The Department actively supports our students throughout their job search. The Director of Graduate Studies and the major advisors review all job market materials such as CVs, writing samples, and diversity and teaching statements. In addition, the department arranges special informational sessions, “mock” interviews, and practice job talks to prepare students for the kinds of questions they will face from potential employers. This support complements other departmental activities designed to professionalize graduate students, including brown bag discussions about attending professional conferences, publishing opportunities, and seeking grant funding.
Graduates from our program primarily pursue academic careers with the goal of a tenure-track position at a college or university. In recent years, our students have been offered tenure track positions at leading research universities such as Princeton University, the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University, Florida State University, University of Pittsburgh, Boston University, Texas A+M, SUNY-Buffalo, Australian National University, London School of Economics, and George Washington University, among others. Our students also do well in obtaining positions at selective liberal arts colleges, such as Amherst, Grinnell, Wesleyan, Macalaster, and the University of San Francisco. Consistent with trends in the discipline, many students now receive a one or two-year post-doctoral fellowship after receiving their PhDs from our department, and in recent years our students have been awarded many of these, including at Yale, Stanford, Brown, Northwestern, University of Pennsylvania, and Gottenburgh University.
Many of our students will choose to enter the private sector, the non-profit world, or government. In recent years our students have pursued careers such as Data Scientists, Consultants, Researchers, and Directors. Current graduate students can access here a list of Department of Political Science alumni who can serve as resources, sounding boards, and a network for students who are interested in pursuing nonacademic careers of various kinds. Current graduate students can also access here a sample resume and cover letter from an alum of our program who is currently working in the private sector. To access the documents on this page you will need to sign in to your UW Box Account.
Where our grads are now
- 2020-2021
- 2019-2020
- 2018-2019
- 2017-2018
- 2016-2017
- 2015-2016
- 2014-2015
- 2013-2014
- 2012-2013
- 2011-2012
- 2010-2011
Name |
Subfield |
Position |
Institution |
| Anne Jamison | International Relations | Post-Doc
Post-Doc Assistant Professor |
Princeton University (2020)
Stellenbosch University(2020) Copenhagen Business School (2021) |
| Camila Angulo | Comparative Politics | Assistant Professor | CIDE |
| Devin Judge-Lord | American Politics | Post-Doc | Harvard University |
| Dmitrii Kofanov | Comparative Politics | Post-Doc | University of Barcelona |
| Anna Meier | International Relations | Assistant Professor | University of Nottingham |
| Kaden Paulson-Smith | Comparative Politics | Assistant Professor | University of Wisconsin-Green Bay |
| Sujeong Shim | International Relations | Post-Doc | University of Zurich |
| Micah Dillard | International Relations | Data Analyst
Data Scientist |
Achievement First (2020)
Morning Consult (2021) |
| Michael DeCrescenzo | American Politics | Quantitative Researcher | DRW |
| Ben Power | International Relations | Associate | Oliver Wyman |
| Delgerjargal Uvsh | Comparative Politics | Post-Doc
Post-Doc |
New York University (2020)
University of Southern California (2021) |
| Evan Morier | Comparative Politics | Data Analytics Developer | Mathematica |
Name |
Subfield |
Position |
Institution |
| Nick Barnes | Comparative Politics | Assistant Professor | University of Saint Andrew’s – Scotland |
| Michael Masterson | International Relations | Assistant Professor | Missouri State University |
| Maayan Mor | Comparative Politics | Post-Doc | University of Barcelona |
| Anna Oltman | International Relations | Assistant Professor | University College-London |
| Michael Promisel | Political Theory | Assistant Professor | Coastal Carolina University |
| Katie Robiadek | Political Theory | Assistant Professor | Hood College |
| Zach Warner | Comparative Politics | Assistant Professor | Purdue University |
| Danielle Delaney | Political Theory | Assistant Professor | Queen’s University |
Name |
Subfield |
Position |
Institution |
| Desiree Desierto | Comparative Politics | Post-Doc
Post-Doc |
University of Rochester (2019)
University of Pittsburgh (2021) |
| Rachel Jacobs | Comparative Politics | Assistant Professor | Dickinson College |
| Kyle Marquardt | Comparative Politics | Assistant Professor | Higher School of Economics |
| Susanne Mueller-Redwood | International Relations | Lecturer | Mount Holyoke College |
| Camilla Rueterswaerd | Comparative Politics | Post-Doc
Research Fellow |
Freie Universitat Berlin (2019)
University of Sussex (2021) |
| Rachel Schwartz | Comparative Politics | Post-Doc
Assistant Professor |
Tulane University (2019)
Otterbein University (2020) |
| Dan Walters | American Politics | Assistant Professor | Penn State |
