Emerging Scholars Program

1. Milton Wolf Seminar on Media and Diplomacy
2. Emerging Scholars Program

About the Program

Each year the seminar organizers select approximately 10 outstanding advanced MA candidates, PhD students, postdoctoral students, law students, or equivalents studying areas related to the seminar theme to serve as Emerging Scholar Fellows.

Emerging Scholar Fellows receive economy class airfare, accommodation, and a food and local travel stipend, which covers all costs of attending the Seminar. We expect the Emerging Scholars to attend all seminar discussions and events and serve as rapporteurs for the event and author a 1500-2000-word blog post documenting and analyzing the seminar discussions.

Application Details

If you are interested in applying to be an Emerging Scholar at the next Milton Wolf Seminar, please monitor our Facebook page. Applications are solicited annually in January/February before the Seminar. Applications are closed for the 2024 Seminar. 

Please read this section carefully before submitting your application.

• Eligibility: The program is only open to graduate students and those holding a full-time post doctoral position or the equivalent. Those who have graduated with their terminal degree and are already engaged in full time work in their chosen field (i.e. faculty members) are not eligible to apply.
• Conditions of Funding: To participate in the Program, Emerging Scholars agree to attend all seminar events and produce an approximately 1500-2000 word analytical blog post about the seminar discussions. A template for these blog posts will be provided.
• Blog Posts: Emerging scholar blog posts typically focus on panels, themes, or issues raised by the seminar discussions that are of particular interest to their academic work and/or highlight areas that were under-explored during the seminar discussions. These posts are important, because they help to serve as a permanent record of the proceedings and discussions. Posts are normally due four weeks following the end of the Seminar. Examples of previous posts are available here.
• Application Process: Applications must include: your CV, a completed and signed application form, and a cover letter that outlines how your areas of research, your methodologies, your regional interests, might benefit through participation in the seminar.

2024 Emerging Scholars

• Kirubel Tadesse Ayetenfisu, PhD Student, American University
• Glen Berman, PhD Candidate, Australian National University
• Kateryna Chystoforova, MA Student, European University Institute
• Timothy Dorr, PhD Student, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania
• Yvonne Eadon, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Neil John Fasching, PhD Student, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania
• Sydney Forde, PhD Candidate, Pennsylvania State University
• Elsa Isaksson, PhD Student, Lund University
• Muyao Jiang, MA Student, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California
• Arsalan Akhtar Satti, MS Student, University of Stirling
• Amy Ruckes, MA Student, Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, Germany
• Matthew Snow, MA Student, The George Washington University
• Natasha Williams, PhD Student, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania 
• Yanling Zhao, PhD Student, Northwestern University

Previous Emerging Scholars

2023

• Anubhav Banerjee, MA Student, Diplomatic Academy, Vienna, Austria
• David Elliot Berman, Postdoctoral Fellow, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania
• Leesa Danzek, MA Student, Georgetown University
• Anjali DasSarma, PhD Student, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania
• Philipp Di Salvo, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of St. Gallen
• Alicia Fjällhed, PhD Student, Lund University
• Jing Guo, PhD Candidate, Chinese University of Hong Kong
• Clare Lombardo, MSc Student, London School of Economics
• Caio Machado, DPhil Candidate, Oxford University
• Matthias Mersich, MA Student, Diplomatic Academy, Vienna, Austria
• Marcos Ortiz, PhD Candidate, Goldsmiths, University of London 
• Devo Probol, PhD Student, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania
• Julia Samoilenko, Durham University
• Sophie Syarief, PhD Student, Goldsmiths, University of London
• Moges Zewiddu Teshome, PhD Student, Diplomatic Academy, Vienna, Austria

