Research Assistantship Opportunities at the National 

Institute of Justice 

Informational Webinar 

RAP Fiscal Year 2021 – 2022 

APPLICATION DEADLINE: 12/23/2020 

November 12, 2020 
 

Today’s Panelists 

Danielle Crimmins, M.S. Angela M. Moore, PhD, MPA 

Senior Science Advisor Jessica Norton, M.S. Doctoral Candidate, Purdue Social and Behavioral Scientist Doctoral Candidate, Auburn University University 

Research Assistant (Contractor) Research Assistantship Program (RAP) Research Assistant (Contractor) 

Manager 
 

National Institute of Justice 

Who we are: 

• NIJ is the research, development and evaluation agency

of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Our Mission: 

• Dedicated to improving knowledge and understanding of

crime and justice issues through science.
 

 

Overview of NIJ 

• Office of the Director

• NIJ has two research offices:

• Office of Research Evaluation and Technology

• Office of Investigative and Forensic Sciences

• Office of Operations and Communications

• Office of Grants Management
 

 

 

Purpose of the RAP 

• Build a talent pipeline by nurturing and growing a pool of researchers 

involved in criminal justice research. 

• Provide doctoral students with practical and applied research 

experience. 

• Afford doctoral students an opportunity to learn firsthand how science 

can inform policy. 
Benefits of RAP 

• Work with the only federal agency in the U.S. solely dedicated

to criminal justice (CJ) research, development, testing, and

evaluation

• Career development for doctoral students wanting to bridge

their science to criminal justice

• Ability to network with federal, regional, state, tribal, and local

partners and stakeholders

• Funding
 

Eligibility Requirements 

At application deadline 

• U.S. citizen or a permanent U.S. resident

• Enrolled in a research-based doctoral program at an

accredited U.S. university

After Acceptance 

• Successful completion and approval of all required U.S.

Department of Justice Background checks
 

Application Requirements 

• Statement of Interest

• Public Safety Challenge Essay

• Resume/CV

• Writing sample of a scientific paper

• Unofficial Transcript

• Letter of Recommendation

• List of References

Work with your Graduate Program Director (GPD) to submit

your application electronically 
 

 

Application Process 

• Applications reviewed by NIJ Science Staff

• NIJ Director (or designee) approval

• Decisions Made in April

• Contact GPDs & candidates with intentions of acceptance

• Positions begin in September 2021
 

 

Work Product Examples 

• Develop and maintain measurement and study databases

• Conduct quantitative analyses and produce peer reviewed journal articles

• Conduct qualitative interviews and focus groups, code data, and draft

technical reports for NIJ intramural studies

• Co-present on NIJ-sponsored webinars and presentations

• Co-author NIJ Journal articles, book chapters, summaries, briefs, reports

to Congress, and white papers
 

 

 

 

 

Prohibited Work 

• Research Assistants (RAs) will not supplant clerical support, grant,

cooperative agreement, or contract processing or awards, study

management, or any other federal employee responsibility

• RAs cannot have access to proprietary or government classified or

sensitive documents/systems

• RAs cannot attend certain “Fed-only” meetings
 

Work Schedule 

• RAs are expected to be onsite at NIJ

• RAs establish work schedule and finalize work-plan with

assigned Project Officers and RAP manager

• RAs follow their university calendar

• RAs do not work for NIJ on federal holidays or any other time

when the federal government is “closed”

• One year placement*
Ideal Candidate 

• Strong reasoning ability

• Advanced communication skills

• Strong writing skills

• Solid analytical, statistical, and methods knowledge

• Specialized training in a topic area
 

 

 

Supervision of Work 

• RAs are supervised/employed by their University, not NIJ

• Onsite management

• RAP Manager

• Project Officer

• RAs plan and schedule their own work based on

approved work plans

• NIJ provides all sponsoring GPDs with mid-year and

annual reviews of RAs
 

 

 

 

 

RAP Funding 

• Stipend

• Students work 20 to 30 hours a week during the academic year

• 9.5 months or 12 months

• Tuition Remission

• Up to 20 credits per academic year for research assistants who

work for NIJ during the academic year only, or up to 24 credits

per calendar year for research assistants who work for NIJ

throughout the calendar year

• Health Benefits through University

• Approved Travel and Training
 

 

For More Information 

Visit the RAP webpage at: 

https://nij.ojp.gov/funding/nijs-research-assistantship-program 

Or contact us at: 

NIJ_RAP@usdoj.gov 

APPLICATION DEADLINE: 12/23/2020 

WORK WITH YOUR UNIVERISTY TO GET YOUR 

APPLICATION IN SOON! 
 

Questions? 

Please submit questions using the Q&A box and selecting all panelists. 

Danielle Crimmins, M.S. Angela M. Moore, PhD, MPA Jessica Norton, M.S. 

Doctoral Candidate, Purdue Senior Science Advisor Doctoral Candidate, Auburn 

University Social and Behavioral Scientist University 

Research Assistant (Contractor) Research Assistantship Program (RAP) Research Assistant (Contractor) Manager 
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