Call for Initiative on Cities Doctoral Research Fellowship Applicants
The Initiative on Cities is seeking a talented BU doctoral student to assist with research activities in our office. You will be working directly with our staff and affiliated faculty to produce nontechnical reports and white papers for publication by the Initiative, support survey work with public officials, conduct literature reviews and help to manage and coordinate special projects. You will be joining the IOC as a member of our team, with a dedicated desk and use of our offices and administrative support at 75 Bay State Road.
Required Skills & Qualifications
- At least one year of research experience with descriptive and predictive analytic methods to infer insights from data.
- Proven ability to clean, manipulate and format datasets in Excel, STATA, SPSS or R.
- Familiarity with survey design methodology and best practices.
- Superb writing skills and ability to translate research findings into language that is accessible to a non-expert audience.
- Some experience developing data visualizations or proven willingness to learn on-the-job.
- Comfortable structuring exploration and analysis of data in a largely self-directed manner.
- Ability to juggle multiple assignments at the same time while maintaining focus on detail and deadlines
- Media and social media experience is preferred, but not required.
- Passion for urban issues, governance and/or urban populations, either domestic or global.
The candidate will be compensated with a stipend of $11,000 per semester and health insurance. Your obligation to this fellowship will not exceed 20 hours per week, with a substantial portion of that time spent at the IOC offices at 75 Bay State Road during the work week. Available semesters include Fall (September-December, 17 weeks), Spring (January-April, 17 weeks), Summer (May-August, 18 weeks.) The ideal candidate is able to commit to the Fall semester with the option to renew for Spring and Summer.
We are agnostic as to discipline and welcome applications from across BU, including but not limited to Political Science, Sociology, Economics, Environmental Health, Earth & Environment, Public Health, Social Work, History, Anthropology, Management, Mathematics and Statistics. Prior experience as well as current field of study will be considered when evaluating applicants.
About the Initiative on Cities
The Initiative on Cities seeks to research, promote, and advance the adaptive urban leadership strategies and policies necessary to support cities as dynamic centers of inclusive economic growth and sustainable development in the 21st century. The Initiative was co-founded in 2014 by the late Boston Mayor, Thomas Menino, and Professor of Political Science, Graham Wilson. We lead the Menino Survey of Mayors, the only nationally representative and systematic survey with American mayors.