2019

• Phillip Arceneaux, PhD Student, University of Florida. Read his blog post, "A Tale as Old as Time: Keep Calm and Carry On"
• Jimil Ataman, MA Student, School of Education, University of Pennsylvania
• Zahraa Badr, MA Student, Cairo University. Read her blog post, "Social Networks: A Counter-Public Sphere or a Source of Fake News"
• Bea Bierlein, MA Student, University of Stuttgart
• Lauren Bridges, PhD Student, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania
• Josh Cowls, PhD Student, Oxford University
• Connor Donnan, PhD Student, Department of History, University of Pennsylvania
• Kevin Feshami, PhD Student, University of Colorado, Boulder
• Brian Hughes, PhD Student, American University. Read his blog post "A Right to Lie”? The Many Facets of Free Speech and Fake News"
• Yin Lu, PhD Student, Oxford University
• Christopher Magoon,  Medical Student, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. Read his blog post "The Challenges and Opportunities of Physicians Engaging Mass Media"
• Mariela Morales, PhD Student, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania
• Maria Skouras, PhD Student, University of Texas, Austin
• Qun Wang, PhD Student, Rutgers University
• Anna Young, PhD Student, University of Connecticut. Read her blog post "Finding Solutions to the Issue of False Information Multiplied by Social Media"

2018

• Megan Burnham, MA Student, Indiana University, USA. Read her blog post “The Importance of Russian Information Operations: A Case Study of the Baltics.”
• Samantha Dols, PhD Student, American University, USA. Read her blog post “A Standing Call for Transformation.”
• Mona Elswah, PhD Student, Oxford University, UK. Read her blog post, “Why Should Academics Study the Arab Region More Often”
• Oliver Gruenbacher, MA Student, Diplomatic Academy, Vienna, Austria. Read his blog post “Kim Jong Un’s Talent for Public Diplomacy and its Threat to the World.”
• Clay Gruber, MA Student, University of Pennsylvania, USA. Read his blog post, “Design Diplomacy: How Does our Digital Discourse Impact our Physical World?”
• Pauline Heinrichs, PhD Student, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK. Read her blog post “The Paradox of Political Time: Strategic Narratives, Urgency, and Public Diplomacy.”
• Nathalie Maréchal, PhD Student, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California, USA. Read her blog post, “Forget “Too Big to Fail.” Facebook is Too Big to Succeed.”
• Chloé Nurik, PhD Student, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, USA. Read her blog post,  “Diplomacy in an Era of Facebook.”
• Elizabeth Parker, MA Student, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK. Read her blog post “Civil Society or Civil Service? Exploring the ‘Network Model’ of Public Diplomacy.”

2017

• Marcia Allison, PhD Candidate, Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, University of Southern Carolina. Read her blog post, “Biomic Politics: A Transformative Biodiverse Vision of Europe.”
• Zane Cooper, Doctoral Student, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania. Read his blog post, “Toward an Ethnography of Grand Visions.”
• Ariya Hagh, PhD Candidate, Georgetown University. Read his blog post, “Non-linear Stratagems in Theory and Practice.”
• Axel Hellman, Graduate Student, St. Antony’s College, Oxford, Read his blog post, “Reflections on ‘The Marshall Plan and the Yearning for Transformative Visions.’”
• Constanze Jeitler, Graduate Student, Central European University (CEU) in Budapest. Read her blog post, "No Memories of the Marshall Plan in Austria?”
• Yuval Katz, PhD Student, University of Michigan’s Department of Communication Studies. Read his blog post, “Emerging Hegemonies and the Legacy of the Marshall Plan.”
• Kyung Sun (Karen) Lee, PhD Candidate, University of Texas, Austin
• Mykhailo Shmatov, Master Degree Student,Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine
• Fabien Théofilakis, Assistant Professor, University of Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne
• Alisa Valentin, Doctoral Student, Howard University

