Scholars Program

• Eligible applicants include all prospective students applying to one of the McCourt School of Public Policy’s four graduate programs (MPP, MS-DSPP, MPM and MIDP) for the academic year (AY) 2025-2026, as well as current students who will be enrolled in one of those programs over the same period. 
• Both domestic and international students are eligible to apply.
• Awarded students will demonstrate an interest in issues of technology policy.

• Awarded students will receive scholarships of up to $35,000 which may be applied toward AY 2025-26 and 2026-27 course credits.
• Awarded students will be matched to full-year research assistantships with select McCourt School and Georgetown faculty and affiliated research centers, expecting to work 10-20 hours per week at an hourly rate of $23.00, for the length of the position (approximate dates: September 2025 to May 2026).
• To remain eligible for the award, scholars must be in good academic standing and enrolled in courses at Georgetown during the fall and spring semesters. If scholars choose to study abroad during the academic year, they will forfeit both their scholarship and research assistantship. This policy does not apply to the summer term.

Depending on the specific research assistantship, scholars will support the faculty or research teams on a range of projects related to examining and advancing human-centered policy solutions to challenges posed by current and future technologies. Necessary skills include:

• Knowledge and experience with the U.S. and/or international public policy process and government institutions.
• Passion for investigating pressing issues in technology and policy, such as the responsible development and use of artificial intelligence, harnessing data science to advance human rights, responsible platform data scraping, using technology to deliver government services more efficiently, harmonizing U.S. and EU data laws and other issue areas in tech and policy.
• Experience managing research, including tracking and reporting. Ability to work well within a team environment.
• Experience in quantitative and qualitative research and analysis, relevant to projects such as compiling literature reviews, retrieving and analyzing data and assisting with data visualization.
• Exceptional writing skills, interpersonal skills and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent project management and organizational skills.
• Technical software skills including proficiency with Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, and PowerPoint) and preference for familiarity with Stata, R, and/or Python.

Scholars are expected to engage in the following:   

• Monthly check-ins with the TPP director and program manager to provide updates on research progress, milestones, and other relevant activities. This may be done electronically, in-person or via phone call, depending on availability.
• Participate in scholar cohort lunches.  
• Attend at least one TPP Event per semester. 

Interested applicants should submit a brief application here by Friday, February 28, 2025, by 5:00 pm EST for consideration for the 2025-26 scholars cohort. Decisions are expected to be made and communicated to applicants by Monday, March 31, 2025.

Here are some recommendations to help you craft a competitive application:

1. A Concise Essay

Single PDF: Make sure both your statement of interest and resume/CV are uploaded as a single PDF file.

The Word Limit: Remain within the given word limit (300 words per question). We want to see your ability to communicate clearly and concisely. Policymakers are busy people; so, we want you to demonstrate your ability to communicate complex ideas and solutions succinctly and effectively to audiences who are often juggling multiple priorities and have limited time. In this case, less can be more!

Format: Use easy-to-read fonts such as Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri, font sizes between 10-12 pt, and single-spaced format.

2. Statement of Interest

1a. Emerging Technologies (300 words)

Areas of Technology: TPP is not limited to a single issue or area within tech policy, though we tend to focus on emerging technologies. However, we’re interested in providing students and faculty with exposure to a broad range of topics, from those we hear about in the news to less-known issue areas. Whether it’s spatial computing, biotech, space tech, green tech initiatives, data centers, AI auditing, autonomous weapons, or another emerging field, we encourage you to show us the relevance and significance of your chosen topic in your application.

Be Specific: It’s more important for you to drill down on one or two technologies and the issues that surround them than to landscape numerous technologies and their myriad policy implications. Pick one or two technologies that you are strongly passionate about and tell us why it’s caught your attention. For example, artificial intelligence (AI) is a broad category and impacts a range of fields. A successful application might focus specifically on the uses of non-personal data to train AI models and the ways in which that data can be correlated with other data and matched to specific individuals, or the application might focus on the technical reporting requirements for frontier AI labs detailed in the 2023 Executive Order. 

Why is it Important: Elaborate why the specific technology you selected matters in tech policy. Explain the technology’s impact on industries, stakeholders, or other communities, and how it pushes innovation, and/or raises questions about regulation. 

What are the Consequences: Elaborate on how this technology will impact sectors or certain communities. What are the risks? What are the potential benefits? 

1b. Public Policy Approach (300 words)

Your Approach and Solution: I know we’re asking the impossible! But, we do want you to discuss a public policy solution that addresses your emerging technology. We want to get a sense of your process for thinking through and developing potential solutions. What and who is needed to make this solution happen? Walk us through what a solution might look like! 

