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Ichimore Student Research Award

The 21st Century China Center is pleased to announce the establishment of the Ichimore Student Research Award (ISRA). This Award is generously funded by The Hong Kong Tohkin International Company through UC San Diego alumnus Wayne Rong, class of 2002. 

About the award

ISRA supports research activities by current UC San Diego students (individuals or groups) that are focused on the study of mainland China, Taiwan and overseas Chinese communities. The subject matter can include politics, economy, society and culture, and international relations. Applications will be accepted from any discipline, and preference will be given to graduate students for projects on the post-1949 period.

ISRA award can be used to offset expenses incurred for piloting a survey, collecting data, or organizing research activities such as thesis workshops or methodology discussions that are important for the students’ research. Students may receive awards as a stipend or reimbursement for the cost of the proposed research activities. ISRA is generally not a travel grant for attending conferences or research workshops outside of San Diego.

Application Process

The amount of award will range from $500-$2,000 per project. Each application should list the names of two faculty members as references. No recommendation letter is necessary, but the faculty sponsor may be contacted for further information about the proposed project.

There are two application cycles in each academic year. Applications are to be reviewed in the order they are received until the funds are exhausted. The proposed project should take place within twelve months of receiving the award.

  • Fall deadline: Oct. 15 – Dec. 1
  • Spring deadline: March 15 – May 1

Students must submit the following information via an online application form:

  1. Project description (no more than 500 words), including timetable and activities
  2. Budget estimate and justification
  3. Curriculum vitae/resume of project leader(s)
  4. Names and contact information for the faculty sponsors

2023 Application

Please use this online form to submit your application. The center will consider applications on a rolling deadline basis until funds are exhausted for each calendar year.

After you submit an application, please notify our staff by sending an email.

Current Awardees

Elite Ideological Positions and Support of Democracy in China
Investigator Ziwen (Gary) Zu, Ph.D. candidate in political science, examines how ideology affects middle class attitudes towards the rule of law and democracy in China. 

The Political Economy of Trade and Investment Restrictions in High-Tech Sectors
Sichen Li, Ph.D. candidate in Political Science, studies the origins of national-security-based investment and trade restrictions on high-tech sectors in the U.S. and China. 

Past Awardees

Friend or Foe: The Political Construction of International Threats (2022)
Investigator Nicholas M. Smith, Ph.D. candidate in political science, studies how leaders strategically construct the images of foreign actors for domestic political purposes and the effect this has on foreign policy behavior.

Ambiguous Delegations, Executive Factions and Lawmaking in China (2021)
Investigator Jiying Jiang, Ph.D. candidate in political science, studied legislative and post-legislative policymaking in China and the logic behind ambiguous delegations by authoritarian governments.

Changing Public Opinions as Reflected in China’s Microblog Platform (2021)
Investigator Yang (Leo) Yang, Ph.D. candidate in political science, examined Chinese citizens’ microblog posts as a way to understand the changing public opinions in China.

China’s Rise and Foreign Policy Revisionism in the Era of Pandemic Politics: Evidence from a Survey Experiment (2020)
Investigators D.G. (Daegyeong) Kim and Sichen Li, Political Science Ph.D. students fielded a follow-up survey experiment to their study “COVID-19 and Chinese Public Opinion on U.S.-China Relations.”

Regulating Culture: a Study of Music Censorship in China (2020)
Investigator Ke Nie, a Sociology Ph.D. student, conducted a case study of censorship of Chinese hip-hop using an original dataset of over 20,000 songs to understand how production strategies respond to political economic dynamics.