2025 First Generation Scholar Travel and Accessibility Grant
2025 First-Generation Scholar Travel and Accessibility Grant
The 2025 application cycle is now closed.
We are delighted to offer travel and accessibility grants up to $250 each to support First Generation Higher Education Scholars in the Profession who participate in the 2025 APSA Annual Meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia
Committee on the Status of First Generation Scholars in the Profession
On September 2, 2015, the APSA Council approved a new standing Committee on First-Generation Higher Education Scholars in the Profession, parallel to the existing APSA status committees. The goal and mission of this committee is to bring focused attention to the ways that class, economic inequality, and mobility can affect political scientists’ ability to thrive educationally and professionally throughout their careers. Please contact diversityprograms@apsanet.org for more info.
APSA considers First Generation Scholars to be those scholars for whom the following is true: neither parent or guardian graduated from a four-year college or university (bachelor’s degree or equivalent). Additionally, we also include in our understanding of First Generation Scholars, graduate students who are the first in their immediate family to complete a graduate degree. Both groups draw upon unique strengths and diverse perspectives gained through their experiences.
Committee Members
| Term expiring September 6, 2026: | T. Mark Montoya, Northern Arizona University |
| Term expiring September 5, 2027 | Najja K. Baptist, University of Arkansas Tugba Bozcaga, King’s College London Chao-Yo Cheng, Birkbeck University of London, Chair Kal Munis, Auburn University |
Term expiring September 5, 2028 | Mia Bloom, Georgia State University Candice D. Ortbals, Abilene Christian University |
Committee Work
- Report on First-Generation Scholars in the Profession: Status Update for 2021-2024
Note: After the completion of the report, APSA and the Status Committee updated the definition of First Generation Scholars. The updated definition can be found at the top of the Committee’s webpage.
Previous Grant Recipients
The Committee awarded 25 individuals for the 2025 travel and accessibility reimbursement grant. Click here to see the full list of scholars.
The Committee awarded 38 individuals for the 2024 travel and accessibility reimbursement grant. Click here to see the full list of scholars.
The Committee awarded 129 individuals for the 2023 travel and accessibility reimbursement grant. Click here to see the full list of scholars.
The Committee awarded 46 individuals for the 2022 travel and accessibility reimbursement grant. Click here to see the full list of scholars.
The following individuals received the 2021 travel and accessibility reimbursement grant.
- Muhammad Hassan Afzal, Kent State University
- Jihyeon Bae, University of Washington
- Gong Chen, Georgia State University
- Aminu Dramani, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
- Syeda ShahBano Ijaz, University of California, San Diego
- Jae Eun Kim, University of Rochester
- Shirley Le Penne, Cornell University
- Chirasree Mukherjee, Arizona State University
- Salih Noor, Northwestern University
- Orcun Selcuk, Luther College
- Qingyan Wang, University of Georgia
- Jasmine Yarish, University of the District of Columbia
- Irmak Yazici, University of Hawaii at Manoa
The following individuals received the 2020 travel and accessibility reimbursement grant. View select bios by clicking on the scholars’ names:
- Muhammad Hassan Afzal, Kent State University
- Thomas Benson, University of Delaware
- Glen Billesbach, University of Florida
- Elizabeth Dorssom, University of Missouri
- Qingming Huang, University of Florida
- Maricruz Osorio, University of California, Riverside
- Justin Zimmerman, Northwestern University
The following individuals received the 2019 travel and accessibility reimbursement grant. View select bios by clicking on the scholars’ names:
- Cameryn Blackmore, University of Alabama
- Tugba Bozcaga, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Gustavo Diaz-Romero, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Kyle Endres, Duke University
- Bailey Fairbanks, Georgia State University
- Carlos Galina Perez, The George Washington University
- Christina Lai, Georgetown University
- Yanira Rivas Pineda, University of California, Santa Barbara
- Nahrain Rasho, University of California, Davis
- Semra Sevi, Universitè de Montrèal
- Peter Onah Thompson, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
- Gerasimos Tsourapas, University of Birmingham
The following individuals received the 2018 travel and accessibility reimbursement grant. View select bios by clicking on the scholars’ names:
- Tran Thu Doan, University of Michigan
- Stephen Omar El-Khatib, University of California, Riverside
- Keith A. Preble, State University of New York at Albany
- Dr. Mario Guerrero, Cal Poly Pomona
- Alexander Kustov, Princeton University
- Vivien Leung, University of California, Los Angeles
- Nura Sediqe, Duke University
- Christine Marie Slaughter, University of California, Los Angeles
- Dr. Bann Seng Tan, Bogazici University
- Kristian Warpinski, Georgia State University
- Nicole Yadon, University of Michigan
The following individuals received the 2017 travel and accessibility reimbursement grant.
- Margaret Brower, University of Chicago
- Jenn Jackson, University of Chicago
- Michelangelo Landgrave, University of California, Riverside
- Lama Mourad, University of Toronto
- Tyler Reny, University of California, Los Angeles
- Bertha Vitela, Louisiana State University
Annual Meeting Participation
Previous Panels or Roundtables at the APSA Annual Meeting:
- 2025 Roundtable: The First-Gen Handbook: Navigating the Hidden Curriculum in Political Science
- 2024 Roundtable: The First-Gen Handbook: Navigating the Hidden Curriculum in Political Science
- 2023 Roundtable: Being a First Generation Scholar
- 2022 Roundtable: APSA Committee on the Status of First Generation Scholars Roundtable
- 2021 Roundtable: APSA Committee on the Status of First Generation Scholars Roundtable
- 2020 Roundtable: Best Practices in Supporting First Generation Faculty and Graduate Students in the Profession
- 2019 Roundtable: The Status of First Generation Scholars in the Profession
- 2017 Roundtable: APSA Committee on the Status of First Generation Scholars in the Profession Roundtable
- 2016 Roundtable: First Generation Scholars in the Profession Roundtable Discussion
Participation in APSA Diversity and Inclusion Programs is open to all interested individuals without regard to any characteristic protected by applicable law. Applicants must satisfy any relevant program-specific criteria.