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COMPASS

Fellows

Photo Credit (top image): Caroline McFarland / Unsplash

2026 Fellows

The MIC Center is now accepting applications from Ph.D. students around the country for the 2026 COMPASS Summer Fellowship Program. Interested students should provide a letter indicating how a summer fellowship would connect to/enhance their research and/or teaching and what kind of placement would be most useful in this regard. Fellows should also indicate three possible organizations where a fellowship would align with their research interests in the application letter.

Application letters and CVs are due no later than Friday, January 16, 2026 and should be sent to briar.smith@asc.upenn.edu.

Learn more about the application requirements here.

Past Fellows

Anjali DasSarma, University of Pennsylvania, Free Press

DongWook Jeong, Pennsylvania State University, Benton Institute for Broadband and Society

Dien Luong, University of Michigan, U.S. Agency for Global Media

Alphoncina Lyamuya, University of Southern California, World Benchmarking Alliance

Afrooz Mosallaei, Rutgers University, Free Press

Roxana Muenster, Cornell University, Brookings Institute

Vanessa Nyarko, University of Minnesota, Public Knowledge

Stephen Yang, University of Southern California, Center for Democracy and Technology

Ahmed Alrawi, Pennsylvania State University, Benton Foundation

Talia Berniker, Cornell University, Federal Communications Commission

Timilehin Durotoye, Pennsylvania State University, Open Markets

Emilie Grybos, University of Pennsylvania, Center for Democracy and Technology

Kyooeun Jang, University of Southern California, Brookings Institution

Anirban Mukhopadhyay, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign,  United States Agency for Global Media

Jeanna Sybert, University of Pennsylvania, Free Press

Benjamin P. Tetteh, Syracuse University, United States Agency for Global Media

Lucas Wright, Cornell University, National Telecommunications and Information Administration

Soyun Ahn, University of Southern California, Brookings Institution

Sydney Forde, The Pennsylvania State University Common Cause

Assil Frayha, University of Pennsylvania, Center for the Study of Responsive Law

Juan Ortiz Freuler, University of Southern California, Open Markets Institute

Joshua Jordan, Louisiana State University, The Democracy Collaborative

Louisa Lincoln, University of Pennsylvania, American Journalism Project

Rae Moors, University of Michigan, Ranking Digital Rights

Adetobi Moses, University of Pennsylvania, John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for Communication Programs

Arijit Paladhi, Indiana University, Free Press

Alejandro Alvarado Rojas, University of Southern California, Open Technology Fund

Erika Solis, The Pennsylvania State University, Ranking Digital Rights