Research and Resources
The center supports the UM Freedom Studies minor, features public events, offers student scholarships, and sponsors faculty research.
The Declaration of Independence Center for the Study of American Freedom hosted U.S. Senators Tim Scott and Roger Wicker for a discussion of the state of American democracy and the importance of restoring faith in the country.
Research
The Declaration of Independence Center supports research by hosting a reading group, hiring Postdoctoral Research Associate and Visiting Researchers, and funding research activity across the State of Mississippi
The Declaration of Independence Center Reading Group
The Declaration of Independence Center hosts an interdisciplinary American Freedom and Community reading group made up of faculty, students, and community members interested in American republican institutions, the struggles that created and enhanced them, and the great thinkers and ideas that continue to shape their development. The readings are participant-chosen, and are often drawn from the Declaration of Independence Center Research Guide. If you are interested in joining the reading group, please send a request to freedom@olemiss.edu.
Postdoctoral Research Associates and Visiting Researchers
The Declaration of Independence Center seeks to bring excellent scholars and researchers to the State of Mississippi. Our current list of scholars and researchers can be found here. If you, or someone you know, would be interested in joining the Declaration of Independence Center, please do not hesitate to reach out to the Director of the Declaration of Independence Center, Dr. Steven Skultety.
Faculty Research
The Declaration Center is planning to fund research, and research-related activity, across the State of Mississippi. Details of when and how to apply will be provided soon.
Additional Internships, Fellowships, and Opportunities
The Center for the Study of American Freedom curates a comprehensive list of internships, fellowships, and other opportunities related to American freedom, providing students with a centralized resource for exploring various academic and experiential learning opportunities in this field.
- American Enterprise Institute Internships, American Enterprise Institute - The American Enterprise Institute’s internships give students an opportunity to learn directly from some of America’s most renowned scholars and nonprofit leaders who are advancing the conversation on today’s prominent public policy issues. AEI provides an intellectually stimulating environment, rich with critical thinking, scholarship, and lively debate.
- ATR Internship Program, Americans for Tax Reform - Americans for Tax Reform offers the chance to work alongside some of the best political advocates in Washington, as well as the opportunity for increasing responsibility. Interns are assigned to work on policy issues side by side with members of our staff. As a key part of the ATR team, interns work on projects such as the Taxpayer Protection Pledge and tax battles across the country.
- Cato Institute Internships, Cato Institute - The Cato Institute is one of the world’s leading libertarian think tanks and one of the most prominent public policy research organizations in the country. Cato’s prestigious internship program offers interns the opportunity to develop hands‐on research experience while learning professional skills and building their professional network.
- Development Intern, Institute for Justice - The Institute for Justice—the National Law Firm for Liberty—seeks a trustworthy, detail-oriented intern to assist with a variety of fundraising tasks for the summer season. In this position, interns assist in fighting government abuse and overreach by helping our team engage with our donors via thank you letters, cultivate new donors through online research, and help maintain our database and in-house files.
- Internship Program, The Fund for American Studies - The Fund for American Studies (TFAS) hosts Washington, D.C.-based Academic Internship Programs for undergraduate students each summer. TFAS programs include academic credit from George Mason University, an internship placement and furnished housing in the heart of Washington, D.C. Students participate in a variety of exclusive guest lectures, site briefings as well as professional development and networking events. TFAS students leave Washington with 250+ hours of professional experience, an expanded network of contacts, and a greater understanding of the variety of career opportunities.
- National Journalism Center Internship, National Journalism Center - Since 1977, the National Journalism Center has trained aspiring journalists in the values of responsible, balanced, and accurate reporting. We’re training a new generation of leaders to bring balance to the media. The program is dedicated to reviving objectivity in the news media landscape.
- Paid Internship, Media Research Center - The MRC’s paid internship is the premier program for students looking to advance their career in conservative media. Interns work alongside industry professionals to play an active role in accomplishing the MRC’s mission: expose and neutralize left-wing media bias.
