The African Studies Center (ASC) has partnered with U-M’s Institute for Social Research (ISR) to offer a limited number of full scholarships to attend this year’s Summer Program in Quantitative Methods of Social Research that the Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) has been offering on the U-M campus since 1963. This internationally renowned summer school, which typically draws hundreds of students and faculty from across the US and abroad, has moved all course offerings to a virtual format because of the global pandemic. The ASC-ISR partnership takes advantage of the unique opportunity created by shifting to on-line instruction for this year.
Through the ASC/ISR fellowships, up to 12 University of Michigan African Presidential Scholars (UMAPS) alumni, incoming UMAPS scholars, and (space permitting) other Africa-based scholars directly affiliated with ASC, and particularly its African Social Research Initiative (ASRI), will be able to attend the Summer Program free of charge. ICPSR is offering a generous 50% reduction on the course fee for all other researchers based at African institutions.
At ASC, we believe firmly that value is added to U-M programs by incorporating the insights and experiences of our African colleagues. We are therefore very happy to extend this opportunity to our UMAPS alumni, and we look forward to the contributions that these scholars will make to the ICPSR programs, says ASC Director Andries Coetzee.
This is an exciting collaboration between ISR, ASC, and ICPSR that builds on a long tradition of African scholars participating in the ICPSR summer program. It's great that we can offer this opportunity to a larger group of scholars by taking advantage of remote instruction, notes ISR Director David Lam.
Mike Traugott, Director of the Summer Program, adds, “Moving to online instruction has given us the opportunity to extend our programming in quantitative methods to researchers from around the world who otherwise might not have been able to afford traveling to and staying in Ann Arbor for a month in order to enroll. We reduced our fees in acknowledgment of COVID-19 and going online, and we are pleased to pass on a further discount to those from Africa who are interested in this year’s Summer Program.”
ICPSR is very pleased to work with ASC to welcome scholars from African institutions to its Summer Program. Generations of Summer Program participants have learned new skills, built valuable relationships, and launched their research in new directions. The virtual environments for this year’s Summer Program will expand access in new and exciting ways, says ICPSR Director Maggie Levenstein.
