States

Timeframe

The 2008 internship will last 10 weeks, from June 9, 2008 to August 15, 2008.

Compensation

$3,000 stipend, room & board in university housing, and coverage of the cost of fees, texts, and materials for coursework in the ICPSR Summer Program in Quantitative Methods of Social Research.

Application Procedure

Interested individuals should submit a cover letter of interest, resume, a writing sample, and two letters of recommendation (all in one packet or message, if applying by electronic mail) to:

ICPSR Human Resources
Attn: Summer Internship
P.O. Box 1248
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106-1248

Electronic submissions should be sent to careers@icpsr.umich.edu.

Application Deadline: All materials (including letters of recommendation) must be received by January 28, 2008.

Notification of Acceptance: March 7, 2008

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