University of Wisconsin–Madison advanced graduate students conducting rigorous poverty-related dissertation research are eligible to apply for the IRP Dissertation Research Fellowship which offers up to 12 months of research support. This award is open to doctoral students at the University of Wisconsin–Madison who are pursuing a poverty-related degree and are sponsored by an on-campus IRP faculty Affiliate. Preference is given to students who have participated in the IRP Graduate Research Fellows program, however, any student with the sponsorship of an IRP faculty Affiliate may apply. Calls for applications are released in February.
Current Call
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2024-2025 IRP Dissertation Research Fellow
Emma Flanagan
Position title: Graduate Research Fellow and Dissertation Research Fellow
Address:
Human Development and Family Studies
School of Human Ecology
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Emma Flanagan is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies in the School of Human Ecology. Her research interests include social safety net policy, street-level bureaucracy, and broader concerns about policy implementation.
Emma’s dissertation is titled Delivery of Social Benefits: How Families Experience the Receipt of Social Safety Net Supports. While policymakers tend to focus on the dollar amount families receive in benefits when discerning policy effectiveness, this dissertation will call needed attention to how benefit implementation and delivery matters beyond amount. My three papers will investigate perceptions of an unconditional cash transfer targeting mothers, the roles of grocery store workers in overseeing redemption of SNAP and WIC benefits, and the impacts of decreasing SNAP administrative burdens on SNAP enrollment during the pandemic. Together, these papers will contribute to our understanding of how benefit delivery processes shape the efficacy of social safety net policy.
Emma has a bachelor’s degree in psychology with minors in biology, public health, and urban poverty studies. Prior to her doctoral studies, Emma worked in the realm of housing and housing policy while serving as an AmeriCorps member in Missoula, Montana.
Date of Dissertation Research Fellowship: 2024–2025 academic year
Advisor: Sarah Halpern-Meekin
2023-2024 IRP Dissertation Research Fellow
Sarah Elizabeth Farr
Position title: Dissertation Research Fellow
Address:
Department of Sociology & Community and Environmental Sociology
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Sarah Elizabeth Farr is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Sociology & Community and Environmental Sociology. Her dissertation is entitled: The Politics of Homeownership: Property Relations, Distributive Struggles, and Group Formation. Sarah’s dissertation draws on two different empirical projects. The IRP Fellowship will support one of the two projects, which is titled Redistributing Inequality: Community Organizations, Privatized Urban Governance, and the Politics of Property Value in Milwaukee’s Neighborhood Improvement Districts.
Date of Dissertation Research Fellowship: 2023–2024 academic year
Advisor: Gay Seidman
IRP Sponsor and Dissertation Committee Member: Katherine Curtis
Twitter: @sarahefarr
2022–2023 IRP Dissertation Research Fellows
Annaliese Grant
Position title: Graduate Research Fellow and Dissertation Research Fellow
Address:
Department of Sociology and Institute for Research on Poverty
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Annaliese Grant is a graduate student in Sociology. Her dissertation is entitled: “A Multi-Method Approach to Family Media Use and Social Class.”
Date of Dissertation Research Fellowship: 2022–2023 academic year
Advisor: Marcia Carlson
Twitter: @annaliese_grant
Gregory Wilson
Position title: Graduate Research Fellow and Dissertation Research Fellow
Address:
Department of Sociology and Institute for Research on Poverty
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Greg Wilson is a graduate student in Sociology. His dissertation is entitled: “Serving and Thriving in a Hard Place: Black-led Organizations in the Racialized Nonprofit Industrial Complex.”
Date of Dissertation Research Fellowship: 2022–2023 academic year
Advisor: John Eason
Twitter: @gd_wilson
Past (Closed) Calls
2021–2022 PhD Student Research Fellows
Lois Miller
Position title: Graduate Research Fellow and PhD Student Research Fellow
Address:
Department of Economics and Institute for Research on Poverty
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Lois Miller is a graduate student in Economics. Her dissertation is entitled: “Effects of Guaranteed Transfer Admission.”
Date of PhD Student Research Fellowship: Summer 2021
Advisor: Jeff Smith
Twitter: @Lois_Miller
Chiara Packard
Position title: Graduate Research Fellow and PhD Student Research Fellow
Address:
Department of Sociology and Institute for Research on Poverty
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Chiara Packard is a graduate student in Sociology. Her dissertation is entitled: “The Question is, “Should you Charge?”: A Multi-site Case Study Exploring Prosecutor’s Use of Discretion in Wisconsin.”
