This REU program is supported by an award from the U.S. National Science Foundation to Western Washington University as part of the Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program. The primary purpose of the REU program at WWU is to provide undergraduate students with an international research experience employing quantitative and qualitative social science methodologies. The REU program is coordinated by Dr. Seth Feinberg from the Department of Sociology and Dr. Hilary Schwandt from Fairhaven College.

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Dr. Schwandt and Dr. Feinberg took applications from undergraduate students from all over the United States, finally selecting nine to join their research team in Rwanda and Bellingham, Washington during summer 2018. We are the third and final cohort of the team, focusing on current users and recent discontinuers of family planning methods within Rwanda. Previous cohorts explored family planning at the governmental level and among nurses and community health workers. Our Rwandan student colleagues will be conducting interviews with participants in Kinyarwanda, and we will all work to transcribe and code them for further analysis.