Kyshan Nichols-Smith is a graduating senior at Morehouse College majoring in political science. His research interests center on the political behavior of Black Americans, and how experiences with political institutions shape the political participation of marginalized communities. He explores these interests in his senior thesis which explores the limitations of existing measures of Black ideology and highlights the way conservatism changes the perceptions of racial group norms among Black Americans. Kyshan advanced his research abilities during his time as a 2024 Ralph Bunche Summer Institute Scholar, and through the Morehouse Community Data Fellowship, where he co-authored papers centering on racial disparities at the state level, including: “Data Discrepancies, Fatal Police Interactions, and State Politics in the United States” and “Examining Polling Location Closures After The Shelby County Decision.” Kyshan aspires to pursue a PhD in political science to expand the discipline’s understanding of the nuances of Black political behavior and to improve the measurement of complex political phenomena among underrepresented Americans.
The APSA Diversity Fellowship Program, formerly the Minority Fellowship Program, was established in 1969 as a fellowship competition to diversify the political science profession. The DFP provides support to students applying to, or in the early stages of, a PhD program in political science. APSA has once again awarded a new cycle to provide support for students currently in the process of applying to political science PhD programs for Fall 2025. Please join us in congratulating the 2025-2026 class of fellows.
- Learn more about DFP at https://apsanet.org/dfp