Breithaupt American Government Paper Competition

The Department of Public Affairs invites students of any major to submit a proposal for research into any aspect of American government and politics. Proposals should be no more than four double-spaced pages in length, and should contain (a) a clearly stated thesis and research questions; (b) a discussion of the availability of data that will be used in the research; (c) a methodological plan for the statistical analysis; (d) a brief summary of the expected findings; and (e) a one-page bibliography. The final papers must be a quantitative methodology and not exceed twenty pages in length. Papers may be proposed based on work in a current or future course (e.g. seminar) or be independent of coursework.

Proposals are due to Dr. Heath Brown (hbrown@roanoke.edu) no later than the reading day of the fall semester. The author of the accepted proposal(s) will be notified by the start of the spring semester. Final paper submissions are due by the reading day of the spring semester. Awards will range up to $1000.00.

Public Affairs faculty will evaluate the proposals and select the best one for support from Breithaupt funds. The eventual paper will receive an award of up to $1000.00 at the conclusion of the research project if it earns a grade of B+ or higher. A Breithaupt paper may be granted one unit of credit as an independent study, honors in the major project, or an honors project, if appropriate and previously arranged.

 

Award Winning Papers

2007 Shelley Smith Closing the Gap: Private School Vouchers and the Roanoke City School System

2008 Anne Whitesell The Impact of No Child Left Behind Act on English Language Learners

2009 Emily Huston The Help America Vote Act of 2002: Well Intentioned Reforms or Misguided
Mandates?

2009 Amanda Pickens Prevention for Deterrence: A Study of Illegal Immigration Policy