Stanford Medicine’s Center for Population Health Sciences (PHS) is seeking student research interns (masters-level preferred, undergraduate considered) to support a local-level (e.g.: county, municipal, school district) legal mapping and policy surveillance project. This project will identify, collect, catalog, and code policies developed and/or implemented by Northern California localities, and that are hypothesized to contribute to structural/systemic racism (racism embedded within and across our society’s social systems). The project is responding to the needs of a PHS partnership with local health jurisdictions in Northern California, and the project deliverables will be used over the next few years to guide policy and program actions to address structural/systemic racism. Datasets will ultimately be published on LawAtlas.org, a policy surveillance tool that maps and compares laws across jurisdictions and over time to improve population health. Longer-term opportunities to continue work on the project are possible.

Internship details:

• Pay will reflect Stanford University recommended rates
• Ideally, candidates are able to begin working immediately, in March 2024. The projected project length will be 3 months; extensions will be considered pending funding
• Remote work; ability to attend meetings in Pacific Time zone is required
• Positions are open to currently matriculated students or recent graduates of a master’s-level (e.g.: MPH, MS) in public health, policy, or other relevant fields. Outstanding candidates enrolled in or recently graduated from an undergraduate program in a relevant field are eligible. Others with relevant and equivalent experience are also encouraged to apply.  

Successful applicants should have:

• Experience with desk research, ideally studying policies
• Familiarity and interest in structural/systemic racism
• Demonstrated organizational skills and strong attention to detail
• Demonstrated ability to work with others as part of a team
• Strong computer skills, including experience with Microsoft Office Suite  

Activities to be undertaken:

• Identifying secondary sources of legal data and conducting basic legal research
• Collect and analyze statutory and regulatory law to create quantitative legal datasets 
• Collaborate with other project team members to perform other research tasks as assigned
• Summarizing findings, issues, and information in written reports, research protocols, and other supplementary materials  

Minimum qualifications:

• Ability to identify, access, and analyze data from online databases (e.g.: WestLaw, LexisNexis, HeinOnline, web-hosted legislative websites)
• Ability to independently conduct scientific literature reviews and secondary desk research (e.g. identifying appropriate keywords to search for sources of data online, analyze legal documents)  

Desired qualifications:

• Domain-specific knowledge of at least one social (e.g.: education, employment, health care, housing, income/wealth, police/carceral, political system) system