The APSA Diversity Fellowship Program, formerly the Minority Fellowship Program, was established in 1969 as a fellowship competition to diversify the political science profession. DFP provides support to students from underrepresented backgrounds applying to, or in the early stages of, a PhD program in political science. The goal of the program is to increase the number of scholars from minoritized backgrounds in the discipline and ultimately the professoriate. APSA has once again awarded a new cycle to provide support for PhD students currently in their first or second year as of Spring 2023. Please join us in congratulating the 2023-2024 class of fellows!
Alex Richard Zhao is a second year PhD student in the department of political science at the University of California San Diego. He is originally from Tiis Tsoh Sikaad Chapter of the Navajo Nation and graduated cum laude from the University of California San Diego before starting his PhD program. Alex’s research seeks to explain variation in Indigenous self-governance by studying the intricacies of Indigenous American political preferences, institutions, and geography. He is a member of UCSD’s Race and Ethnic Politics (REP) lab, American Indian Graduate Student Alliance (AIGSA), and recipient of the Ford Predoctoral Fellowship. Alex is a proponent of ensuring research benefits the communities he investigates while building empathy through the knowledge of Indigenous people. Therefore, he often collaborates with Indigenous and non-Indigenous policy makers and researchers in the Navajo Nation and abroad. After earning his PhD, Alex aspires to continue research dedicated to servicing Indigenous populations by pursuing a position in academia.