The Democracy Training Program has been very successful in recruiting an exceptional group of graduate students to UC Irvine.  Nearly two dozen students have participated in the democracy training program in its first five years of operation. Democracy Fellows have come from throughout the United States, and their undergraduate degrees include Arizona State University, Brown University, BYU, Columbia University, the University of California, the California State University, University of Colorado, Florida State University, Indiana University, the University of Iowa, the University of Michigan, University of Minnesota, Smith College, SUNY, Tufts University, Tulane University, and Wesleyan and the University of Virginia. Once at UCI, the training program has helped students make rapid and distinguished progress through their PhD program of studies. 

In 2014, 2013, 2011, 2008, 2007, 2004, 2003, 2002, 1999, 1998 and 1997 the David Easton prize for the best graduate student research paper in political science was awarded to a participant in the democracy training program; the Robin Williams Prize for the best graduate student paper in Sociology was awarded to a Democracy Fellow in 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2001, 1998, and 1997.  The 2014, 2013, 2010, 2007, 2001 and 1998 Kimball Romney Prize, awarded to the best graduate research paper in the School of Social Sciences was also won by a Democracy Fellow.

In addition, Democracy Fellows have won the Alice Paul Award from the Women's Caucus in Political Science, Ted Robinson Award from the SWPSA, an international prize from the journal Party Politics, and other scholarly awards. Many of the Democracy Fellows are developing active research programs. Students in the program have published articles in Comparative Political Studies, Party Politics, American Politics Quarterly, Social Science Quarterly, Electoral Studies, and several chapters in edited book volumes. Democracy Fellows regularly present their research at the American Political Science Association, the American Sociological Association, the Midwest Political Science Association, the Western Political Science Association, the Pacific Sociological Association, and other professional meetings.