Summer Research Assistant (Student)
American UniversityAbout the role
Work Where You Learn: Build Experience, Grow Skills, and Contribute to Your University Community.
This position is available only to enrolled American University students.
Most student positions at American University are eligible to use Federal Work Study (FWS) awards, with a few exceptions. FWS funds cannot be applied to janitorial, construction, partisan or sectarian positions. For information or questions regarding FWS funds, please contact American University's Office of Financial Aid.
Important guidance for current American University employees: American University current employees, including those employed in student positions, must apply through their employee Workday account. If you are a current employee at American University, please log into your employee Workday account and select the Find Jobs report which will take you to our internal career listings. Applying outside of your employee Workday account may cause delays in a hire process.
Department:
School of Public AffairsTime Type:
Part timeFLSA Status:
Non-ExemptJob Description:
Summary:
Assistant Professor David Miller (Government) seeks a research assistant to help collect data for a project on gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial elections. This position will run from June 2026 - August 2026. The research assistant will collect biographical information about gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial candidates in elections from 1968 - present.
Responsibilities:
Utilize web and archival sources to locate biographical information on gubernatorial/lieutenant gubernatorial candidates.
Record biographical information in spreadsheets in a systematized way.
Coordinate with supervising faculty and other project personnel in location and recording information across states and election cycles.
Position Type/Expected Hours Of Work:
Part-Time.
20 hours per week.
Position duration is 6/01/2026 through 08/15/2026.
Salary Range:
$22.70 per hour.
Required Education and Experience:
Familiarity with historical newspaper archives and databases.
Ability to coordinate data collection tasks in the context of a large team recording the same kind of data for different cases.
Comfortable with Microsoft Excel and Zoom.
Preferred Education and Experience:
Pursuing a bachelor’s degree in a social science field at American University (e.g., economics, political science, sociology) preferred.
Previous experience manually coding information about candidates for political office preferred.
Other Details
This position is available only to enrolled American University students.
Please note this job announcement is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
American University is an
Apply for this role
Generate a tailored application kit with a matched cover letter, interview prep, and CV highlights — in under 60 seconds.
Apply Now →Generate Application KitFree account required — sign up in 30s