P3 Lab Predoctoral Fellow

This fellowship is ideal for someone in a PhD program in a relevant social science field with a record of being an outstanding scholar. The ideal fellow will have completed their coursework and begun work on their dissertation, with an interest in building their capacity for engaged social science research grounded in the study of collective action and social movements. Predocs must be excellent writers, capable with quantitative data analysis, and have experience with qualitative fieldwork. Predoctoral Fellows will divide their time between working on their own dissertation and working on a P3 research project designed to teach the craft of engaged research.  

Lab Description

At P3, we envision a world where people’s participation in public life is possible, probable, and powerful: people across race and class have to be able to participate, they have to want to participate, and their participation has to matter. Realizing this vision necessitates designing a new civic architecture that enables people to engage in public life in ways that are grounded in their own experience, connected to one another, and organized through vehicles of collective action that give people ownership over the ongoing process of systemic struggle and change.

We are a multi-disciplinary research lab based at the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University committed to learning and shared inquiry that meets the twin goals of relevance and rigor while helping to realize our vision. Our work simultaneously pushes the frontiers of strategic thinking in organizing and knowledge-building in academic scholarship.

Learn more about our work on our website: https://www.p3researchlab.org/mission_vision

Focus of the Fellowship

To support their learning, the Predoctoral Fellow will:

  • Lead a to-be-determined project that is likely to include the following:
    • Developing a research project that either uses existing P3 data or works with community partners to gather new data in the field. No matter what the data source, the project should simultaneously advance the lab’s mission of relevance (being strategically relevant to organizers) and rigor (meeting the highest standards of academic rigor)
    • Conducting a literature review
    • Conducting data collection and analysis
    • Writing up results in both academic and practitioner-friendly formats
  • Actively engage in the P3 scholarly community by attending regular lab meetings, collaborating with fellow lab members on their projects, and participating in a P3 seminar focused on developing the craft of engaged research practices.

Term of Appointment

The fellowship is timed to coincide with the academic year. Fellows can work remotely from anywhere in the United States but must be willing to travel regularly to meet the P3 team. Candidates based in the DMV area are preferred. The fellowship is designed to cover a student’s stipend but will not cover tuition or fees.  

Qualifications:

  • ABD in political science, sociology, or related areas
  • Outstanding mixed-methods research and writing skills
  • Experience working with constituency-based organizations either as a researcher or as a community organizer
  • An understanding of or a desire to learn about the field of constituency-based organizations and social movements in the United States, as well as the ecosystems of funders, political parties, etc. they operate within
  • Strong organizational skills
  • Experience and interest in participating in events for diverse stakeholders (e.g., conferences, symposia, workshops)
  • Commitment to the P3 Lab Mission
  • Excellent communication skills
  • Ability to work independently and in teams

In addition to the qualifications above, theoretical and empirical familiarity with the field of civic data, movement building, and aspects of computational social science; experience in statistical and spatial data analysis and data visualization; and/or advanced programming in R, STATA, or another statistical package would be valued.

Application Instructions

Our 2023-2024 predoctoral fellow position has been filled, but we'll update any additional opportunities for the coming year(s) here.
If a position opens up, here are the application instructions: Please send the following materials to Lab Director, Jane Booth-Tobin, at [email protected]:

  1. Letter of application that includes:
    1. a description of what you are hoping to get out of a fellowship with P3 and how it fits into your own scholarship
    2. your understanding of what community organizing is, why it matters, and how it relates to your own research
  2. A two-to-five page research statement detailing your substantive and methodological research experience
  3. Curriculum vitae
  4. Three names of references at the time of the application.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis beginning March 1. Inquiries may be sent electronically to Jane at [email protected].