Date of PhD Student Research Fellowship: September 2021–August 2022
Advisor: John Eason
2020–2021 PhD Student Research Fellows
Erica Eliason
Position title: PhD Student Research Fellow
Address:
Center on Poverty and Social Policy
Columbia University
Erica Eliason is a graduate student in social work. Her dissertation is entitled: “The Effects of Health Insurance Eligibility Policies on Maternal Care Access and Childbirth Outcomes.”
Date of PhD Student Research Fellowship: September 1, 2020–August 31, 2021
Advisor: Heidi Allen
Frank Emeni
Position title: PhD Student Research Fellow
Address:
Center on Race and Wealth
Howard University
Frank Emeni is a graduate student in economics. His dissertation is entitled: “The Influence of Wealth and Income in Transition to Homeownership (2000–2015)”.
Date of PhD Student Research Fellowship: August 2020–May 2021
Advisor: Haydar Kurban
Esther HsuBorger
Position title: Graduate Research Fellow and PhD Student Research Fellow
Address:
Department of Sociology and Institute for Research on Poverty
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Esther HsuBorger is a graduate student in sociology. Her dissertation is entitled “Poverty Line: The Dynamics of State and Scientific Classification.”
Date of PhD Student Research Fellowship: Summer 2020
Advisor: Jane Collins
Hyein Kang
Position title: PhD Student Research Fellow
Address:
University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research
Hyein Kang is a graduate student in economics. Her dissertation is entitled: “Essays on Evaluating the Effects of the Child Tax Credit.
Date of PhD Student Research Fellowship: January 2021
Advisor: James P. Ziliak
Joanna Venator
Position title: Graduate Research Fellow and PhD Student Research Fellow
Address:
Department of Economics and Institute for Research on Poverty
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Joanna Venator is a graduate student in economics. Her dissertation is entitled “Dual-Earner Migration Decisions, Earnings, and Unemployment.”
Date of PhD Student Research Fellowship: September 1, 2020–August 31, 2021
Advisor: John Kennan
2019–2020 PhD Student Research Fellows
Bethel Cole
Position title: PhD Student Research Fellow
Address:
Center on Race and Wealth
Howard University
Bethel Cole is a graduate student in economics who focuses on housing inequality. Her dissertation is entitled: “How Did the Recent Increase in Supply of Multifamily Apartments Affect Housing Affordability in Washington, D.C.?”
Date of PhD Student Research Fellowship: August 2019–May 2020
Advisor: Haydar Kurban
Elizabeth Doran
Position title: PhD Student Research Fellow
Address:
Center on Poverty and Social Policy
Columbia University
Elizabeth Doran is a graduate student in social policy. Her dissertation is entitled “Childcare (In)stabilty and Household (In)stability Among Low-Income Families.”
Date of PhD Student Research Fellowship: September 2019–May 2020
Advisor: Jane Waldfogel
Chloe Haimson
Position title: Graduate Research Fellow and PhD Student Research Fellow
Address:
Department of Sociology and Institute for Research on Poverty
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Chloe Haimson is a graduate student in sociology. Her dissertation is entitled: “Parole Supervision in an Era of Decarceration.”
Date of PhD Student Research Fellowship: May 2019–May 2020
Advisor: Pamela Oliver
Grace Reinke
Position title: PhD Student Research Fellow
Address:
West Coast Poverty Center (WCPC)
University of Washington
Grace Reinke is a graduate student in political science. Her dissertation is entitled “Social Reproduction as Political Resistance: Case Studies from US Politics in an Age of Extraction.”
Date of PhD Student Research Fellowship: Summer 2020
Kenneth Tester
Position title: PhD Student Research Fellow
Address:
University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research
Kenneth Tester is a graduate student in economics who focuses on public finance.
Date of PhD Student Research Fellowship: September 2019–May 2020
Advisor: David Agrawal
Melody Waring
Position title: Graduate Research Fellow and PhD Student Research Fellow
Address:
School of Social Work and Institute for Research on Poverty
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Melody Waring is a graduate student in social work. Her dissertation is entitled: “Caring for Aging Parents: Stratified Effects on Labor Force Participation.”