1c. Academic Interests and Background (300 words)

This section is an opportunity for you to expound on your motivations, goals and academic interests and to highlight experiences that will contribute to your scholarship. Be sure to tell us how those experiences contribute to your unique perspective on tech policy.

1. Who is eligible to apply for the Tech & Public Policy Scholars Program? Current and prospective students applying to one of the McCourt School’s four graduate programs (MPP, MS-DSPP, MPM and MIDP) for the academic year (AY) 2025-26, are eligible.
2. Are undergraduates eligible to apply? No, we are not accepting applications from undergraduate students at this time. This program is only open to graduate students at the McCourt School. 
3. Are international students eligible to apply? Both domestic and international students are eligible to apply
4. Are part-time students eligible to apply? Yes, part-time students can apply for the program. Part-time students will be expected to manage their job, schoolwork, and their research assistant (RA)  position (up to 20 hours a week).
5. Is the scholarship renewable for multiple years? Yes. The award is for up to two years, contingent on you applying the second year, you remain in good academic standing, upon faculty assessments of your RA contributions, on faculty RA needs, and assessment of your program expectations. 
6. What kind of work will scholars be expected to do as part of their research assistantship? RAs do a range of work, depending on their faculty advisor and on the research. They typically manage research, including tracking and reporting; provide quantitative and qualitative research and analysis; compile literature reviews, retrieve and analyze data, and assist with data visualization. RAs are expected to have excellent writing skills, interpersonal skills, and verbal communication skills.
7. How are scholars matched to faculty or research? Scholars will complete an interest form that asks them to provide details about their skills, research interests, and any faculty or researchers they’d like to work with. TPP will share the completed forms with relevant faculty and facilitate meetings to explore potential matches. During these meetings, scholars and faculty will discuss the research projects, the RA’s role, and expectations within the project. Both scholars and faculty will confirm whether it’s a good fit. 
8. Can I work more than 20 hours per week? During the academic calendar, students cannot work more than 20 hours. However, university policy allows students to work up to 40 hours per week during student holidays and breaks (e.g. Thanksgiving or Christmas break), with approval from both your faculty supervisor and program manager.
9. What is the hourly rate for the research assistantship, and is this separate from the tuition scholarship? The hourly rate for research assistants is currently $23/hr. Yes, this is separate from the tuition scholarship. 
10. What is the application process and timeline?

• Applications are due by Feb 28
• The TPP team will review applications and invite applicants for an interview.
• Invited candidates can expect interviews the week of March 17 and the week of March 24. 
• Finalists will be notified by March 31.

2. Are there specific events, discussions, or mentorship activities scholars are expected to attend? Scholars will be expected to engage in the following activities:

• Monthly check-ins with the TPP director and program manager to provide updates on research progress, milestones, and other relevant activities. This may be done electronically, in-person or via phone call, depending on availability.
• Participate in scholar cohort lunches organized by TPP.  
• Attend at least one TPP Event per semester.

Aside from the program expectations listed above, there are no additional activities that TPP requires you to participate in. While TPP will offer various opportunities to engage and support scholars, participation in each one is not required.

22. Can I study abroad as a scholar?  You cannot study abroad during the fall or spring semesters while holding a scholarship. If you choose to study abroad during the academic year, you will forfeit both your scholarship and research assistantship and will need to reapply. This policy does not apply to the summer term.

23. What are examples of projects and/or research have scholars worked on and with which faculty?

Sunaina Kathpalia (MS-DSPP’25): Sunaina is working with Assistant Professor in Computational Social Science and TPP Grantee, Tiago Ventura, on developing an account using the WhatsApp Official API that allows us to connect and recruit participants for the deactivation experiments. 

Matt Steinberg (MPP’26) and Santiago Vidal Calvo (MPP’25) are working with Associate Teaching Professor Lia Merivaki on a major data collection project titled The 2024 Election Officials Communications Tracker,  which is funded by Public Agenda and aims to research how election officials communicate with voters about elections within social media platforms. The research team monitors and analyzes communications shared by state and local election officials on social media. 

CJ Larkin (MPP’26): CJ is working with Adjunct Professor and TPP Grantee, Emily Tavoulareas , on her United States Digital Service Founding, Primary Source Archive project, assisting with synthesizing 50 qualitative interviews and identifying key patterns. Additionally, CJ has been contributing to Tech Policy Press , a nonprofit media platform focused on covering tech policy issues. There, CJ has supported the tracking of relevant policies by researching legislation, regulations and legal cases, while also developing summaries and timelines for the policy tracker. CJ has also identified research, papers and other resources to help readers better understand the policies. As part of this work, CJ published an article with the outlet, which you can view here.

24. If I have additional questions, who can I contact? Please reach out to Maria Sanchez, TPP Program Manager, ms5271@georgetown.edu for any additional questions or concerns.