Apply to the Fritz Fellowship

For current Georgetown students enrolled in a masters program.
Subject to Graduate Research Assistant (GAGE) agreements

Brennan Schaffner (KGI, CCT), Peter Chapman (KGI), Meg Jones (CCT), and Leticia Bode (KGI,CCT) are hiring a Graduate Fritz Family Fellow to join their research project titled “Mapping the Use of Empirical Evidence in Digital Platform Litigation.” We are seeking a student pursuing a JD, MA, or MS, with familiarity with legal cases and technology.

This student position will work directly with a postdoctoral researcher to conduct research to advance a project that seeks to better understand how, when, how much, what kind, and under what circumstances empirical research is integrated into tech policy litigation in the United States with an emphasis on federal courts.

While there are dozens of entities that engage in tech policymaking, the project will examine the role of litigation, including consumer protection and product liability claims as well as challenges to social media and digital platform regulation, including platform design codes and transparency mandates. Through this analysis, the project seeks to clarify the role of empirical research in judicial processes and inform future scholarship, policy, and design related to platform accountability. Specific project aims related to this goal include understanding:

What research is cited in briefs for digital platform claims in different types of federal cases?

What research is cited in amicus briefs for digital platform claims in different types of federal cases?

What are the attributes of that research?

How have courts used (or not used) that research?

Has it been ignored, incorporated, interpreted, determinative, emphasized, etc?

CONTENT WARNING: some of the case materials may contain disturbing content, including descriptions or images of harm to minors.

The successful candidate should be available for some in-person engagements on the Capitol Campus and occasionally the main campus, though much of the work can be completed remotely.

The candidate will work between 10 and 20 hours a week during the school year, depending on the needs of the team and the schedule of the candidate.

To apply to this job, please submit the following materials through the appropriate GMS student job posting (undergraduate, masters, law) by August 15, 2026 and make sure to name the files: “PROJECT NAME_(resume,cover letter,etc)_Last name, first initial.”
Resume
Cover Letter
Unofficial Transcript
Other: A writing sample (optional)

Note that we will be reviewing applications on a rolling basis as they come in, and the position may be filled prior to the deadline.

Ideal candidates for this research project will have…
● excellent communication, research, and writing skills,
● the ability to work independently,
● attention to detail,
● the ability to work on and appropriately prioritize multiple tasks simultaneously,
● experience with summarizing legal materials (preferred), and
● experience with translating research for a policy audience (preferred)
● familiarity with contemporary tech litigation landscape (preferred)

Beyond the project specific requirements, all Fritz Family Fellows are
required to:
● Participate in four required events over the year: Fall Orientation, Fall Workshop, Spring Workshop, Annual Conference
● Attend at least one event hosted by each of the two contributing programs you work with.
● Check in with the Fritz Fellows Coordinator every 1–2 months.
● Write an end-of-year reflection on the fellowship program.

Hours per Week: 10–20
Anticipated Start Date: August 31, 2026
$23.34/hr or the current the GAGE pay rate
Hybrid — all remote work must be performed within the DMV area

For current Georgetown students enrolled in a masters program.
Subject to Graduate Research Assistant (GAGE) agreements

Prof. Meg Leta Jones (Communication, Culture & Technology) and Prof. Emily Tucker (Georgetown Law Privacy Center) are hiring a Masters Fritz Family Fellow to join their research project titled “Cartooning Technology Policy.”

Cartooning Technology Policy is a production-focused project that creates original comics and visual works translating complex technology policy research into accessible, shareable formats. The fellowship pairs CCT’s expertise in visual communication and policy cartooning with the Privacy Center’s empirical research on surveillance, platform governance, and civil liberties, with a particular emphasis on AI governance, platform and network regulation, and technology litigation. The fellows will produce three types of visual output — graphic reports and research, single-panel comics, and/or illustrated regulatory and litigation dispatches — published across the Center for Digital Ethics Substack, Science Politics, and other venues.

