This award provides support to the Ralph Bunch Summer Institute (RSBI), which is a program of the American Political Science Association hosted at the University of Virginia. The RSBI is designed to expand opportunities for African Americans by preparing black undergraduates to enroll in doctoral programs and become university professors of political science. The RSBI immerses undergraduates in the summer after their junior year in a five-week intensive program that includes graduate level course work, and the design, analysis, write-up, and presentation of original research papers. The program simulates the graduate school experience and focuses on scientific analysis by introducing the students to research methods and statistics, and the research enterprise that is the lifeline of professional political scientists. Fifteen students each year, over a three year period, will be selected for participation in the program. This award contributes to the Foundation's continuing efforts to attract talented students into careers in science through active undergraduate research experiences.
