My UCI
A programmatic powerhouse. Full financial aid and funding. A lens-worthy location.
We asked UCI social sciences grad students why they chose the Irvine campus for their
Ph.D. pursuits, and their responses comprise a laudable list with backgrounds and
stories as unique as our Anteater mascot. In our “My UCI” series below, we offer a window into the world of a few of our best
and brightest social sciences grad students at U.S. News & World Report’s #9 ranked
best public college in the U.S.
Tawfiq Alhamedi
Doctoral Student in Anthropology
Erin Marie Costigliolo
Doctoral Student in Economics
Guilberly Louissaint
Doctoral Student in Anthropology
Karan Talathi
Doctoral Student in Economics
Sara O'Connor
Doctoral Student in Urban Planning and Public Policy, Global Studies Emphasis
Yvette Vasquez
Doctoral Student in Anthropology
Christian Navarro-Torres
Doctoral Student in Language Science
Katelyn Kelly
Doctoral Student in Political Science
David Mwakima
Doctoral Student in Logic and Philosophy of Science
Anna Setyaeva
Doctoral Student in Political Science
Helen Meskhidze and Will Stafford
Doctoral Students in Logic and Philosophy of Science
Vanessa Ceja
Doctoral Student in Cognitive Sciences
Lily Cheng
Doctoral Student in Cognitive Sciences
Lauren Montgomery
Doctoral Student in Cognitive Sciences
Kenta Watanabe
Doctoral Student in Cognitive Sciences
Babak Ahadian
Doctoral Student in Cognitive Sciences
Jeff Coon
Doctoral Student in Cognitive Sciences
Connor Strobel
Doctoral Student in Sociology
Jess Lee
Doctoral Student in Sociology
Elliott Chen
Doctoral Student in Logic and Philosophy of Science
Gil Louissaint
Doctoral Student in Anthropology
Jennifer Zelnick
Doctoral Student in Anthropology
Anthropology research with a very personal angle
Guided by her own experience as an international adoptee, UCI graduate student Shannon Bae is studying how the process can be demystified and made humane for reconnecting birth families with adopted children
The brain and sleep
Pin-Chun Chen, UCI cognitive sciences graduate student, studies how your brain stays
busy while you snooze
Understanding economic inequality, one experiment at a time
UCI economics graduate student Nishtha Sharma pursues research, applied internship
experience on the ways economic discrimination affects individuals’ decisions
Fostering a global perspective
UCI’s new Ph.D. program in global studies diversifies education and supports the next
generation’s appreciation of place in complex, interrelated post-nationalist world
Finding research inspiration in life experience
Zeinab Kachakeche, second year language science graduate student, reflects on her
research endeavors and experience as a mother pursuing a Ph.D.
Research in action
Now that her dissertation has been defended, Shauna Gillooly ’21 political science Ph.D. reflects on the research practices she learned at UCI and how they’ve prepared her for a fellowship with a nonprofit
From refugee to Ph.D., Thoa Khuu is breaking barriers
Personal experience motivates UCI sociology graduate student’s academic inquiry into
the experience of children of immigrants