Beginning in 2018, the Criminal Justice Research Center has presented the Graduate Student Research Award. These awards are designed to assist graduate students in pursuing independent research on a project related to criminal justice, criminology, law, or a related field. Additionally, the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing (PCS) supports up to one award for a graduate student conducting research relevant to their mission. Awardees are expected to present progress toward their research during a Departmental Criminology Forum in the year following the award.
Graduate Student Research Awards RFP and Proposal Application
Previous award winners include:
2023:
Jessie Slepicka: “A meso-level analysis of clearance rates and arrest rate inequality: Differential patterns by race, 1980-2016” Dr. Darrell Steffensmeier, Advisor
Yiwen Zhang: “Do “Plea Rewards” Exist in Prison? Disparity in Prison Disciplinary Sanction Decisions” Dr. Holly Nguyen, Advisor
2021:
Julia Dillavou: “Solidarity or Solitude? How Correlates of Incarceration Impact Friendship Among Imprisoned Women” Dr. Derek Kreager, Advisor
Christopher Seto: “Understanding Variation in Hate Crimes and Hate Organizations Across Time and Space: Evidence from Google Trends” Dr. Corina Graif, Advisor
2020:
Brittany Freelin: “A Place-Based Intervention: The Effect of College Promise Programs on Crime Rates” Dr. Corina Graif, Advisor
2019:
Rebecca Bucci: “Closing the Macro-Micro Link: Deterrent Effects on Individual Substance Use & Offending” Dr. Tom Loughran, Advisor
John Crum: “Punitive Heroin Laws” Dr. David Ramey, Advisor
Theodore Greenfelder: “Outcomes from the Prison Inmate Network Study: Re-Entry and Recidivism” Dr. Derek Kreager, Advisor
2018:
Jordan Zvonkovich: “The Role of Discretion and the Effect of Criminal History on Sentencing Outcomes in Pennsylvania” Dr. Barry Ruback- Advisor, PCS supported awardee