Alice M. and David A. Caputo Award for C-SPAN Archives Research Call for Research Proposals 

Submission Deadline: April 1, 2024 

The Center for C-SPAN Scholarship & Engagement (CCSE) is calling for research paper proposals that use C-SPAN Video Library content including video, audio, text, or indexes to conduct original research in the social sciences. This research award is offered to eligible graduate and undergraduate students at Purdue University West Lafayette campus.

The selected Student Researcher will receive a $2,000 award* for the project and the Faculty Mentor will receive an award of $500. The student chosen for the award will work on their research project and be eligible for directed study credit. At the end of the project, the student must make a presentation on their research paper and work with the professor on exploring publishing opportunities for the paper. The research project must be completed and presented by April 10, 2025.  

Eligibility and Rules 

Student Researcher must:  

• Be enrolled as a full-time graduate or undergraduate student during the time that the research is conducted 
• Work under the supervision of a College of Liberal Arts (CLA) faculty mentor to create and conduct original research and write the final paper 
• Produce a finished research paper 
• Present their research paper to an audience of scholars or in an appropriate classroom setting 

• Research paper presentation should be approximately 15 minutes 
• Examples of acceptable presentation opportunities include: 

• Purdue Undergraduate Research Conference hosted by the Office of Undergraduate Research 
• National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) 
• CCSE Research Conference 

• Midwest Political Science Association 
• Political Science course (prior approval of CCSE Faculty Director required) 

• Explore publishing opportunities for the research paper

Submission Guidelines for Research Proposal 

• The research proposal must include: 

• an abstract of proposed research not to exceed five pages 

• abstract must indicate how the C-SPAN Video Library will be used 

• undergraduate researcher’s current resume 
• a letter of support from the faculty member addressed to Robert Browning, Faculty Director, Center for C-SPAN Scholarship & Engagement at rxb@purdue.edu 

• Submit completed research proposals Robert Browning, Faculty Director at rxb@purdue.edu 
• Proposal Submission Deadline: April 1, 2024 
• Awardee Selection: May 1, 2024.

About Professor David A. Caputo:  

David A. Caputo was a long-term member of the Purdue Political Science Department. He served as head of the department, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, and subsequently served as president of both Hunter College and Pace University. He is married to Alice M. Caputo who received her Master’s degree from Purdue and taught ESL at Happy Hollow Elementary in West Lafayette.  Professor Caputo was instrumental in the creation of the C-SPAN Archives. 

The Center for C-SPAN Scholarship & Engagement is housed in the Brian Lamb School of Communication in the College of Liberal Arts at Purdue University.  

*At the start of the research project $1,000 will be provided to the student and the remainder will be provided upon completion of the finished paper and after presentation of research to an audience of scholars or in an appropriate classroom setting.