Student Opportunities

“Students, the next generation of scholars and statesmen, should be enriched through participation in this dialogue and go on to become better scholars and statesmen as a result.

This is a tall order. Yet I believe here at Rice we have the commitment, the resources and, above all, the people to make a first-rate institute. In bridging the worlds of ideas and action, I believe the institute should pursue an integrated approach that draws together various efforts from across this campus. While we emphasize the conduct and dissemination of research that is practical and timely, we need to use the knowledge found in that process to educate students, both graduate and undergraduate.”

James A. Baker, III
Honorary Chair

• Read founding director Ambassador Edward P. Djerejian's Sept. 10, 2010, Rice Thresher op-ed on how students can connect with the Baker Institute.

One of the Baker Institute’s central missions is to engage students, the next generation of policymakers. 

In the 2010-2011 school year, Baker Institute fellows and scholars taught more than two dozen classes in addition to their research. Some of their areas of expertise include energy policy, economics, religion and Asian studies. 

“Teaching is a lot of work. But the challenge and enjoyment of engaging young minds is compelling and well worth the investment,” says Ambassador Edward P. Djerejian, the institute’s founding director, who led a seminar on the Middle East in spring 2010. “I have been impressed by the students’ interest in global affairs, and their questions suggest a real desire to understand the world around them.”

The Baker Institute also offers competitive internship opportunities for Rice undergraduates interested in public policy. Baker Institute board member James W. Crownover '66, whose philanthropy helps support the program, describes the effort "as a magnet for tomorrow’s leaders — those already at Rice, as well as students considering attending Rice."

• The Jesse Jones Leadership Center Summer in D.C. Policy Research Internship Program enables undergraduates to undertake substantive research, and many alumni of the program have later received Rhodes, Fulbright and Watson scholarships.
  
• The French Institute of International Relations internship program pairs Rice undergraduates with research fellows on subjects as diverse as Asian studies and the European Union.
• The Baker Institute Energy Forum sponsors undergraduate internships that promote sustainability in developing countries. Under faculty supervision, interns conduct community-level assessments to identify energy, environmental, technological, health and educational adaptations that, when implemented, provide improved, sustainable and cost-effective adaptive capacity. Internship locations include Maseru, Lesotho, as well as Mexico and Morocco.
• The institute sponsors a student-led initiative on public diplomacy and global policymaking in the 21st century. For a week in June, 10 Rice undergraduates will travel to the American University in Cairo and open a research-driven dialogue with AUC students on issues of mutual interest in Egypt and the United States. Key topics to be addressed include education, mass media, women’s rights and cross-cultural communication.
• The Space Policy Program recently launched its Moscow Summer Intern Program, which encourages engineering and science students from different countries to work together and establish a foundation for future international collaborations. The inaugural class visited the Youth Space Center of Bauman Moscow State Technical University to participate in its annual international workshop, “Space Development: Theory and Practice.”

Students on campus also have multiple opportunities to engage first-hand with institute scholars and staff. Undergraduates are invited to apply for research and administrative internships at the institute. Graduate students are also encouraged to explore policy-related opportunities at the Baker Institute.

In addition, the Baker Institute Student Forum allows Rice undergraduates the chance to create institute-supported, public policy events to engage the wider student body. Recent guests have included U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas. Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Jr. and World Bank President Robert Zoellick also had private meetings with student forum participants.