Papers for the 2023 competition are due Monday, December 4, 2023.

Please send your paper via email to Patti Goerman past.president.dcaapor@gmail.com.

American Association of Public Opinion Research DC Chapter

a) Criteria
DC-AAPOR welcomes papers in any field related to the study of public opinion, broadly defined, including research on (a) theoretical issues in the formation and change of public opinion, (b) the theory and methods of survey or market research, and (c) the use of statistical techniques in the design, adjustment, or analysis of survey data. Papers are expected to the length of typical journal manuscripts (i.e., approximately 4,000 to 6,500 words), and will be judged based on the quality of research design, originality, significance, organization, and presentation. To see a list of past winners please visit: Student Paper Competition results page.

b) Eligibility
The competition is open to all current graduate and undergraduate students, and to those who have received their degree within the last calendar year. Faculty co-authors are acceptable, with the stipulation that an eligible student must be first author. Eligibility is limited to students attending or graduated from an accredited college or university in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, or Washington, DC, or to students whose primary residence is in one of those areas. Previous membership in DC-AAPOR is not required, but non-members must become members in order to be eligible. Students can join DC-AAPOR for $6 (membership is from October 2022 - December 2023). Submitted papers may not have been published or presented elsewhere.

c) Award
The author(s) of the winning paper will be awarded a cash prize of $1,000. For multiple student authors on a winning paper, the award will be divided among the eligible student authors. Additionally, the author(s) of the winning paper will be awarded a guaranteed spot on the Conference Program to present their paper at the 2024 Annual AAPOR Conference in Atlanta, GA.

d) Review Committee
The winning paper and honorable mentions will be selected by a review committee composed of this year and next year's DC-AAPOR executive council members.

Apply Here 

The Phi Beta Kappa Society is a leading national advocate for the value of arts and sciences education. Key into Public Service highlights the wide range of career opportunities for liberal arts and sciences majors in local, state, or federal government. A cohort of 20 Service Scholars majoring in liberal arts and sciences disciplines will each receive a $5,000 undergraduate scholarship.

Selected students are required to participate in an educational conference taking place in Washington, D.C. in late June 2024. It will highlight pathways into a variety of public service careers, provide a mentoring conversation matched to recipient interest, and offer other networking opportunities.

• Applicants should expect to graduate between 10/1/2024 and 8/1/2026. First-year students and seniors who will graduate in Spring 2024 are NOT eligible. 
• Successful applicants will demonstrate in their essays, activities, and letter of recommendation, 1) an interest in working in local, state, or federal government service; and 2) breadth and depth across the arts, humanities, mathematics, natural sciences, and social sciences.
• Applicants must have a minimum grade point average of 3.5 while demonstrating academic excellence in your arts, humanities, mathematics, natural science, or social science major.
• Applicants will also need to provide the name of a professor, faculty member, or academic advisor who can attest to your academic achievements and/or interest in public service.
• Applicants must also commit to attend the conference for all award recipients taking place June 19-23, 2024 in Washington, D.C. This mandatory conference will provide training and mentoring opportunities and showcase pathways from liberal arts and sciences education into active citizenship and public service. The Society will provide transportation, lodging, and meal per diems. The Society may switch the format to a virtual event if needed to ensure the safety and health of all participants.

"Food traditions like snowballs and seafood connect New Orleans and Baltimore, two places with their own complex histories as major Southern port cities. But beyond the crabs and snowballs, our team-- Andy Dahl, Fernando Lopez, and I-- wanted to examine links between the two places through themes of migration and Mexican food. Thus, as part of the Homegrown Foodways Series: Baltimore and New Orleans, we introduce "El Camino del Pan y el Mole," which takes a visual ethnography approach to document these rich stories and relatively new Mexican foodways traditions in each city." (excerpt from Prof. Fouts LOC American Folklife Center Blog Post)

Behind the scenes selfie with Fernando Lopez, Andy Dahl, Sarah Fouts, and Jose Vargas lounging while his wife, Angela, is being interviewed at their house in Rosedale, Maryland. Photo by Fernando Lopez.

Press

Jose Vargas in front of his bakery on S. Highland Avenue, East Baltimore, Maryland. Photo by Andy Dahl.

El Camino del Pan a Baltimore

Gilberto (left) and Ivan, stars of El Camino del Mole a New Orleans, posing for Project Neutral Grounds in New Orleans's City Park. Photo courtesy of Fernando Lopez.

El Camino del Mole a New Orleans

On this episode we hear a rebroadcast of a special 5th anniversary event hosted by the UMBC Center for Social Science (CS3).

The roundtable, which took place in October of 2023, brought together three fabulous UMBC alumni from across the social sciences: Dr. Delta Merner, (GES '14), Lead Scientist, Science Hub for Climate Litigation at the Union of Concerned Scientists; Dr. Brent Gibbons, (PUBL '13), Health Policy Researcher in the Health Economics Program at RTI International; and Dr. Brittany Gay, (PSYC '21), Associate Director of Implementation Science at the Research-to-Policy Collaboration (RPC).  The roundtable was moderated by CS3's Associate Director, Dr. Felipe Filomeno.  Click here for a full recording of the event.

Campus Connections

Stay tuned for a special Campus Connection featuring our new Production Assistant, Jean Kim, who details two fabulous programs for current students sponsored by CS3:

Data Science Scholars

GRANTED Award

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About The Series