Political Science Graduate Students

Our graduate students come to the Maxwell School with varied backgrounds, including coming directly from undergraduate and master’s programs or with work experiences ranging from law, to military service, to the Foreign Service.

26%

of domestic students are students of color

41%

of our doctoral students are international

58%

of political science Ph.D. students are women

Joel Kersting

Contact Information:

jbkersti@syr.edu

Joel Kersting

Ph.D. Candidate, Political Science Department

Bio

Joel is a PhD Candidate in Political Science at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. He is a life-long resident of upstate New York. Joel grew up in Gloversville, NY and later attended the College of Saint Rose in Albany, NY, earning a Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science. He has been at Syracuse University since 2015, receiving a Master of Arts in Political Science in 2017.

Research Interests

Political Parties; Representation; Public Opinion; LGBTQ Politics; Race and Politics.

Research Grant Awards and Projects

My dissertation seeks to explain the representation of the LGBTQ community by the Democratic Party; and how and why it has increased in recent years. More broadly, I am developing a theory of party behavior and its representation of groups that are part of its coalition, focusing on the nature of representation for historically disadvantaged groups.