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Kurdish Political Studies Program Welcomes Resident Senior Fellow Haidar Khezri, Ph.D.
In fall 2018, Haidar Khezri, Ph.D., joined the Kurdish Political Studies Program (KPSP) as visiting faculty and senior fellow from Indiana University (IU), Bloomington. Dr. Khezri, born in Iranian Kurdistan, holds a Ph.D. in comparative literature from Damascus University in Syria, and a M.A. in comparative literature from Tarbiat Modares University in Tehran, Iran. He […]
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Congratulations, Summer 2018 Ph.D. Grads!
The College of Sciences celebrated its new Ph.D. graduates in a reception hosted by Dean Michael Johnson. Twenty students were recognized at the ceremony with their family members and faculty advisors by their side. Associate Dean Teresa Dorman honored each student individually by presenting their research and a brief description of their dissertation. Afterward, the group toasted […]
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PMBF Director Speaks at House of Lords
The Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd Program for Strategic Research & Studies continues to work through a busy summer schedule, highlighted by a presentation to the Parliament of the United Kingdom by PMBF Director David Dumke. Dumke was a guest of the Right Honorable Lord Ahmed of Rotherham. He spoke to the House of Lords on […]
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Connecting with India’s Experts
This summer, UCF’s India Center had the unique opportunity to meet with two delegations of experts from India. In May, the India Center hosted a group focused on U.S.-India space policy cooperation. The visiting group included two professors, a scientist and a member of the news media. The delegation met with India Center co-chairs John […]
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Alumnus Takes Legal Action for Minority Community
For alumnus Rishi Bagga, attending UCF was a last minute choice after visiting the campus with his older sister. However, majoring in political science was the obvious choice. “My first interest in politics came through my dad,” he said. “But the real kicker came when I joined my high school debate team; I loved hanging […]
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Summer Research Position Secured by Ph.D. Student
Ph.D. student Joshua Lambert recently accepted a summer research position at One Earth Future (OEF) to help build a Fisheries Conflict event database with the organization’s Secure Fisheries department. He joins Clayton Besaw, a security studies Ph.D. alumnus and fellow UCF Knight, at the Colorado-based think tank. Lambert will enter his Ph.D. candidacy when he […]
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Political Science Students Represent UCF at Model Senate
At the end of spring semester, four UCF students in the political science department joined other students from across the nation for the 46th annual Floyd M. Riddick Model United States Senate, located at Stetson University in Deland, FL. This is the first time in many years that UCF sent representatives to the model Senate. Lecturer […]
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Security Studies Student Wins Best Paper Award
Sandor Fabian, a first-year Ph.D. student in the Security Studies program, is the winner of the March 2018 Florida Political Science Association’s (FPSA) Best Graduate Paper Award. His paper was titled “Why does David sometimes defeat Goliath? The effects of military culture on the outcome of asymmetric wars,” and examines why the weak can sometimes […]
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Political Science Students Receive Boren Fellowships
Two College of Science students recently received Boren Fellowships, which are for students interested in pursuing a career in U.S. national security. The students are Karla Aurazo, a political science and international relations double major and Caleb Archie, an international and global studies major. They worked with the Burnett Honors College and the Office of Prestigious Awards to apply for the fellowships. Boren Fellowships provide funding […]
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Congratulations to the 2018 30 Under 30!
Last Friday, May 19, UCF Alumni hosted an award ceremony to recognize the 30 Under 30 alumni who have made an impact within their professions, communities and the university in the early stages of their careers. Eleven of the honored students are from the College of Sciences. Congratulations, alumni! Yazen Abdin ’12 Psychology Yazen […]
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From Italy to UCF, Student Finds Success
Helin Yıldız traveled from Italy after being accepted by the Kurdish Political Studies Program to continue her master’s education abroad. During her time in Orlando, Yıldız attended courses at UCF, interacted with professors and students about her research and intellectual interests, participated in KPSP events and made trips to Washington, D.C. to conduct interviews. Yıldız […]
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In Search of a Lost Song: From New York to Dersim
On April 23, 2018, The Kurdish Political Studies Program (KPSP) hosted the screening of the movie ‘Zer’ and a conversation with the director, Kazım Öz, who is one of the leading Kurdish directors of his generation. He is also the director of highly acclaimed Bahoz (The Storm), Fotoğraf (The Photograph), the short film Ax (The […]
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Student Represents UCF at NAFAC
Each year since 1960, the U.S. Naval Academy has hosted a gathering of undergraduates from around the United States and the world who come together in the spring to discuss a theme from current global affairs. The Naval Academy Foreign Affairs Conference (NAFAC) has grown to be the leading undergraduate conference in the country. Political […]
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50 Students Attend Panel on Chemical Attacks
Thirty years after the attacks in Halabja in Iraqi Kurdistan, chemical weapons continue to be used against civilian populations in the Middle East. On April 12, 2018, the Kurdish Political Studies Program (KPSP) in collaboration with the Intelligence Community Center for Academic Excellence (IC CAE) sponsored a panel on the chemical attacks and U.S. policies. […]
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Politics Within The Oil Industry
As an international tanker broker, Jonathan “JB” Corey uses what he learned at UCF almost daily. His political science degree helps him navigate the erratic effects the international political climate has on the oil industry. The company he works for, Southport Maritime, represents and services oil companies, tanker owners and oil traders who are engaging […]
