Graduate Research Fellowship

The Religious Freedom Center, a dynamic and growing department within the Newseum Institute, seeks highly intelligent, motivated, and collaborative students to join the next cohort of graduate research fellows.

Onsite research fellowships are available to graduate students who seek to receive credit from their college or university for conducting academic research at the Religious Freedom Center of the Newseum Institute in Washington, D.C. There are currently five fellowship tracks available to applicants:

1. Distance Education: For graduate students who want to conduct research on best practices for online education, including blended learning programs.

2. Higher Education Administration: For graduate students who want to conduct research on best practices in admissions, registration, finance, accreditation, and/or student development.

3. Law and Religion: For graduate students enrolled in law school or a legal studies program who want to conduct legal research on the historical developments of church/state relations in the United States or on contemporary legal issues concerning religion and American public life.

4. Religion and Human Rights: For graduate students enrolled in international affairs or political science programs who want to conduct legal research on the human right to freedom of religion or belief.

5. Religion and News Media: For graduate students enrolled in schools of journalism or communication who want to conduct research on best practices for reporting on religion in the United States and abroad.

All research fellows will be able to develop a research agenda that is compatible with their interests, their degree program requirements, and the mission of the Religious Freedom Center. Research fellowships last one to two semesters, as determined by the respective graduate schools. Onsite research hours are flexible within the timeframe of Monday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern; offsite research hours on Fridays can be negotiated.

The Religious Freedom Center is a nonpartisan national initiative focused on educating the American public about the religious liberty principles of the First Amendment. Reorganized in 2010 to expand on religious liberty initiatives begun by the First Amendment Center in 1994, the Religious Freedom Center has sponsored numerous public programs at the Newseum, developed partnerships with national and international organizations, and brought together a broad range of religious and civil liberties groups. The Religious Freedom Center carries out the mission by educating thought leaders, promoting civil dialogue, engaging the public, transforming schools, and publishing religious liberty scholarship.

Please visit www.newseuminstitute.org/religion to learn more about the center’s mission, guiding framework, campus, partners, religious liberty courses, dialogue programs, and publications.

QUALIFICATIONS

• All applicants must be enrolled in and be in good standing with an accredited graduate program.

• All applicants must be eligible to receive academic credit for their fellowship experience.

• All applicants must possess strong intellectual capacities and substantive academic accomplishments in their respective fields of study.

• All applicants must demonstrate superior interpersonal skills to successfully manage the extensive interaction with a wide range of individuals and groups.

• Given the collaborative nature of the research team, all applicants must demonstrate superior communication skills, self-awareness, cognitive and emotional empathy, and the ability to understand a variety of legal, ideological, and religious and nonreligious perspectives.

• Essential qualities include kindness, patience, flexibility, clear communication, a high degree of organization, an eye for detail, plus a drama-free approach to problem solving.

• All applicants must demonstrate outstanding editing/proofreading and writing skills in American English along with proficiency in MS Word and Outlook.

• Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States.

FELLOWSHIP TRACKS

• Applicants to the distance education fellowship program must demonstrate interest in and the capacity to research and articulate best practices for adult learners to engage in blended learning programs, which use online learning management systems to effectively provide asynchronous and synchronous learning modules in conjunction with onsite educational conferences.

• Applicants to the higher education fellowship program must demonstrate interest in and the capacity to research and articulate best practices for organizational development of an online school and onsite educational programs, with special attention to admissions, registration, accreditation, and/or student development.

• Applicants to the law and religion fellowship program must demonstrate interest in and the capacity to research and articulate the historical and contemporary legal issues involving religion and public life in the United States, with special attention to the religion clauses of the First Amendment and other religious liberty provisions guaranteed by federal and state statutes.

• Applicants to the religion and human rights fellowship program must demonstrate interest in and the capacity to research and articulate the complex issues related to freedom of expression, religious practice, and treatment of minority religions in various regions of the world, with special emphasis on the rule of law practices as framed by the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights.

• Applicants to the religion and news media fellowship program must demonstrate the capacity to research and articulate the complex interactions of religion in news media, with special attention to the ways media currently report religion news, interpret the role of religion in public life, and portray the beliefs and practices of religious individuals and groups.

APPLICATION DEADLINE

• For the Summer 2016 semester: April 15, 2016

• For the Fall 2016 semester: June 15, 2016

• For the Spring 2017 semester: December 15, 2016

APPLICATION PROCESS

Please download and complete the internship application form at http://www.religiousfreedomcenter.org/contact/jobs/.

Email your application to jobs@newseum.org with a cover letter, resume or CV, and reference list. Please combine these documents into ONE MSWord document or PDF and name it LastName_FirstName. Your cover letter should emphasize your research interests and career goals. Use your resume to detail your relevant educational, professional and volunteer experiences. Please also include at least three references, including one faculty member from your current school. Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States. For questions about the application process or the Religious Freedom Center, please contact Nate Walker at nwalker@newseum.org or (202) 292-6447.

- See more at: http://www.newseum.org/about/jobs-internships/?jobdetails=115#sthash.x1lM8tDI.dpuf