Achieving diversity and inclusion in political science is a priority for the American Political Science Association. The Ralph Bunche Endowment Fund, named in honor of 1950 Nobel Peace Prize winner and former APSA President Ralph J. Bunche, supports one of APSA’s most critical programs for supporting a more diverse and inclusive next generation of scholars in political science.
The Ralph Bunche Summer Institute encourages students to pursue academic careers in political science by enhancing writing, research, and analytical skills to increase competitiveness in the application and financial aid process for graduate school; developing statistical skills for data analysis used in political science; exposing participants to the significant questions in the discipline and profession of political science; introducing participants to leading political scientists; and educating participants about political science career opportunities and encouraging their application to doctoral programs in political science.
Marcela García-Castañon, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at San Francisco State University, participated in the Ralph Bunche Summer Institute. She shared the following about the opportunities that participation opened for her:
The Ralph Bunche program provided me a rare opportunity: to view academia from the inside. As an immigrant Latina, I had little connection to American higher education, and less still to the prospects of graduate study. The RBSI allowed me to both experience intensive graduate study and realize that I could succeed in my pursuit of a PhD. It provided me networks of colleagues and opened doors that otherwise were outside of my reach. It gave me the basic tools of graduate school (writing, data analysis), but also provided me with professionalization into how to be a scholar and a researcher, not just a student. RBSI gave me the tools and experience that made me a successful graduate student, and eventually, a PhD and a researcher. My time with RBSI was an invaluable experience that directly correlated to my future success. — Marcela García-Castañon
To learn more about the Ralph Bunche Summer Institute, visit www.apsanet.org/rbsi.
Your donation to the Ralph Bunche Endowment Fund makes a direct impact on RBSI’s ability to encourage underrepresented students to pursue careers in the discipline. Make your contribution here.