RESEARCH FELLOWS
Research Fellows
The Center for European Studies’ CES Research Fellows program is a research assistantship initiative that pairs undergraduate students with CES faculty members who are interested in working with students on current research projects. The program provides a unique opportunity for students to gain research experience while learning the research methodologies of various academic disciplines and approaches. Research opportunities with the Center are available in both the social sciences and humanities fields, allowing students from a range of departments the chance to gain experience that will prepare them for future academic pursuits whether it be the University or CLAS Scholars programs, an honors thesis, or graduate school.
Students will gain hands on research experience in one of the wide range of projects currently pursued by CES faculty. In addition, students will gain a deeper understanding of research methods, practice in public speaking through the end-of-term workshop presentations, networking skills from monthly meetings with faculty and professionals in academics, and improved analytical proficiency through reviews and critical analysis of program-related talks and panels.
CES Research Fellows program is open to students in all departments and any class standing (i.e. Freshmen, Sophomore, Junior, Senior). CES cannot guarantee that all applicants will be assigned to a faculty project.
Students will be enrolled in EUS 4911 the semester of their fellowship. The course is taken for 3 credits. A zero-credit option is available for students who wish to participate but do not wish to earn credit, but will still be expected to complete the same number of weekly hours as students receiving credit.
For more information, please see the program overview
Requirements
- 9-weekly research hours
- Regular meetings with faculty mentor to review progress
- End-of-semester research presentation
- Attendance at monthly fellows meeting
Apply
Application Form: Click here to access
Required Documents:Before filling out the form, please prepare the following to successfully submit your application:
- Resume or CV: Ensure it is updated and ready for upload.
- Statement of Purpose (1 page): This should include the following:
- Your reasons for applying for the CES Research Fellows program
- Faculty research projects of interest (if applicable)
- What you hope to gain from the experience
- Any previous research experience
STUDENT APPLICATION:
DUE FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2026 11:59 PM
Priority Deadline: Friday, April 24, 2026 11:59 pm`
There are limited opportunities to be paired with a faculty. Some faculty will hire fellows for Fall 2026 as early as the first week of May 2026. If you submit by the priority deadline, you may have a better chance of getting accepted and arranging a meeting with a faculty mentor.
Application Form: Click here to access
FACULTY MENTORSHIP APPLICATION:
DUE MONDAY, MARCH 30, 2026 11:59 PM
CES Faculty and CES Affiliate Faculty Application Form: Click here to access
Fall 2026 Faculty Projects
| Faculty | Research Project Overview | Research Fellow Tasks |
| Edit Nagy | Professor Nagy’s project examines youth organizations in Central and Eastern Europe during the late socialist period from the 1960s onward. State-sponsored groups such as the Young Pioneers and national youth leagues were created to engage young people in civic, educational, and social activities from elementary school through higher education. The project explores how government youth programs attempted to shape social behavior, participation, and youth culture, and why many of these organizations gradually lost their appeal among younger generations. By examining the relationship between youth institutions and everyday life, the study contributes to a broader understanding of generational change, social participation, and youth culture in late twentieth-century Central Europe (excluding the USSR). | -Literature reviews -Summarize key scholarly articles, book chapters, and historical sources -Review selected audiovisual and documentary materials -Organize research materials -Reading knowledge of Czech, Slovak, Polish, Hungarian, Romanian, or German is helpful but not required. |
| Alexander Panayotov | Dr. Panayotov will develop a course that covers the international law of economic coercion. This course will cover various legal aspects of economic coercion: jurisdiction, trade wars, embargoes, sanctions, investment and currency wars, and sectoral non-specific economic warfare. | – Reading and Summarizing articles – Other research duties as needed |
| Asli Baysal | Dr. Baysal is conducting a research project focused on the financial resource curse linked to EU funds in member states experiencing democratic backsliding. Research fellows will help Dr. Baysal search for instances (newspaper articles, reports by EU institutions, scholarly literature) where economic growth and improvement have aligned with the tactics of authoritarian-leaning regimes that subtly redirect these funds to maintain power and undermine liberal democratic norms. While knowledge of Hungarian, Slovakian, Polish, or Czech is beneficial, it is not mandatory. Additionally, support is required for preliminary data collection for a study on incumbents defeated in local elections in backsliding states in Europe, beginning with Turkey, Hungary, and Poland. | – Data collection & analysis – Literature Review – Translation (if applicable) |
| Lenka Bustikova | Lenka Bustikova is engaged in four distinct research projects. The first project examines public support for illiberal civil society in Poland, Hungary, Czechia, and Slovakia. This research focuses on uncovering evidence of church intervention in politics and analyzing the influence of socially conservative advocacy groups on regulatory policies, particularly in the areas of reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, and religious accommodation. The second project investigates public opinion regarding the Azov brigade and the politicization of veterans in Ukraine. This study explores Azov’s role in Ukraine’s self-defense narrative and examines how Russian propaganda leverages Azov to undermine the legitimacy of the current Ukrainian government. The third project explores divergent attitudes toward democracy in Eastern and Western Europe, with particular attention to declining democratic support among young people and the radicalization of young men. The fourth project, currently in its preliminary stages, is an exploratory investigation into individuals, such as oligarchs or illiberal politicians, who have transformed into advocates for democracy. Each project seeks to contribute to a deeper understanding of the complex interplay between political ideologies, public opinion, and societal transformation. | – Data collection & analysis – Literature Review |
