Political science department launches research center
“In some ways, it’s easier to engage science majors in research,” said Dan Palazzolo, professor in the Department of Political Science and the guy who’s spearheading the University’s new Center for Politics and Policy.
Science students often join faculty members’ laboratories as early as their freshman year. After receiving some basic training on the instrumentation and means of data collection, they can jump right in. The laboratory experience they gain as undergraduates prepares them for the group work and labs they will participate in as graduate students and in their careers.
“The social sciences are different. Students are typically mentored by one faculty member, even through graduate school. It can be difficult for professors to make their research agendas accessible to undergraduate students because students lack extensive methodological training,” Palazzolo said.
Ask political science majors what the department is really good at and they’ll tell you—finding students internships. The department was an incredibly successful internship program, thanks largely to professor John Whelan who has been placing students in the Virginia General Assembly and Washington, D.C. for decades. Students who are interested in international politics find themselves overwhelmed with the number of study abroad opportunities that emphasize their specific areas of interest.
“If our goal is to offer students the entire spectrum of experiential learning opportunities, then research is our underdeveloped opportunity,” Palazzolo said.
Don’t get Palazzolo wrong. Students have been doing research in the Department of Political Science for decades. Alumni like Frank Atkinson, R'79, who has two books to his credit, were conducting research in the department long before professors knew the value of getting students involved in the process early.
“This is our opportunity to create a laboratory for political scientists, with projects defined by the faculty and research agendas that are accessible to undergraduate students. The benefits are two-fold. Students conduct research that is theoretical in nature yet has the potential to inform the public debate,” said Palazzolo.
This spring, the Center will host its first symposium, showcasing the kinds of research that undergraduate political science majors are capable of conducting. By next fall, up to 10 faculty-student teams will be working out of the Center, conducting elite interviews, collecting oral histories of the Virginia legislative process and analyzing government data.
Palazzolo intends for the Center to support up to 15 research students at a time. Students will choose projects, like healthcare reform, educational policy and intergovernmental organization among others, according to their interests and relationships with professors leading the research.
Palazzolo doesn’t intend for the research projects to eclipse the department’s internship program, rather to complement it.
“Many students will get everything they need out of an internship and feel prepared for a career in politics or public service,” said Palazzolo. “For the students who want to explore research and what graduate school in political science might be like, we’re providing them with the laboratory.”