Undergraduate Public Policy Competition
About
In fall 2013, the Baker Institute Student Forum hosted its inaugural undergraduate public policy conference. This annual competition allows undergraduates to present their policy solutions for the nation’s pressing issues and interact with policy experts and representatives from the corporate, medical, academic, nonprofit and government spheres.
This year's conference addresses U.S. Environmental Policy . Rice undergraduate students are invited to submit a policy proposal on how to best address existing problems or new opportunities in environmental policy. Six to 10 finalists will be selected to present their policy papers at the Baker Institute to a panel of experts. The top three presenters will receive cash prizes and publication of their papers in the Rice Journal of Public Policy, an undergraduate research publication produced through the Baker Institute.
The submission deadline for the 2024 Public Policy Competition is on February 2, 2024. Submit your policy proposal on how to best address existing problems or new opportunities in American health policy, and you could be one of six to 10 finalists selected to present their policy papers to a panel of experts at the Baker Institute.
Submission Requirements
This competition is open to all full- or part-time students currently enrolled in a bachelor's degree program at Rice University.
Submissions must be between 2,000 and 4,000 words.
All competition submissions should be sent to bisf@rice.edu. Please include your paper as both a Word document and a PDF, if possible. Additionally, please list the names and contact information of all team members.
Key Dates
Submission Deadline: February 2, 2024
Notification of Finalists: March 12, 2024
Competition Date: April 13, 2024
Rules
Either individually or in groups of up to three, submit a 2,000 to 4,000 word proposal on how to best address existing problems or new opportunities in the election and voting policy. Proposals must include an abstract and a cover page (please print the names of the authors on this page only). Text must be Times New Roman, 12-point font and double-spaced. Papers will be accepted through February 2, 2024.
Please contact the Policy Competition Chairs, Vy Luu, at hnl4@rice.edu or Ian Wright, at icw2@rice.edu for any questions about the rulebook or competition.
Click here to sign up for a non-committal interest form
Downloads
Click here for the official 2024 Policy Competition rulebook
Click here for the official 2024 Policy Competition flyer
2022 Public Policy Competition Winners:
Topic: US Election Policy and Democracy Reform
Shalin Mehta and Isaiah Hwang, Addressing Minority Voting Disparities Through the Implementation of Universal Preclearance and Criminal Re-Enfranchisement
Hunter Brown, Syed Murtaza Kazmi, Riya Misra, A Step Forward: The Case for Federal Ranked Choice Voting
Keerthi Bhoda, Andrew Cormack, Nithya Shenoy, The Primary Solution to U.S. Political Partisanship
2021 Public Policy Competition Winners:
Topic: COVID-19 Policy in the United States
Keerthi Bhoda, Leyah Mathew and Soumya Somani, Promoting Food Accessibility and Affordability in Texas
Isaiah Hwang, Addressing the Impacts of HealthCare Racial Discrimination on COVID-19 Health Disparities in Minority Groups
Alex Zhong, Re-thinking Federalism in Healthcare: A Proposal for Centralization of COVID-19 Vaccine Administration Data
2020 Public Policy Competition Winners:
Topic: U.S. Energy Policy in a Global Context
Trisha Gupta and Lisa Lin, Development Finance Policy for Universal Electricity Access
Varun Kukunoor and Serena Shedore, Renewables within Africa: An Analysis of the Power Africa Initiative
Sree Yeluri, Expansion to the Energy Resources Governance Initiative (ERGI): Partnerships with Civil Society Organizations
Click here to view the finalist presentations for the 2020 Policy Competition
2019 Public Policy Competition Winners:
Topic: Health and Technology in the United States
Eliza Martin and Teresa Smith, Addressing Opioid Withdrawal and Treatment for Incarcerated and Formerly-Incarcerated Individuals in West Virginia
Eshaan Patel, Policy Initiatives Addressing Federal Science Research Funding
Annie Chen, Restoring Online Discourse: A Proposal for Increasing US Support for AI-powered Bot-Identification Systems
Click here to read the 2019 finalist papers in the Rice Journal of Public Policy
2018 Public Policy Competition Winners:
Topic: U.S. Foreign Policy in the Western Hemisphere
Maddy Scannell and Connor Rothschild, Addressing the Failures of Food Aid in Haiti
Dylan Dickens, Solar Cookers, Carbon Sequestration, and Haitian Forests: Two Policy Proposals for how the USAID Mission in Haiti can Work to Promote Economic Growth and Security in the Pro-Haitian Framework
Annie Chen, Civilian Oversight Programs: A Proposal for Increasing US Support for Community Oriented Policing in Mexico
Click here to read the 2018 finalist papers in the Rice Journal of Public Policy
2017 Public Policy Competition Winners:
Topic: Healthcare Policy in the United States
Malvika Govil and Rebecca Lopez, Expanding Opportunities for Primary Care Access and Practice in Medically Underserved Areas of Texas
Anjali Bhatla and Cyrus Ghaznavi, A Policy Prescription for Treating High Pharmaceutical Costs
Hannah Todd, Better Care for Children With Medical Complexity
Click here to read the 2017 finalist papers in the Rice Journal of Public Policy