- Strategic Research Internship, Institute for Justice - The Institute for Justice is the nation’s leading libertarian public interest law firm, litigating to defend property rights, economic liberty, First Amendment freedoms and school choice. The Institute for Justice seeks a paid research intern for its strategic research program at the Arlington, Va. headquarters. The internship will include data collection and analysis for research projects. The ideal candidate will have facility in mining online databases and data sources, the ability to create and manipulate spreadsheets, and persistence and good judgment in soliciting information and data from state and non-profit agencies.
- Summer Internships, Witherspoon Institute - Witherspoon facilitates rigorous study of classical intellectual traditions, constructive engagement with contemporary cultural issues, and serious reflection on life’s fundamental philosophical questions. In this way, Witherspoon enables students and cultural leaders to embrace their responsibility as free moral agents to decide how best to lead lives of service and meaning.
- Washington-Hillsdale Internship Program, Hillsdale College - The Washington-Hillsdale Internship Program (WHIP) provides Hillsdale College undergraduates the opportunity to participate in academically intensive, semester-long internships or teaching apprenticeships in Washington, D.C., while continuing their Hillsdale education. WHIP is open to Hillsdale sophomores, juniors, and seniors of all majors. All WHIP students must have completed Politics 101, “The U.S. Constitution,” prior to leaving for D.C.
- 1789 Fellowship in American Political Thought & Modern Practice, American Enterprise Institute - The 1789 Fellowship is open to recent college graduates; young professionals working in politics, education, nonprofit, and related spheres; and graduate students studying politics, history, law, liberal arts, or with a demonstrated interest in these and related fields. We welcome applicants ages 21 through 30.
- The Academy, The Heritage Foundation - Conservatives in all life stages are faced with ever-increasing challenges to our values—in our schools, communities, universities, professions, states, and nation. Countering the assault on our beliefs requires being armed with a firm understanding of our nation’s founding principles and a solid grasp of today’s most urgent public policy issues. Join The Heritage Foundation’s Academy for the knowledge and network you need to defend your views, win the battle of ideas, and return self-governance to the American people.
- Dave Kennedy Fellowship, Institute for Justice - The Institute for Justice recruits only the most talented law students from across the country for its summer fellowship program. The program offers an unparalleled professional opportunity to substantively contribute to active and future strategic litigation in both state and federal courts. During their summers, law students work closely with IJ attorneys to develop litigation strategies and assist in the nuts and bolts of cutting-edge civil rights litigation, including propounding and responding to discovery requests, drafting motions and briefs, and preparing for hearings.
- Don Lavoie Fellowship, Mercatus Center - The Don Lavoie Fellowship is a competitive, renewable, and online fellowship program for advanced undergraduates, recent graduates, and early-stage graduate students. Fellowships are open to students from any discipline who are interested in studying key ideas in political economy and learning how to utilize these ideas in academic and policy research.
- First Liberty Fellowship, Center for Religion, Culture, and Democracy - The First Liberty Fellowship is ideal for high achieving students who aspire to work for federal, state, or local governments, as well as those who want to pursue a career related to public policy, lobbying, or think tank research.
- Frédéric Bastiat Fellowship, Mercatus Center - The Frédéric Bastiat Fellowship is a one-year, competitive fellowship program awarded to graduate students attending master’s, juris doctoral, and doctoral programs in a variety of fields including economics, law, political science, and public policy.
- ISI Honors Program, Intercollegiate Studies Institute - The ISI Honors Program is a highly selective undergraduate fellowship that takes you deep into the traditions of liberty. It’s an intellectually immersive experience like no other.
- James Wilson Fellowship, James Wilson Institute - The James Wilson Institute’s Mission is to restore to a new generation of lawyers, judges, and citizens the understanding of the American Founders about the first principles of our law and the moral grounds of their own rights.
- John Jay Fellows Program, John Jay Institute - The best and brightest of tomorrow’s culture-shapers come here. They come to develop a vision for flourishing human societies, and the intellectual, spiritual, and professional training to make them effective leaders who can help others realize that vision. And they leave as members of a professional fraternity of alumni that facilitates their strategic placement, continued growth, and lasting impact on American culture.
