Meet MFP Spring Fellow, Jessica Taghvaiee, University of California, Irvine

The APSA Minority Fellows Program, established in 1969, aims to increase diversity in the discipline of political science. The Spring MFP supports students from underrepresented backgrounds who are currently enrolled in the first or second year of a political science PhD program. Awards will range between $500 and $1500, depending on availability funds.

Jessica Taghvaiee is a first-year political science PhD student at the University of California, Irvine. Jessica graduated summa cum laude from Westminster College with a triple major in political science with a pre-law emphasis, Spanish-Latin American studies, and an honors degree. Jessica is also a Gates Millennium Scholar and McNair Scholar. At UCI, Jessica serves as a Diverse Educational Community and Doctoral Experience (DECADE) student representative for her department and one of the leads of the Political Science Womxn’s Caucus. She is interested in Comparative Politics and Race, Ethnicity, & Politics. As the daughter of an Iranian refugee and a Mexican immigrant, Jessica is passionate about immigration policy research. Presently, she is researching how nation-states like the U.S. and Spain use immigration policy deadlines to control migrants’ time and grant or defer them legal status. As a scholar and an activist, Jessica strives to produce valuable innovative and interdisciplinary research that can contribute to fixing not only the U.S. immigration system, but also provide more transnational solutions to a global issue that continues to affect the livelihoods and humanity of thousands of migrants today.