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.
Sonya Chen is a PhD student in politics and social policy at Princeton University. She received her BA with high honors from Swarthmore College, majoring in political science with minors in sociology and statistics. Her research interests include racial and ethnic politics, migration, and inequality in the United States, as well as diaspora politics. Specifically, she is interested in examining the prospects and challenges of Asian American pan-ethnicity and interracial coalitions. Her current project looks at the politics of affirmative action, the policy’s shifting rationale from remedial justice to diversity, and what this means for racial cleavages, coalition politics, and racial justice. At Princeton, she is involved with the Graduate Women of Color Caucus and co-founded the politics department’s Students of Color and Allies organization. After completing her PhD, Sonya hopes to pursue a career in academia. She aspires to practice inclusive and engaging pedagogies in the classroom and to support and mentor students from underrepresented backgrounds. She is passionate about producing academic research that is accessible and committed to naming and addressing inequalities.