- Journalism Internships and Fellowships, Intercollegiate Studies Institute - We place students who are seriously considering a journalism career in positions that offer writing opportunities at some of the nation’s leading publications. Our yearlong fellowships provide recent graduates who are looking to begin their careers in media with a full year of professional journalism experience—paid. Our paid summer internships provide current college students with the opportunity to explore a media career for ten weeks.
- Maffucci Fellowship, Institute for Justice - The Institute for Justice, the national law firm for liberty, is seeking candidates for its highly selective Maffucci Fellowship program. Fellows work closely with IJ’s activism and coalitions team, which fights to change the world at the grassroots through outreach, community organizing, training, coalition building, and public demonstrations—a unique brand of activism that reaches new communities with the message of freedom.
- North Mississippi VISTA Project, McLean Institute for Public Service and Community Engagement - VISTA members dedicate one year of full-time national service to build sustainable systems that connect the University of Mississippi to underserved communities throughout an 11-county area in North Mississippi. By developing new, meaningful, and sustainable connections between UM and partner schools and nonprofits, VISTAs build capacity to move Mississippians toward academic success, higher education, economic stability, and healthy lifestyles.
- Oskar Morgenstern Fellowship, Mercatus Center - The Oskar Morgenstern Fellowship is a one-year, competitive fellowship program awarded to graduate students with training in quantitative methods who are attending PhD programs from any university in a variety of fields including economics, political science and sociology.
- The Publius Fellowship, Claremont Institute - Every summer, the Claremont Institute brings together a selective group of promising young conservatives to study the distinctive moral and political principles of the American constitutional order. In over forty intensive daily seminars and relaxed evening symposia, Publius Fellows discuss political philosophy and American government with distinguished scholars.
- Saratoga Fellows Program, John Jay Institute - The John Jay Institute’s Saratoga Fellows Program is the leadership “topoff” that best prepares young military officers to live out their faith in a thoughtful, compelling and winsome way while serving their country in uniform. For those officers wanting to positively influence military culture for the good of the nation, this program is an unparalleled experience.
- Shaftesbury Fellowship, Center for Religion, Culture, and Democracy - The Shaftesbury Fellowship provides an opportunity for prospective graduate students to develop their understanding and deepen their specialized expertise in a variety of academic fields including theology, philosophy, politics, law, economics, and history.
- Leadership Academy, Mississippi Center for Public Policy - The Mississippi Leadership Academy is a five-part program designed to equip college students, high school seniors, and young professionals with the skills and knowledge necessary to be effective change agents in our state. Upon graduation, students will have made connections with student peers, as well as our states’ preeminent thought leaders, and will graduate better prepared to defend American principles, enter the workforce, and lead.
- Savanah Seminar, Center for Religion, Culture, and Democracy - The CRCD’s Savannah Seminar provides students the opportunity to explore a wide range of topics related to the American founding, democratic ideals, and the important role that religious ideas and institutions play in the development of free and flourishing societies. The Savannah Seminar is designed primarily for upper-level undergraduate students, although outstanding recent graduates and other students are welcome to apply. Students can be enrolled in any field of study, but will want to make sure to have exposure to the humanities and social sciences. Successful applicants will be high-performing with excellent letters of recommendations and writing samples. All accepted participants will receive a travel stipend to cover airfare as well as all lodging, meals, and program materials in Savannah.
- The Steve and Amy Van Andel Graduate School of Government, Hillsdale College - To extend its unique teaching mission to our nation’s leaders, Hillsdale College founded its Steve and Amy Van Andel Graduate School of Government in Washington, D.C. Students are educated in the first principles of politics and how they apply in practice to the perennial challenge of restoring constitutional self-government in the United States.
- Summer Seminars, Witherspoon Institute - Witherspoon facilitates rigorous study of classical intellectual traditions, constructive engagement with contemporary cultural issues, and serious reflection on life’s fundamental philosophical questions. In this way, Witherspoon enables students and cultural leaders to embrace their responsibility as free moral agents to decide how best to lead lives of service and meaning.