Committee on the Status of First Generation Scholars in the Profession
About the Committee
On September 2, 2015, the APSA Council approved a new standing Committee on First-Generation Higher Education Scholars in the Profession, parallel to the existing APSA status committees. The goal and mission of this committee is to bring focused attention to the ways that class, economic inequality, and mobility can affect political scientists’ ability to thrive educationally and professionally throughout their careers.
Committee Members
Term expiring September 8, 2024
- Holley Hansen, Oklahoma State University, Chair
- Carie Steele, Northern Arizona University
Term expiring September 14, 2025
- Dawn Brancati, Yale University
- Orçun Selçuk, Luther College
Term expiring September 6, 2026
- T. Mark Montoya, Northern Arizona University
Please contact diversityprograms@apsanet.org for more info.
2023 First Generation Scholar Travel and Accessibility Grant
The Committee is delighted to offer travel and accessibility grants up to the amount of $250 to support First Generation Higher Education Scholars in the Profession who attend the APSA Annual Meeting.
The 2024 application cycle will open in late September, 2024.
How to Apply
- Create an APSA profile and submit an online application. All application materials must be submitted through the online application.
Eligibility for Travel Reimbursement Grant
This committee adopts a broad, inclusive definition of First Generation Scholar (FGS), including:
- scholars who have parents who have attained neither a bachelor’s nor an associate’s degree and/or
- international scholars who are the first generation to study and/or teach at the college or university level in the United States.
- Applicants must also have registered for and attended the 2024 APSA Annual Meeting. Please note: Undergraduate attendees are not eligible for this travel reimbursement grant opportunity.
Please email diversityprograms@apsanet.org with any questions about the travel and accessibility grant.
Double Your Impact! From September 18-22, every donation to the APSA Annual Fund will not only go toward travel grants for scholars who presented their groundbreaking research at the 2023 APSA Annual Meeting, but will also be matched by the Committee on the Status of First Generation Scholars in the Profession. Make sure to support APSA First Generation Scholars during the week of September 18-22!
Previous Grant Recipients
The Committee awarded 129 individuals for the 2023 accessibility reimbursement grant. Click here to see the full list of scholars.
The Committee awarded 46 individuals for the 2022 accessibility reimbursement grant. Click here to see the full list of scholars.
The following individuals received the 2021 accessibility reimbursement grant.
- Muhammad Hassan Afzal, Kent State University
- Jihyeon Bae, University of Washington
- Gong Chen, Georgia State University
- Aminu Dramani, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
- Syeda ShahBano Ijaz, University of California, San Diego
- Jae Eun Kim, University of Rochester
- Shirley Le Penne, Cornell University
- Chirasree Mukherjee, Arizona State University
- Salih Noor, Northwestern University
- Orcun Selcuk, Luther College
- Qingyan Wang, University of Georgia
- Jasmine Yarish, University of the District of Columbia
- Irmak Yazici, University of Hawaii at Manoa
The following individuals received the 2020 accessibility reimbursement grant. View select bios by clicking on the scholars’ names:
- Muhammad Hassan Afzal, Kent State University
- Thomas Benson, University of Delaware
- Glen Billesbach, University of Florida
- Elizabeth Dorssom, University of Missouri
- Qingming Huang, University of Florida
- Maricruz Osorio, University of California, Riverside
- Justin Zimmerman, Northwestern University
The following individuals received the 2019 travel reimbursement grant. View select bios by clicking on the scholars’ names:
- Cameryn Blackmore, University of Alabama
- Tugba Bozcaga, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Gustavo Diaz-Romero, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Kyle Endres, Duke University
- Bailey Fairbanks, Georgia State University
- Carlos Galina Perez, The George Washington University
- Christina Lai, Georgetown University
- Yanira Rivas Pineda, University of California, Santa Barbara
- Nahrain Rasho, University of California, Davis
- Semra Sevi, Universitè de Montrèal
- Peter Onah Thompson, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
- Gerasimos Tsourapas, University of Birmingham
The following individuals received the 2018 travel reimbursement grant. View select bios by clicking on the scholars’ names:
- Tran Thu Doan, University of Michigan
- Stephen Omar El-Khatib, University of California, Riverside
- Keith A. Preble, State University of New York at Albany
- Dr. Mario Guerrero, Cal Poly Pomona
- Alexander Kustov, Princeton University
- Vivien Leung, University of California, Los Angeles
- Nura Sediqe, Duke University
- Christine Marie Slaughter, University of California, Los Angeles
- Dr. Bann Seng Tan, Bogazici University
- Kristian Warpinski, Georgia State University
- Nicole Yadon, University of Michigan
The following individuals received the 2017 travel reimbursement grant:
- Margaret Brower, University of Chicago
- Jenn Jackson, University of Chicago
- Michelangelo Landgrave, University of California, Riverside
- Lama Mourad, University of Toronto
- Tyler Reny, University of California, Los Angeles
- Bertha Vitela, Louisiana State University
Annual Meeting Participation
Previous Panels or Roundtables at the APSA Annual Meeting:
- 2023 Roundtable: Being a First Generation Scholar
- 2022 Roundtable: APSA Committee on the Status of First Generation Scholars Roundtable
- 2021 Roundtable: APSA Committee on the Status of First Generation Scholars Roundtable
- 2020 Roundtable: Best Practices in Supporting First Generation Faculty and Graduate Students in the Profession
- 2019 Roundtable: The Status of First Generation Scholars in the Profession
- 2017 Roundtable: APSA Committee on the Status of First Generation Scholars in the Profession Roundtable
- 2016 Roundtable: First Generation Scholars in the Profession Roundtable Discussion