Student Research
The department both encourages and participates in a variety of student-based research activities. For instance, Dr. High-Pippert has presented work at national conferences with two students within the past few years. In 2003, she worked with political science major Sarah L. Lee on a research project involving programs designed to encourage college women to get involved in politics. They presented preliminary findings at a Women’s Studies Breakfast Talk at UST’s Luann Dummer Center for Women, and then presented their paper, “College Women and the Political Pipeline: An Exploratory Study,” at the Midwest Political Science Association Annual National Meeting in Chicago that year.
In 2004, Dr. High-Pippert and political science major Lisa A. Lyttle presented “Problem-Based Learning in a Political Science Classroom: Perspectives of a Professor and an Undergraduate Student” at the Midwest Political Science Association Annual National Meeting in Chicago. Actually, Lisa presented the paper while Dr. High-Pippert beamed proudly. Lisa went on to work in U. S. Senator Norm Coleman’s D.C. office.
Two other students, Maren Forde and Alyssa Niedenfuer, have worked with Dr. Hoffman and Dr. High-Pippert on their research on citizen participation and community energy initiatives. Both of these political science majors were involved with coding qualitative data, ranging from meeting agendas and minutes to focus group transcripts, and both students presented research at the student poster session of the Minnesota Political Science Association (MNPSA) Annual Conference.
Other political science majors to present their research at the MNPSA student poster session include Emily Sauter, Kevin Pillsbury, Kristin Kvam, Jordan Bauer, Maggie Gebhard, Luke Grundman, and Andrew Ostapenko. All of these students revised research papers that had been written for Dr. High-Pippert’s POLS 301: American Political Behavior or POLS 404: Seminar in American Politics courses.
If you are interested in either working with someone as a research assistant or developing a project of your own you should talk to individual professors or contact Dr. Hoffman, the department chair.