| David Lassen | American Politics | Community-Engaged Learning Program Director | University of Notre Dame |
| Clarence Moore | Comparative Politics | Private Sector |
Name |
Subfield |
Position |
Institution |
| Zachary Barnett-Howell | International Relations | Post-Doc | Yale University |
| Hannah Chapman | Comparative Politics | Assistant Professor | Miami University |
| Evan Crawford | American Politics | Assistant Professor | University of San Diego |
| Katelyn Jones | Political Theory | Term Assistant Professor
Women, Peace, & Security Fellow | ACLS/Mellon Public Fellow Independent Consultant Non-Resident Fellow Director of Quality and Research Vice President of Policy, Research, and Evaluation |
Barnard College (2017)
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs (2018) DynamicAlly, LLC The Chicago Council on Global Affairs YWCA Metropolitan Chicago (2021) YWCA Metropolitan Chicago (2021) |
| Kathleen Klaus | Comparative Politics | Assistant Professor | University of San Francisco |
| Christopher Krewson | American Politics | Assistant Professor | Claremont University |
| Ning Leng | Comparative Politics | Post-Doc
Assistant Professor |
Harvard University (2018)
Georgetown University (2019) |
| Ryan Powers | International Relations | Assistant Professor | University of Georgia |
| Mark Toukan | International Relations | Post-Doc
Associate Political Scientist |
University of Pennsylvania
RAND |
| Regina Wagner | American Politics | Assistant Professor | University of Alabama |
| Jennifer Brookhart | American Politics | Fellow
Data Scientist Lead Data Scientist – Cyber and Intelligence |
Insight Data Science (2017-2019)
Jungle Scout (2018) Mastercard (2020) |
| Matt Scharf | Comparative Politics | African Regional Operations Advisor
Senior Advisor, Public & Government Affairs (Guyana) Deputy Public & Govt Affairs Manager (Guyana) |
ExxonMobile (2017)
ExxonMobile (2019) ExxonMobile (2021) |
Name |
Subfield |
Position |
Institution |
| Sirus Bouchat | Comparative Politics | Assistant Professor | Northwestern University |
| Thomas Bunting | Political Theory | Assistant Professor | Shawnee State University |
| Kathleen Klaus | Comparative Politics | Visiting Assistant Professor | Wesleyan University |
| Kyle Marquardt | Comparative Politics | Post-Doc
Assistant Professor |
University of Gothenburg (2015)
Higher School of Economics (2019) |
| Ryan Powers | International Relations | Post-Doc | Yale University |
| Charles Taylor | Comparative Politics | Research Consultant
Research Consultant Instructor and Course Director |
American Friends Service Committee (2017)
Navanti Group (2018) Foreign Service Institute (2019) |
| Samantha Vortherms | Comparative Politics | Post-Doc
Assistant Professor |
Stanford University (2017)
UC-Irvine (2017) |
| Brianne Wolf | Political Theory | Assistant Professor | Ashland University |
Name |
Subfield |
Position |
Institution |
| Ethan Alexander-Davey | Political Theory | Post-Doc
Assistant Professor |
University of Richmond (2016)
Campbell University (2017) |
| Sanja Badanjak | Comparative Politics | Post-Doc | University of Edinburgh |
| Jessica Clayton | International Relations | Institutional Planner | UW-Whitewater |
| Simon Haeder | American Politics | Assistant Professor | West Virginia University |
| Bradley Jones | American Politics | Senior Researcher | Pew Research Center |
| Dalton Lin | International Relations | Post-Doc
Assistant Professor |
Academia Sinica-Taiwan (2016)
Georgia Institute of Technology (2017) |
| James Sieja | American Politics | Assistant Professor | St. Lawrence University |
| Benjamin Toff | American Politics | Post-Doc
Assistant Professor |
Oxford University
University of Minnesota |
| Steven Wilson | Comparative Politics | Post-Doc
Assistant Professor |
University of Gothenburg (2016)
University of Nevado-Reno (2017) |
| Dominic Desapio | Comparative Politics | Private Sector/Government | |
| Casey Erhlich-Rollow | Comparative Politics |
Manager of Research Review and Support Senior Manager, Research Review and Support |
The Pew Charitable Trusts
The Pew Charitable Trusts |
| Lynn Fredrikkson | Comparative Politics |
Advocacy Director for Africa |
Amnesty International USA |
| Leah Larson-Rabin | Comparative Politics | Private Sector/Government | |
|
Shahirah Mahmood |
Comparative Politics | Country Analyst
Evaluation Consultant Easterseals Easterseals Easterseals |
Freedom House (2016)
Spark Policy Institute (2017) Grants Writer (Grants, Innovation and Program Development) (2018) Senior Project Manager, Measurement and Evaluation (2020) Director, Data Management, Measurement and Outcomes (2021) |
| Taylor Price | Comparative Politics | Private Sector/Government |
Name |
Subfield |
Position |
Institution |
| Barry Driscoll | Comparative Politics | Assistant Professor | Grinnell |
| Kyle Hanniman | Comparative Politics | Assistant Professor | Queen’s University at Kingston, Ontario |
| Brett Kyle | Comparative Politics | Assistant Professor | University of Nebraska, Omaha |
| Ruoxi Li | American Politics | Assistant Professor | California State University-San Marcos |
| Jeff Paller | Comparative Politics | Assistant Professor | University of San Francisco |
