Political Science - Student Researcher

Job Title: Summer Student Researcher

Department: Political Science

Supervisor: Dr. Gordon Ballingrud

Starting Rate of Pay: $10.00

Length of Time: Semester Only: Summer 2025

Department Description

High Point University's Political Science department equips students with a broad understanding of political systems, institutions, and processes, both domestically and internationally. The program emphasizes critical thinking, analytical skills, and the ability to engage in informed discussions about public policy and political behavior.

Job DescriptionThe candidate will spend several hours per week reading selections of Supreme Court cases (provided by the supervisor) and encoding information about those cases into an Excel spreadsheet. The information to be encoded pertains to each case’s legal doctrine which the Court employs to analyze each case’s facts. Thus strong reading comprehension skills and prior experience learning about law or jurisprudence are necessary.

Job Location/ Hours Required

The candidate will perform most/all job duties online. The candidate may be in any location with an internet connection. This position requires up to 20 hours per week.

Responsibilities:

• Reading judicial opinions from the U.S. Supreme Court
• Analyzing those opinions for certain legal characteristics
• Encoding information about those opinions into Excel

Required Qualifications:

• Must be minimally familiar with Excel
• Prior experience studying some area of law or jurisprudence
• Must possess strong group collaboration skills
• Must possess strong reading comprehension skills

Desired Skills:

• Must have a minimum 3.0 overall GPA
• Political science major and/or legal studies minor is a plus but not required