Sep14
The Kroc School is committed to supporting students’ professional and career development throughout their academic journey. KROC 502 Pursuing Purpose: Professional Pathways in Peace, Justice, and Social Innovation is a required course that supports students in designing and navigating their career paths with clarity and confidence. Drawing upon design thinking principles, Pursuing Purpose empowers students to develop self-awareness, understand the social impact career landscape, build their professional brand, and create actionable career development plans. While we offer the course every semester, we strongly encourage students to take Pursuing Purpose in their first semester to get a headstart on the professional pathway plans.
Kroc Ambassador Program
The Kroc Ambassador Program is an opportunity for USD Kroc School students to use their leadership, communications, and networking skills to advance the reputation and recruitment efforts of the Kroc School. Kroc Ambassadors are responsible for representing the Kroc School on campus and in the community at large, coordinating recruitment events, and being promoters of the school to current and prospective students.
- Commitment and Responsibilities
- Requirements
- Benefits
- Assist with community building, retention efforts, and recruitment of new students
- Provide ideas and leadership in the area of professional and career development programs and events
- Ambassadors serve as a resource to current, prospective, and admitted students
- Assist the communications and marketing teams with social media content creation and distribution
- Assist in the creation and facilitation of professional development, informational, and recruitment events
- Consult on ways the program can better serve prospective and current students during the year and the summer
- Attending bi-weekly staff meetings and trainings (~8 total/semester)
- Willing to work 1-2 hours or longer for special events
- Be a good role model to prospective and current students with a positive outlook about university life and the Kroc School
- Respond to questions quickly and efficiently
- Adopt a mature and professional approach to conversations
All questions should be directed to Francesca Guidali, Director of Admissions.
Applicants who are newly admitted or are currently enrolled students in a Kroc School in-person or hybrid graduate program (MA in Peace and Justice, MA in Social Innovation, and MS in Conflict Management & Resolution). To apply, the applicant must be in good academic standing.
Students who are selected for a Kroc School GA position will receive $1,396 in funding, which will be applied toward tuition costs during the semester in which they have been selected. Assistantship awards do not cover student fees, books or other expenses.
It is expected that students collaborate for 40 hours per semester. Please note actual hours will vary by position and are typically between 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Students may not work more than 25 hours per week.
Responsibilities will vary by position. Graduate Assistantships are designed to enhance student learning by collaborating with faculty. It is an opportunity to assist in research, the design of pedagogical innovations, or related projects.
The number of GA positions is contingent on faculty demand. Scroll down to the bottom of this page for current openings.
Students will apply directly to the faculty member. Faculty will review applications and make decisions based on the fit between their research and pedagogical interests and the applicant's qualifications.
TBD
Students will be notified no later than two weeks after the deadline.
Kroc students are only allowed one graduate assistantship per semester unless special permission has been granted by Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs, Frances Laviscount.
However, students are allowed to hold a Kroc School Graduate Assistantship and be a Kroc Ambassador.
Yes, contracts are renewable pending faculty invitation.
International students who do not have a Social Security Number (SSN) will not be permitted to start their graduate assistantships until they have one in place. Students can talk to the International Center for guidance on how to secure their SSN.
