Madia Harris is a second-year PhD student in political science at Northwestern University, where she studies American politics. Madia is a 2024 graduate of the illustrious North Carolina A&T State University, where she graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in political science at 19 years old. Her work examines structural racism and the mechanisms that sustain existing inequality. In her work on educational disparities, she analyzes how discrimination, socioeconomic status, geography, and policy interact to reproduce unequal outcomes for marginalized youth. She has also researched the representation of Black political thought within higher education curricula. Finally, her work on the implementation of reparations programs highlights how the pursuit of transitional justice can be stifled under restrictive political conditions. In her more recent work, she interrogates the political consequences of an unsettled consensus regarding the parameters of white working-class group membership. She challenges understandings of group membership that absolve some members of accountability by allowing those with more privilege and access to actively bolster white supremacy. Central to her scholarship and service is the principle that knowledge production must be reflective rather than extractive, and that advocacy and practical engagement are inseparable from theoretical rigor.
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 their first or second year as of Spring 2026. Please join us in congratulating the 2026-2027 class of fellows.
- Learn more about DFP at https://apsanet.org/dfp
- Meet the 2026-2027 class of DFP Fellows
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