Fellows will review research relevant to technology policy, primary policy and legal materials across areas of interest, develop an individual visual style in dialogue with the mentors, and produce original visual work on an iterative feedback cycle responsive to the policy and litigation calendar. The team will meet with other Tech & Society organizations to develop a range of projects. Responsibilities of fellows include drafting and revising comics and graphic explainers, producing timely illustrated dispatches tied to hearings, decisions, and regulatory announcements as they occur, attending relevant Georgetown workshops and briefings, and helping plan and present at a joint CCT/Privacy Center showcase in Spring 2027.

To apply to this job, please submit the following materials through the appropriate GMS student job posting (undergraduate, masters, law) and make sure to name the files:

“PROJECT NAME_(resume,cover letter,etc)_Last name, first initial.”:
Resume
Cover Letter
Portfolio or examples of your art

Ideal candidates for this research project will…
● Have drawing, cartooning, or visual art skills, formal or self-taught;
● Have research skills sufficient to independently read, synthesize, and visually represent primary legal and policy documents;
● Be able to manage a production workflow with iterative deadlines and editorial feedback;

● Preferred: experience or interest in technology policy, privacy law, civil liberties, sustainability, labor or related topics;
● Preferred: familiarity with digital illustration tools (Procreate, Clip Studio Paint, Adobe Illustrator, or equivalent) Beyond the project specific requirements, all Fritz Family Fellows are required to:
● Participate in four required events over the year: Fall Orientation, Fall Workshop, Spring Workshop, Annual Conference
● Attend at least one event hosted by each of the two contributing programs you work with.
● Check in with the Fritz Fellows Coordinator every 1–2 months.
● Write an end-of-year reflection on the fellowship program.

Hours per Week: 5–15

Term: Academic Year 2026-2027
Anticipated Start Date: August 31, 2026
$23.34/hr or the current the GAGE pay rate
Hybrid — all remote work must be performed within the DMV area

For current Georgetown students enrolled in an undergraduate program.
Research project: Students Under Surveillance

The Fritz Family Fellowship is a unique program that is designed to be interdisciplinary from the ground up. Each research project is co-designed and mentored by faculty from at least two different parts of the campus, building multiple disciplines into the foundation of the research. Building on expertise from across Tech & Society, the Fritz Family Fellowship aims to cultivate the next generation of leaders with expertise in the social impacts of technology, and build a network of public interest technologists who learn from and support each other’s work.

Emily Tucker (Center on Privacy and Technology) and Brienne Adams (Center for Digital Ethics) are hiring an Undergraduate Fritz Family Fellow to join their research project titled “STUDENTS UNDER SURVEILLANCE.”

The Students Under Surveillance (S.U.S.) project explores the extent to which colleges and universities are surveilled spaces and the impact this has on student organizing and dissent. Colleges have increasingly become heavily policed environments with a growing dependence on digital infrastructure. As a consequence, institutions of higher learning are now being treated as an opportunity for the interposition of comprehensive surveillance systems resulting in a new era of suppression. This shift threatens to stifle critical thought, marginalize dissent, and erode the trust and freedom necessary for real learning and meaningful intellectual discourse. Ultimately, this project seeks to uncover how surveillance technologies and policies influence not only campus life but also interact with broader societal trends in governance, security, and dissent.

The fellow will conduct research on digital surveillance technologies, synthesize public records documents, law review and academic texts, and interview transcripts, and will collaborate closely with other staff and students at the Privacy Center and Center for Digital Ethics.

In order to apply to this job, please submit the following through the GMS posting by August 15, 2026:

• Resume
• Cover Letter
• Unofficial Transcript

Ideal candidates for this research project will have…

• excellent communication, research, and writing skills.
• a demonstrated interest in surveillance technologies, free speech & first amendment issues
• the ability to work independently and as part of a remote team

Beyond the project specific requirements, all Fritz Family Fellows are required to:

• Participate in four required events over the year: Fall Orientation, Fall Workshop, Spring Workshop, Annual Conference
• Attend at least one event hosted by each of the two contributing programs you work with.
• Check in with the Fritz Fellows Coordinator every 1–2 months.
• Write an end-of-year reflection on the fellowship program.
  

10-15 Hours per week

August 31, 2026 Anticipated Start Date

Wage: $18.50/hr

Hybrid Work