Kroc Graduate Assistantship Opportunities
- Dr. Austin Choi-Fitzpatrik - Research Assistants (2 Positions)
- Dr. Paula Cordeiro - Fall GAship #1
- Dr. Paula Cordeiro - Fall GAship #2
- Dr. May Farid - Fall GAship
- Dr. Sarah Federman - Fall GAship (TJ Watershed - Industrial Waste & Pesticides)
- Dr. Sarah Federman - Fall GAship (Corporate Reckoning Database)
- Dr. Sarah Federman - Fall GAship (MAPJ Program Development)
- Dr. Philip Gamaghelyan - Fall GAship
- Professor Erin Gavin – Strategic Engagement
- Professor Erin Gavin – Learning Innovation
- Dr. Topher McDougal - Fall GAship
- Marcy Morrison - Fall GAship
- Dr. Dustin Sharp - Fall GAship
- Professor Jake Wild Crea - Fall GAship
- Kroc IPJ - Practice Fellow for Applied Research (starting Fall 2026)
- Kroc IPJ - Practice Fellow for Program Design (starting Fall 2026)
- Kroc IPJ - Practice Fellow for Peace Evaluation (starting January 2027)
- USD Torero Renaissance Scholars Program Graduate Assistant
Dr. Austin Choi-Fitzpatrik - Research Assistants (2 Positions)
NEH Grant: Focusing Policy for Good — AI for Good for the Disability Community
Location: University of San Diego (USD)
Term: Fall 2026 through Spring 2027
Conference Dates (Required Availability): Feb 26-28, 2027
Hours: Up to 10 hours per week, on-campus
Reports To: Austin Choi-Fitzpatrick, Kroc Professor and NEH Grant Co-Recipient
Works Closely With: USD Faculty co-recipients of NEH Grant
Applications: Open now / open until filled
About the Position
The NEH-funded project “Focusing Policy for Good: AI for Good for the Disability Community” is hiring two Research Assistants to help plan and deliver a national convening on AI and disability, culminating in a conference in Winter 2027 and a co-authored whitepaper. We're hiring for two complementary roles — see below for each.
Position 1: Communications & Design Research Assistant
This role leads the conference's public-facing presence — the website, program materials, signage, and plain-language content — with accessibility built in from the start.
Responsibilities
- Build and maintain an ADA-compliant conference website, including researching accessibility-first web design practices
- Populate the website with programming details and keep it current
- Write plain-language attendee guides, campus maps, and directions
- Design physical and digital conference programs and signage
- Later in the project, help design interactive AI tools once conference data is available
- On-site: staff the welcome desk, deploy directional signage, and coordinate a live-sketch artist capturing the conference
Position 2: Research & Accessibility Research Assistant
This role grounds the conference in current scholarship and practice — researching ADA best practices, tracking the AI field, and building relationships with local disability organizations.
Responsibilities
- Research ADA event-planning best practices across disability types (hard of hearing, blind, physical/mobility, neurodivergent, limb difference)
- Build an on-site medical equipment/wheelchair triage guide for the conference
- Conduct ongoing searches of AI news and journals for developments relevant to the project
- Identify and catalog local disability nonprofits and student groups, and draft outreach and contact emails
- Monitor new library databases relevant to the project
- On-site: serve as note-taker for World Cafe sessions and plenary talks
- Post-conference: peer-edit the whitepaper and author its plain-language component
Timeline
Fall 2026
- Onboarding and work begins immediately across both roles
- Website build and ADA compliance research underway
- Ongoing AI news/journal scanning and community outreach
Winter/Spring 2027
- Finalize conference materials, signage, and programs
- On-site conference execution (February 25-28)
- Post-conference whitepaper support and plain-language authorship
How to Apply
Applications are open now.
Interested students may contact both Austin Choi-Fitzpatrick (caustin@sandiego.edu) and Darby Vickers (dvickers@sandiego.edu), note which position they're applying for, and briefly describe relevant experience or coursework.
At the Kroc School, we encourage students to take advantage of professional opportunities to learn and connect with scholars and practitioners in peace, justice, and social innovation. We recognize that cost can sometimes be a barrier to participation, which is why we offer a limited number of Professional Development Grants (PDGs) to support extraordinary learning opportunities. Applications may be submitted on an individual or group basis, and students are encouraged to discuss ideas for a grant with their faculty advisor in advance of submitting an application to the Review Committee. PDGs are limited and competitive.
- PDG Examples
- PDGs that are typically not awarded
- PDG Guidelines
- 2026-2027 PDG Deadlines
- PDG Process & Application Requirements
- PDG Awards & Financials
- PDG Summary Report
- Academic learning opportunities that could not otherwise be achieved through the student’s Kroc academic program
- Co-curricular activities that enhance the student’s Kroc academic program
- Professional development opportunities that apply directly to the student’s career goals and are in line with their studies
- Presenting a paper at, or attending, an academic conference
- Traveling to work with one of the Kroc School’s institutes on a special field project
All questions should be directed to Vanessa Watkis.
Questions?
If you're looking for guidance to get connected to campus resources or find a community at the Kroc School, contact the Coordinator of Student Success, Vanessa Watkis.