2016

• Kara Andrade, PhD Student, School of Communication, American University
• Félix Blanc, Post-doctoral student, Raymond Aron Center (EHESS, Paris), Head of Public Relations, Internet Without Borders
• Stanislav Budnitskiy, PhD Candidate, School of Journalism and Communication, Carleton University (Ottawa)
• Sheila Dollard, MA Student, Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University
• Kareem El Damanhoury, PhD Student, Georgia State University
• Jennifer R. Henrichsen, Ph.D. Student, Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania
• Katharina Hermann, MAIS Student, Diplomatic Academy of Vienna
• Hossein Kermani, PhD Student, University of Tehran
• Catherine Lankes, MAIS Student, Diplomatic Academy of Vienna
• Ivory Mills, Joint PhD, JD Candidate in Media, Technology, & Society, Northwestern University
• Priyanka Moonesinghe, MAIS Student, Diplomatic Academy of Vienna
• Pawel Popiel, Ph.D. Student, Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania
• Ilana Ullman, MA Student, School of Public Policy, Central European University

2015

• Nicole Bailey, MA Candidate, George Washington University
• Robyn Caplan, PhD Candidate, Rutgers University
• Kamran Hooshmand, PhD Candidate, University of Texas at Austin
• Anamaria Iuga, MA Candidate, Diplomatic Academy of Vienna
• Kevin Kallmyer, MA Candidate, Georgetown University
• Ilan Manor, MA Candidate, Tel Aviv University
• Luiz Peres-Neto, Lecturer, ESPM, Sao Paulo
• Revati Prasad, PhD Student, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania
• Matthew Rae, MA Candidate, Diplomatic Academy of Vienna
• Philip van Engeldorp Gastelaars, MA Candidate, Diplomatic Academy of Vienna

2014

• Colin Agur, PhD Candidate, Columbia University
• Woon Anthony Cho, MA Student, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University
• Rosemary Clark, PhD Candidate, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania
• Lee McGuigan, PhD Candidate, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania
• Robert Ralston, MA Student, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
• Ryan Spagnolo, MA Student, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University
• Diego Vicentin, PhD Candidate, University of Campinas, UNICAMP, Campinas, Brazil
• Willow Williamson, PhD Candidate, School of International Service, American University

2013

• Kat Borlongan, Consultant, Head of Internation Affairs, Voxe.org
• Katherine Brown, PhD Candidate, Columbia University
• Omar Al -Ghazzi, PhD Student, Annenberg School of Communication, University of Pennsylvania
• Nour Issam Halabi, PhD Student, Annenberg School of Communication, University of Pennsylvania
• Meredith Hall, PhD Candidate, New School for Social Research
• Cesar Jimenez-Martinez, PhD Candidate, London School of Economics
• Efe Sevin, PhD Candidate, American University

2012

• Rogier Criemers, KU Leuven, Candidate at Maastricht, Visiting Researcher Programme for Comparative Media Law and Policy, University of Oxford
• Endre Danyi, PhD Candidate in Sociology, Lancaster University; Visiting Research Fellow at the Innovation in Governance research group, Center for Technology and Society at the Technical University in Berlin. 
• Harriet Di Francesco, MA Student, Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Bologna
• Leshou Dong, PhD Candidate Tinghua University, Visiting Scholar, Center for Global Communication Studies at the University of Pennsylvania Annenberg School for Communication
• Shalini Iyengar, LLM Candidate, Comparative Law, Economics and Finance at the International University College, Torino
• Marissa Moran, MSc Candidate, London School of Economics; Research Associate, Albany Associates UK
• Roy Revie, PhD Candidate, University of Strathclyde
• Sandra Ristovska, PhD Candidate, Annenberg School for Communication

2011

• Nidzara Ahmetasevi, PhD Student, University of Graz, Austria
• Brendan Cooper, University of Minnesota
• May Fawaz, Georgia State University
• Roopa Gogineni, University of Oxford
• Jill Hopke, University of Wisconsin, Madison
• Julia Sonnevend, Columbia University.

2010

• Felicity Duncan – PhD Student in Communication; Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania
• Tori Horton – MA Student in Public Diplomacy; Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California
• Kate Cronin-Furman – Ph.D. Student in Political Science; Columbia University
• Maria Egupova – MA Student in Political Science; Central European University
• Burcu Baykurt – MA Student in Political Communications; Goldsmiths, University of London
• Silvia Lindtner – PhD Student in Information and Computer Science; University of California, Irvine
• Galen Tan – MA Student in Law and Diplomacy; Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University