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11 Students Honored For Women’s History Month
The College of Sciences is proud of our 11 female students who were recognized as outstanding student leaders for Women’s History Month. Congratulations to the awardees! Sarah Davenport, Anthropology “Seek positive mentorship. Mentorship from the McNair Program and my faculty mentor are the reasons why I have been able to achieve and exceed my […]
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Political Science Student Becomes Minority Fellowship Program Fellow
The Minority Fellowship Program, hosted by the American Political Science Association (APSA), recognizes the research and hard work of political science students from underrepresented backgrounds. It’s a competitive scholarship, and the APSA only honors 12 students each year. UCF student Angie Torres has just become one of those 12. “I am excited and grateful when […]
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Paving the Path for a Future Diplomat
By Meredith Harris Ever since taking a UCF honors diplomacy course at The Burnett Honors College, Amanda Fleming ’15 dreamed of working as a diplomat. Armed with a 4.0 GPA and international work experience, the political science major (and psychology minor) took steps to make herself competitive for a position in the U.S. Foreign Service, […]
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Venezuelan Background Helps Alumna Help Others
Having lived through an almost 11-year separation from her parents after they were denied re-entry into the United States, UCF alumna Raquel Fernandez knows firsthand the difficulties of the immigration process. Now, as the community relations coordinator for the Orange County Tax Collector’s Office, she helps support and educate others going through the same process […]
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UCF Alumnus Represents Home Country
Thirty years before he became the Counselor for Political Affairs at the Embassy of El Salvador in Washington D.C., Luis Aparicio was an international student waiting to graduate from high school. His biggest dream was to attend college in the United States and study journalism. “I remember I requested over a dozen catalogs from U.S. […]
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New Data Shed Light on the Dramatic Protests in Iran
by Peyman Asadzade, security studies Ph.D. student The swift spread of Iran’s protests through small cities is perhaps their most notable feature. Of the cities where at least one protest rally took place, 73 percent had a population of less than 380,000. The population size for 25 percent of cities was lower than 105,000. These […]
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Ph.D. Student Wins Research Award
The Florida Network for Global Studies (FNGS) held its 2018 Florida International Summit on January 30, 2018, at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. As part of the summit`s program, FNGS organized its first undergraduate and graduate student research poster competition on the topic of Transatlantic Security. Sandor Fabian, a first-year Ph.D student […]
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The India Center Helps Send Debate Team Around the World
The weather in Orlando was chilly during the winter break, but the UCF Debate Team continued to heat up. Not only did the team compete at the Hurricane Debates hosted by the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, some of the team also traveled to India and participated in Calcutta’s Festival of the Spoken […]
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Alumna Andrea Otero Connects With Community
The first in her family to graduate from college back in 2009, Andrea Otero understands the importance of hard work when crafting dreams into reality. Now, as the community outreach and communications specialist for the Orange County Clerk of Courts, she is leading the efforts in promoting the many services the Clerk’s office provides in […]
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National Coastal Center Launches at UCF
UCF has launched a national research center focused on finding big-picture solutions to threats facing coastal communities. In 2017, federal and local governments in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico spent more than $284 billion to deal with the impact of hurricanes and flooding, according to NOAA. “There’s a perfect storm coming,” said Graham Worthy, UCF biologist […]
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Loving People at the Local Level
Kelly Quintero has always had a love for helping people at the local level. Before graduating in 2013 with her bachelor’s degree in political science, Quintero was eagerly involved with the school community. She was the president of the NationalOrganization for Women at UCF. She participated in the UCF College Democrats club. She helped plan, […]
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The India Center at UCF Honors Distinguished Professor
The India Center at UCF hosted an event to honor the retirement of Narsingh Deo, Ph.D., Charles N. Millican Eminent Scholar’s Chair in Computer Science and Director of the Center for Parallel Computation in the College of Computer Science and Engineering. The evening of celebration was made possible by Sharad Mehta, Anil Deshpande and Ajit […]
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The Dynamics of Buying Peace
Security Studies Ph.D. candidate Christopher Faulkner recently published an article in the journal Civil Wars. Faulkner’s article titled “Buying Peace? Civil War Peace Duration and Private Military & Security Companies,” explores the dynamics and implications of private military and security company (PMSC) involvement in civil conflicts. Suggesting that scholarship has paid scant attention to the […]
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India Center Welcomes Dr. Tanvi Madan
The India Center at UCF was honored to host Dr. Tanvi Madan in early December. Madan is a fellow for the Project on International Order and Strategy in the Foreign Policy program at The Brookings Institution, and director of The India Project. Her work explores Indian foreign policy, focusing in particular on India’s relations with […]
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The India Center Sponsors Trip for Students
The India Center at UCF, housed in the Political Science Department in the College of Sciences, co-sponsored four undergraduate students to travel to India during summer 2017. The trip was organized by Phil Peters, Professor of Film and Animation in the College of Arts and Humanities. The four-week long trip to India was part of […]