APSA’s Congressional Fellowship Program

A lecturer at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg, Dr. Michael DeLor teaches about federal and state government. Dr. Michael DeLor stays current with membership in the American Political Science Association (ASPA), which was founded in 1903 and boasts more than 11,000 members in over 100 countries. One of the APSA’s keystone offerings is the Congressional Fellowship Program.

APSA’s leadership was aware the public knew little or nothing about how the U. S. Congress does business. To redress this lack, it established the fellowship program in 1953. It placed journalists and nascent political scientists on congressional staffs, so they could later reveal the inner workings of the legislative process to the people. Later this group was expanded to include other government employees, lawyers, teachers, parliamentarians, and other interested parties.

Participants benefit in several ways. Over the course of one year, they learn how policy is made, gain direction for their research, enhance their teaching, and build their professional and social networks. In addition, they perform valuable public service and get ringside seats to important events.

APSA's Visiting Scholar Program

The author of Inside a Public Policy Black Box: Congress, FERC, and Private Electric Utilities, Dr. Michael J. DeLor serves as a professor and lecturer II at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Dr. Michael DeLor also belongs to the American Political Science Association (APSA), a Washington, DC-based professional organization that brings together political scientists from various inquiry fields, backgrounds, and countries to boost understanding of politics, citizenship, and democracy worldwide.

The APSA’s Centennial Center for Political Science and Public Affairs at its headquarters also administers grants and research opportunities, including the Centennial Center Visiting Scholar Program for scholars from the US and abroad. This program supports teaching and research that can benefit from a stay in the nation’s capital and use of local resources through access to a furnished shared workspace at the Centennial Center. The center also provides personal computers, conference space, Internet connectivity, a small reference library, and free tea and coffee.

During their time in Washington DC, scholars also receive opportunities to contribute to the APSA’s intellectual community by engaging in brown bag presentations for in-progress studies and submitting their research summary to the Centennial Center’s page in the publication PS: Political Science and Politics. The Visiting Scholar Program can host participants for short- and long-term periods, although it does not cover living accommodations or research expenses.

Program applicants must be active APSA members. Post-doctoral fellows, senior and junior faculty members, and advanced graduate students are eligible to apply. Application requirements include a copy of their curriculum vitae, a one-page abstract, and a project statement regarding their research. The statement can be up to five pages and must describe the topic, basic ideas and hypotheses, and methodology to be used, as well as the importance of Washington, DC-area resources and the research’s present status. Additionally, scholars who intend to stay for one month or longer need to provide two recommendations.

Donations from APSA members help fund the Centennial Center and its facilities and research-support programs.