Date of PhD Student Research Fellowship: May 2019–August 2019
Advisor: Lawrence M. Berger
2018–2019 PhD Student Research Fellows
Howard (Jacob) Carlson
Position title: Graduate Research Fellow and PhD Student Research Fellow
Address:
Department of Sociology and Institute for Research on Poverty
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Jacob Carlson is a graduate student in sociology and an IRP Graduate Research Fellow. His dissertation is entitled: “Gentrification, Urban Context, and the Effects on Low-Income Households.”
Date of PhD Student Research Fellowship: May 2018–April 2019
Advisor: Erik Olin Wright
Shiyu Cheng
Position title: PhD Student Research Fellow
Address:
University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research
Shiyu Cheng is a graduate student in economics. Her research area is the economics of public transfer programs.
Date of PhD Student Research Fellowship: September 30, 2018–May 15, 2019
Advisor: James Ziliak
Irene Jacqz
Position title: Graduate Research Fellow and PhD Student Research Fellow
Address:
Agricultural & Applied Economics and Institute for Research on Poverty
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Irene Jacqz is a graduate student in agricultural and applied economics and an IRP Graduate Research Fellow. Her dissertation is entitled: “Environmental Inequality and Early Childhood Cognition.”
Date of PhD Student Research Fellowship: June 2018–May 2019
Advisor: Jason Fletcher
Kirsten McLeod
Position title: PhD Student Research Fellow
Address:
Center on Race and Wealth
Howard University
Kirsten McLeod is a graduate student in economics. Her dissertation is entitled: “Economic Analysis of the Montgomery County, Maryland, Affordable Rental Program: Beneficiaries versus the Target Population.”
Date of PhD Student Research Fellowship: September 2018–August 2019
Advisor: Haydar Kurban
Jessica Pac
Position title: PhD Student Research Fellow
Address:
Center on Poverty and Social Policy
Columbia University
Jessica Pac is a graduate student in social policy. Her dissertation is entitled: “Preventing Maltreatment in Early Childhood.”
Date of PhD Student Research Fellowship: September 2018–August 2019
Advisor:Jane Waldfogel
2017–2018 PhD Student Research Fellows
Sarah Charnes
Position title: PhD Student Research Fellow
Address:
West Coast Poverty Center
University of Washington
Sarah Charnes is a graduate student at the Evans School of Public Affairs. Her dissertation is entitled “Essays on Food Insecurity and Food and Nutrition Assistance Policy in the United States.”
Date of PhD Student Research Fellowship: Summer 2018
Adji Diagne
Position title: PhD Student Research Fellow
Address:
Center on Race and Wealth
Howard University
Adji Diagne is a graduate student in economics. Her dissertation is entitled: “Are Inclusionary Housing Programs Color-Blind? The Case of Montgomery County MPDU Program.”
Date of PhD Student Research Fellowship: September 2017–September 2018
Garrett Grainger
Position title: PhD Student Research Fellow
Address:
Department of Sociology
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Garret Grainger is a graduate student in sociology. His dissertation is entitled: “Instituting Housing First: Barriers, Strategies, and Outcomes Related to the Implementation of HUD’s Homeless Services Mandate.”
Date of PhD Student Research Fellowship: Summer 2018
Advisor: Gary Green
Annie McGlynn-Wright
Position title: PhD Student Research Fellow
Address:
West Coast Poverty Center
University of Washington
Annie McGlynn-Wright is a graduate student in sociology. Her dissertation is entitled “Farm Bill to Table: Pregnancy and the Politics of Food Assistance.”
Date of PhD Student Research Fellowship: Summer 2018
Emily Parrott
Position title: Graduate Research Fellow and PhD Student Research Fellow
Address:
School of Human Ecology, Human Development and Family Studies
Institute for Research on Poverty
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Emily Parrott is a graduate student in the School of Human Ecology. Her dissertation is entitled: “College as a Potential Route to Social Mobility.”
Date of PhD Student Research Fellowship: June 2017–May 2018
Advisor: Sarah Halpern-Meekin
Rayven Plaza
Position title: PhD Student Research Fellow
Address:
Center on Poverty and Social Policy
Columbia University
Rayven Plaza is a graduate student in social work. Her dissertation is entitled “The Sunset of School Integration: A National Study of Property Values and Test Score Gaps After Desegregation Plans End.”
Date of PhD Student Research Fellowship: Fall 2017 to Spring 2018
Cody Vaughn
Position title: PhD Student Research Fellow
Address:
University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research
Cody Vaughn is a graduate student in economics. His dissertation is entitled: “Growing Up under TANF: The Children of Welfare Reform.”
Date of PhD Student Research Fellowship: September 2017–May 2018