| Emily Sellars | Comparative Politics | Assistant Professor | Texas A&M |
| Bill Egar | American Politics | Social Science Analyst
Data Scientist Social Science Analyst Senior Director, Data Science |
US Government Accountability Office (2015)
The Lab @ DC (2017) Congressional Research Service (2018) Morning Consult (2020) |
Name |
Subfield |
Position |
Institution |
| Adam Auerbach | Comparative Politics | Assistant Professor | American University |
| Galina Belokurova | Comparative Politics | Assistant Director of Institutional Research
Senior Data Analyst Assistant Director of Operations, Institutional Research |
West Coast University (2016)
UC San Diego (2017) UC San Diego (2020) |
| Inken von Borzykowski | International Relations | Assistant Professor | Florida State University |
| Guangxin Fan | Political Theory | Visiting assistant professor | Hong Kong Baptist University |
| Mert Kartal | International Relations | Assistant Professor | University of Wisconsin-Steven Point |
| Rebecca LeMoine | Political Theory | Assistant Professor | Florida Atlantic University |
| Roseanne McManus | International Relations | Assistant Professor | Baruch College |
| Jacob Neiheisel | American Politics | Assistant Professor | SUNY-Buffalo |
| Kristen Vekasi | Comparative Politics | Assistant Professor | University of Maine-Orono |
| Se-Hyoung Yi | Political Theory | Assistant Professor | Trinity Christian College |
| Vera Zuo | Comparative Politics | Visiting Assistant professor | Hong Kong University of Science and Technology |
| Ryan Biava | Comparative Politics | Affiliate Assistant Professor
Management Consultant, City-wide Strategic Initiatives |
University of Washington Information School
City of Toronto |
| Nick Judge | American Politics | Programmer
Founder Co-founder |
Microsoft Advanced Analytics (2014)
RootProject (2017) Judge Research (2018) |
| Yujin Kim | American Politics | Private sector/Government |
Name |
Subfield |
Position |
Institution |
| Meina Cai | Comparative Politics | Assistant Professor | University of Connecticut |
| Jason Engle | American Politics | Consultant-Data and Statistics
Dean for Organizational Learning |
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (2013)
Columbia Basin College (2016) |
| Rob Gingerich | Political Theory | Private sector/Government | |
| Dimitri Kelly | American Politics | Assistant Professor | Linfield College |
| Sarah Niebler | American Politics | Assistant Professor | Dickinson College |
| Saemyi Park | American Politics | Assistant Professor | Carson-Newman University |
| Mark Ratkovic | American Politics | Assistant Professor | Princeton University |
| Kerry Ratigan | Comparative Politics | Assistant Professor | Amherst College |
Name |
Subfield |
Position |
Institution |
| Leticia Bode | American Politics | Assistant Professor | Georgetown University |
| Deven Carlson | American Politics | Assistant Professor | University of Oklahoma |
| Meghan Condon | American Politics | Lecturer | Loyola University Chicago |
| Sara Dahill-Brown | American Politics | Assistant Professor | Wake Forest University |
| Evgeny Finkel | Comparative Politics | Assistant Professor | George Washington University |
| Tim Hildebrandt | Comparative Politics | Assistant Professor | King’s College London |
| Lesley Lavery | American Politics | Assistant Professor | Macalester College |
| Jeremy Menchick | Comparative Politics | Post-Doc
Post-Doc Assistant Professor |
Stanford University (2011)
American University of Beirut (2012) Boston University (2013) |
| David Nelson | American Politics |
Director of Alumni Professional Networks Managing Director of Alumni Engagement The Wisconsin Institute for Healthy Aging |
UW Madison and the Wisconsin Alumni Association (2014) Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association (2014) Executive Director (2020) |
| Michael Pisapia | American Politics | Assistant Professor | Wake Forest University |
| Ladan Affi | Comparative Politics | Assistant Professor | Zayed University |
| Matt Holleque | American Politics | Deputy Statistical Modeling Director
Co-founder Quantitative Researcher Research Science Manager Research Director |
Obama for America Campaign (2012)
BlueLabs: Analytics, Data, and Technology (2013) Facebook (2015) Facebook (2108) Facebook (2021) |
| Mark Ratkovic | American Politics | Lecturer | Princeton University |
Name |
Subfield |
Position |
Institution |
| Amnon Cavari | American Politics | Assistant Professor | IDC-Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy, and Strategy |
| Yousun Chung | Comparative Politics | Assistant Professor | Institute of Political Science, Academia Sinica |
| Valerie Hennings | American Politics | Post-Doc
Assistant Professor |
Iowa State University
Morningside University |
| Dong Wook Kim | International Relations | Assistant Professor | Marquette University |
| Lauren McCarthy | Comparative Politics | Post-Doc
Assistant Professor |
Woodrow Wilson Center/Kennan Institute
University of Massachusetts-Amherst |
| Tricia Olsen | Comparative Politics | Assistant Professor | University of Denver |
| Kimiko Osawa | Comparative Politics | Assistant Professor | Yonsei University |
| Andrew Reiter | International Relations | Assistant Professor | Mount Holyoke College |