Academic Year ¹ÏÌïºÚÁÏUndergraduate Research Fellows Program
The ¹ÏÌïºÚÁÏUndergraduate Research Fellows (UGRF) program offers faculty-mentored research opportunities for Stanford undergraduates during the academic year. The program focuses on enriching the student research experience and offers additional opportunities for students to participate in the intellectual life of SIEPR.
Program Structure
Each quarter students and their faculty mentor will meet prior to the start of the quarter to agree on project goals and learning outcomes for a quarter-long research experience.
- The Winter Quarter program runs from January 6 to March 15, 2025.
- Students and faculty should meet prior to the start of the quarter to agree on project goals and learning outcomes for a quarter-long research experience.
- UGRFs will have the opportunity to participate in ¹ÏÌïºÚÁÏpolicy forums and Summit.
- Students will be paid via payroll for up to 15 hours a week.
Eligibility
- UGRFs must be enrolled as full-time undergraduate students at Stanford. Coterm students who are interested in the program will need to hold undergraduate standing to be eligible for the ¹ÏÌïºÚÁÏUGRF program.
- Stanford students on hourly pay may not exceed 15 hours per week for all campus employment. Students with other hourly-paid commitments on campus may have limited hours of SIEPR-funded research. Time commitment should be discussed with faculty mentors prior to accepting the UGRF offer.
How to Apply
To apply for the ¹ÏÌïºÚÁÏUGRF program, fill out the online application using the link below. Please follow the instructions in the application portal. The application will ask you to answer a few general questions about your academic interests.
Please prepare to upload the materials listed below:
- A list of the current courses that you are enrolled in for the upcoming quarter.
- Resume
- A cover letter that addresses the following:
- Why are you interested in a ¹ÏÌïºÚÁÏUGRF position?
- What is your previous experience, if any, with research?
- What are your personal research interests?
Questions?
If you have questions, please email siepr-fellowships@stanford.edu.
Applications for 2025 Winter quarter are now open!
Global Trade, AI, and Geopolitical Competition
Faculty Mentor: Ramin Toloui
The era of laissez-faire economics and ever-deeper globalization has come to an end, due to concerns about job losses from free trade and risks to national security from dependence on global supply chains. In recent years, we have seen the rise of industrial policy in key sectors (semiconductors, clean energy, artificial intelligence) alongside rising protectionism. But the ultimate endpoint of these changes is unclear: will it be an era of multipolar merchantilist competition? will the world divide itself into competing trade blocs based on geopolitical factors? or will the existing order of multinational supply chains driven by economic efficiency be slow to change despite the rhetoric? This project seeks to answer these questions by examining historical episodes of globalization and retrenchment, changing patterns in global trade data amid changes in trade policy, and past and current efforts to achieve technological dominance. A key strand of this research will be focused on artificial intelligence -- how what is happening at the frontier of AI research is shaping national strategies on energy, R&D, innovation diffusion, and foreign policy.
Responsibilities: The RF will collect and review relevant literature, conduct data analysis, and support the faculty member in identifying areas for further investigation.
Qualifications: A background and interest in international trade and/or technology (especially artificial intelligence) would be valuable, as is previous experience with data collection and analysis. Curiosity, creativity, and persistence are also extremely important.