Call for Applications
2026 Charles E. Scheidt Undergraduate Research Assistant Fellowship
Call for Applications
2026 Charles E. Scheidt Undergraduate Research Assistant Fellowship
Deadline: November 23, 2025
The USC Dornsife Center for Advanced Genocide Research invites research proposals from USC undergraduate students for the 2025 Charles E. Scheidt Undergraduate Research Assistant Fellowship.
The fellowship provides $3,200 support per semester and will be awarded to an outstanding USC undergraduate student from any academic discipline to serve as the assigned Charles E. Scheidt Undergraduate Research Assistant Fellow for the projects of international fellows and visiting scholars at the USC Dornsife Center for Advanced Genocide Research.
The fellow will shadow emerging and/or senior scholars across disciplines and benefit from participating in and contributing to cutting-edge interdisciplinary scholarly research. This unique fellowship will offer the opportunity to learn research methods from the most innovative scholars in the fields of Holocaust and Genocide Studies. The Undergraduate Research Assistant Fellow will have the opportunity to explore USC’s unique resources and collections in the fields of Holocaust and Genocide Studies. The fellow will not only learn a great deal about these fields, but will build valuable analytical, research, and communication skills.
The Scheidt Undergraduate Research Assistant Fellow will be expected to be in residence at the USC Dornsife Center for Advanced Genocide Research for two semesters: Spring 2026 (15 hours a week for 12 weeks) and Fall 2026 (15 hours per week for 12 weeks).
The fellow will be expected to play a role in the activities of the Center and to write two blogs based on their work at the conclusion of each semester.
Founded in 2014, the USC Dornsife Center for Advanced Genocide Research distinguishes itself from other Holocaust and genocide research institutes by offering access to unique research resources and by focusing its research efforts on the interdisciplinary study of currently under-researched areas. For more information, visit our website here.
USC Resources
Internationally unique and growing research resources at USC include the extensive Holocaust and Genocide Studies collection at USC Libraries, which contains 30,000 primary and secondary sources including the original transcripts of the Nuremberg trials and the materials of the New York Life Insurance settlement regarding the Armenian genocide. Unique primary sources in the Special Collections at USC include the Feuchtwanger Memorial Library, which also houses the private papers of dozens of emigrants from the Third Reich, as well as private collections from Jewish Holocaust survivors and liberators.
The Visual History Archive is a collection of over 59,000 audiovisual testimonies of survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust and other genocides, including the Rwandan, Armenian, Guatemalan, Cambodian genocides, the Nanjing Massacre in China, anti-Rohingya mass violence, and war and genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The majority of testimonies are life history interviews in which interviewees discuss their lives before, during, and after genocide and mass violence. With interviews conducted in 70 countries and in 44 languages, testimonies capture both the individual experience of mass violence and the social and cultural history of the 20th century on a global scale. Learn more about the Visual History Archive here.
Academic Disciplines
The fellowship is open to USC undergraduate students from any academic discipline. Since the Center’s founding, students across disciplines have conducted research as Center fellows. Find out more on our website about past student research fellows from the following fields: American Studies and Ethnicity; Anthropology; Art; Cinematic Arts; Comparative Literature; Comparative Studies in Literature and Culture; Creative Writing; English; English Literature; Game Development and Interactive Design; Global Studies; History; International Relations; Jewish Studies; Journalism; Law, History, and Culture; Media Arts and Practice; Politics, Philosophy, and Law; Public Policy and Leadership; Narrative Studies; Psychology; and Sociology.
Application Instructions
To submit an application:
Email the materials below to cagr@usc.edu or submit them electronically on the Fellowships page of the Center’s website. (Visit https://dornsife.usc.edu/cagr/fellowships/scheidt-undergraduate-research-assistant-fellowship/ and click Apply.)
• cover letter
• current resume/CV
• document (1-2 pages), in which you should answer the following questions:
– Why are you interested in this fellowship at the USC Dornsife Center for Advanced Genocide Research
– What is your past research experience?
– How do your skills, coursework, and experience make you a good fit for the Scheidt Undergraduate Research Assistant Fellow?
• recommendation letter from a faculty member or teaching assistant submitted directly by your letter-writer to cagr@usc.edu.
The deadline for submissions is November 23, 2025.
For questions, please contact cagr@usc.edu.