USA: Call for Applications: PhD-Level 2-Year Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA)

Nov 26, 2024 | Elaine (Lan Yin) Hsiao and He Yin, Kent State University
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Kent State University’s (KSU) School of Peace and Conflict Studies (SPCS) began as the Center for Peaceful Change as a living memorial to the May 4th shootings and remains dedicated to peaceful change and to empowering people to prevent, resolve and transform conflicts and to build more just and sustainable peaceful communities and societies. At SPCS, Dr. Elaine (Lan Yin) Hsiao brings an environmental focus to security, peace, and conflict studies with their research in transboundary protected areas, Indigenous and community-led environmental governance, inclusive rights-based conservation and development, and more-than-human concepts of peace. 

Dr. Hsiao is currently recruiting a GRA for a project on "Two-Eyed Seeing in Earth Observations: Co-Creating Data Tools and Capacity for Earth Observations Data Analysis in Support of California's Land Transfer Policy", in collaboration with Dr. He Yin (Department of Geography), who heads the Remote Sensing and Land Science Lab (SensLand Lab). 

This is a Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA) renewable up to 2 years to work with Dr. Hsiao and Dr. Yin in performing a variety of research and administrative duties associated with this or other related projects. The assistantship provides compensation in the form of a full tuition waiver in addition to health insurance and a monthly stipend for up to 20 hours of work per week for the academic year (approx. August-May) and may be renewable for up to 2 years. 

Qualifications 

In order to be considered for this GRA position, you must apply and be accepted into the Political Science PhD program with a concentration in Conflict Analysis and Management (CAM track) at Kent State University. By the time of appointment, applicants should hold a Masters degree in the fields or broader disciplines of Peace and Conflict Studies, Political Science, International Relations, Political Ecology, Geography, Environmental Studies, or Law. Additional qualifications specific to the applicant’s PhD program will apply and need to be considered when applying (see below). 

Experience in integrating qualitative and quantitative research methods and data analysis, as well as collaborative research in California Tribal, Native American, or other Indigenous communities is highly preferred. Preference will be given to applicants who are interested in critical, decolonial, feminist, Indigenous and/or action research and with experience using GIS and remote sensing in Indigenous communities. Tribal Members/First

How to Apply 

Interested applicants should contact Dr. Elaine (Lan Yin) Hsiao, Assistant Professor, School of Peace and Conflict Studies, Kent State University (ehsiao1@kent.edu). Please include a CV, unofficial transcripts and a cover letter. 

When applying for a PhD program at Kent State, prospective candidates will need to indicate their interest in working with Dr. Elaine (Lan Yin) Hsiao as a GRA in their Cover Letter and/or Statement of Purpose. 

Applications for the Department of Political Science (concentration in Conflict Analysis and Management) can be submitted on a rolling basis, but the final deadline for a Fall 2025 start is 15 February 2025 - more information is available HERE. 

Anticipated Start Date 

Fall 2025 (Aug) - renewable up to 2 years (2025-2027)

Peoples or other applicants from underrepresented backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply.