The PRLF application opens in the fall for the following academic year. Interviews are conducted in the winter, and offers are made in the early spring semester. The next application period will open in Fall 2025 for the 2026-27 cohort.

All full-time UIUC graduate students whose departments allow them to take 50% RA positions are eligible to participate in the Policy and Research Legislative Program. Public policy is an interdisciplinary field and students from a variety of areas – including, for example, education, economics, law, political science, information sciences, food science and human nutrition, and social work – are encouraged to apply. No prior policy research experience is required.

Student researchers receive up to a 50% (20 hours per week) graduate student appointment for the semester(s) (e.g., Summer, Fall, and Spring) they participate in the program.

Placements are at legislators’ local district offices; each student researcher will coordinate with their supervisor regarding work hours and locations (including hybrid remote options). Please direct any questions to Elsa Augustine (elsaa@illinois.edu).