| Chrys Kostopoulos | Dr. Kostopoulos is working on two projects. The first project focuses on a historical investigation of mathematical education in the ancient Greco-Roman world, and its impact on the development of certain philosophical and political ideas such as democracy, Platonic theory of the forms, rationalism, teleology, etc. Broadly speaking, it examines mathematics in its “society-shaping” function and its role in the development of important tenets that shaped the ancient Greek and Roman society. The second project, in collaboration with Meletios Pouliopoulos of the Greek Cultural Resources in Boston, focuses on the microhistory of the Rebetika songs both in Greece and in the USA, including history of performers, record labels, dating of recordings, archiving, examination of the socio-political and historical context, etc. | – Literature Review – Data collection & analysis – Data Entry – Translation (if applicable) |
| Agata Kowalewska | Relationship between health, food, and nutrition among Europeans; National, minority, and specific ethnic group foodway and dietary patterns; Broadly understood food safety in Europe and the European Union, from genetically modified organisms to illegal food entering the EU market and consumer-specific food safety behaviors; Food-related legislation of the European Union with focus on the Common Agricultural Policy and the Environment Policy; Effects of Green Deal and other sustainable measures on Europe’s food environment. | – Literature Review – Data collection & analysis – Editing & proofreading |
| Emrah Sahin | Dr. Sahin is working on or beginning research on a wide array of projects relating to political and socio-religious themes in southeast Europe, Turkey, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East from the late Ottoman Empire to the present day. Students may also be asked to help with ongoing projects, which can be found online. Dr. Sahin will move away from daily political matters and dig deeper into original and authentic sources to produce a balanced view of the subject matter and students should be ready to critically and diligently examine various dimensions of the topic under study. | -Data collection and analysis – Literature review – Theoretical analysis -Writing & editing |
Esther Romeyn | I have many interconnected research interests ranging from the politicization of Holocaust memory and its connection to (anti) migration politics; the (meta political) strategies of the far right and the conspiracy theories about migration and white replacement; and I’m interested in the politics of emotion and affect in political discourses connected to these issues. Further sub themes are : antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism. Another research topic is the representation of migration in film; and contemporary urbanism. | – Web based research – Foreign languages like French and German desired but not necessary -Reading and Summarizing articles -Other research duties as needed |
Seth Bernstein | KGB Lab is a research group that explores the history of policing in the Soviet Union with the help of computational tools. Students in the group do a variety of research tasks. The website is here: kgb.lab.ufl.edu | -Read and summarize Soviet police files in Russian -Transcribe information from KGB investigations -Create structured data from Soviet historical documents in Russian/Ukrainian/Georgian and from English-language academic sources |
Guelden Olgun | Guelden Olgun’s research focuses on migration, diaspora, intercultural communication, and contemporary German-speaking cultures, with particular attention to representations of identity, belonging, and cultural exchange in Europe. Her interdisciplinary work engages literature, film, visual culture, and media to explore how migration and transnational experiences shape cultural production and public discourse in German-speaking contexts. She is especially interested in Turkish-German diasporic perspectives, contemporary European cultural narratives, and the role of storytelling and artistic expression in shaping social understanding. Current projects examine migrant and minority voices in Germany as well as cultural representations of gender and identity in contemporary media and performance. Through the CES Research Fellows program, undergraduate students would gain experience in humanities research methods, cultural analysis, media research, bibliography preparation, and academic writing related to European studies and contemporary German culture. | – Analyze visual and cultural materials related to identity and cultural representation – Help organize academic sources, annotations, and bibliographies – Support archival and digital humanities research – Assist with transcription, translation, and close reading of texts – Contribute to presentation preparation and research summaries – Participate in discussions on European cultural studies and contemporary social issues – Help identify teaching and research materials related to German culture and media |
Sharon Austin | I have many interconnected reseearch interests ranging from the politicization of Holocaust memory and its connection to (anti) migration politics; the (meta political) strategies of the far right and the conspiracy theories about migration and white replacement; and I’m interested in the politics of emotion and affect in political discourses connected to these issues. Further sub themes are : antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism. Another research topic is the representation of migration in film; and contemporary urbanism. | – Find articles – Possibly coauthor a chapter on politics and history in France |