Part-Time Undergraduate Research Assistant

The Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education is seeking an undergraduate research assistant to support a project to create a database cataloguing state immigration policies across the United States from 1989-2026. The RA will work directly with the study PI and a team of RAs to collect, clean, and code state legislative data. This position is for both the fall 2026 and spring 2027 semesters, with there being a possibility of extension into summer 2027.

This is a great opportunity for any student interested in topics surrounding immigration, sociology, public policy, political science, and/or data science, and will allow students to gain hands-on experience with real-world research data and contribute to an active research project. The RA’s tasks will include the following:

• Collect state legislation pertaining to immigrants/immigration from state legislative websites and other public sources.
• Systematically enter legislative data in a structured spreadsheet following an established coding protocol.
• Assist in cleaning collected state policy data for accuracy and consistency.
• Assist with basic data cleaning (e.g., spot-checking data entries, flagging discrepancies for PI review).
• Communicate regularly with the PI on progress and participate in regular team meetings.

Required qualifications:

• Interest in U.S. immigration, public policy, and/or law. 
• Interest in gaining familiarity with social science and/or legal/legislative research.
• General familiarity with Excel and/or Google Sheets.
• Excellent self-management skills.
• Ability to work independently, meet deadlines, and stay organized with minimal day-to-day supervision.
• Strong attention to detail and comfort with repetitive, careful data work.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.

Preferred qualifications:

• Prior research assistant experience.
• Record of coursework in demography, sociology, political science, public policy, Latin American studies, and/or economics.
• Experience with social science and/or legal/legislative research.
• Experience using statistical software (e.g., R, Stata, SAS, SPSS, Python).

How to Apply

Please include a current resume/CV, and one or two paragraphs detailing your interest in the position and any relevant experience.

Candidates who advance to the next stage in the hiring process will be contacted to schedule a 30-45 minute interview and will be asked complete a sample data coding exercise.

Penn State is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. If you are unable to use our online application process due to an impairment or disability, please contact 814-865-1473.

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