MIT Political Science

We're pleased to highlight Wright Smith PhD '26 who is on the job market.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
MIT Security Studies Program
MIT Center for International Studies

Prof. Bailey Flanigan has been named a 2026 AI2050 Early Career Fellow by Schmidt Sciences. This year’s cohort brings together 28 researchers (five from MIT) working across AI safety, science and society to help ensure AI benefits society by 2050.
https://www.schmidtsciences.org/ai2050-fellows-2026-announcement/
MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

Meet the 2026 tenured professors in the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences The MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences announced that five MIT faculty were granted tenure.

Prof. Mariya Grinberg has won the J. David Greenstone Book Prize from the American Political Science Association's Politics and History Section for her book Trade in War: Economic Cooperation Across Enemy Lines.

MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
MIT Center for International Studies
MIT Security Studies Program

https://polisci.mit.edu/news/2026/prof-mariya-grinberg-wins-j-david-greenstone-book-prize-american-political-science

“I always say, political methodology is the field where you ask questions as a political scientist, but then you solve them like an applied statistician or an applied computer scientist,” Naoki Egami says.

https://news.mit.edu/2026/studying-society-accurately-naoki-egami-0916

MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Profs. Adam Berinsky, Chara Podimata, and Charles Stewart III lead a data collection effort documenting what A.I. systems say about an election.

“'Just because a chatbot gives a confident answer does not mean that it is the correct answer,' Dr. Berinsky said."

https://nytimes.com/2026/09/10/business/media/ai-chatbots-election-misinformation.html?searchResultPosition=7

MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
MIT Election Data and Science Lab

Four professors and four PhD students from the MIT Political Science community have won awards from the American Political Science Association.

Three professors won best book awards:

Professor Kathleen Thelen
https://polisci.mit.edu/news/2026/prof-kathleen-thelen-wins-gladys-m-kammerer-award-best-book-field-us-national-policy

Professor Andrea Campbell
https://polisci.mit.edu/news/2026/prof-andrea-campbell-wins-best-book-field-class-and-inequality-american-political-science

Professor Erik Lin-Greenberg
https://polisci.mit.edu/news/2026/prof-erik-lin-greenberg-wins-best-book-foreign-policy-and-best-book-conflict-processes

Professor Ariel White won a best article award.
https://polisci.mit.edu/news/2026/prof-ariel-white-wins-best-article-civic-engagement-american-political-science

PhD students Angie Jo, Jerik Cruz, and Gabrielle Péloquin-Skulski won best paper awards, and Ye Zhang '26 also won a best paper award.
https://polisci.mit.edu/news/2026/phd-students-jerik-cruz-angie-jo-gabrielle-peloquin-skulski-and-ye-zhang-win-apsa-awards

Congratulations to all!

Left to right: Professors Thelen, Campbell, Lin-Greenberg, and White.
Left to right: Jerik Cruz, Angie Jo, Gabrielle Péloquin-Skulski and Ye Zhang '26.

MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences MIT Center for International Studies Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

The Pathways to Political Science Summer Research Program hosted its fourth cohort of interns this summer. Pathways@GDL is sponsored by the MIT Political Science Department and the Center for International Studies (MIT Center for International Studies (CIS)) in partnership with the MIT Summer Research Program. Professors Noah Nathan and Ariel White led the Pathways@GDL program. Pathways@GDL is planning for a fifth cohort in the summer of 2027.

Pathways@GDL is aimed at broadening the pipeline into US political science PhD programs. A masters student from University of Witwatersrand in South Africa joined undergraduates from universities in Florida, Indiana, New York, North Carolina, Virginia, and Washington DC, mixing research assistant work and their own independent research projects, professionalizing their presentation of research, and exchanging information with each other and Department of Political Science faculty.

https://polisci.mit.edu/news/2026/pathways-political-science-summer-research-program-hosts-fourth-cohort

MIT Center for International Studies MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences University of Witwatersrand University of Florida Bard College North Carolina Central University Purdue University Howard University James Madison University

Prof. Bailey Flanigan develops complex computational methods for helping democracy thrive.

https://news.mit.edu/2026/following-questions-where-they-lead-bailey-flanigan-0717

MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Professor Kathleen Thelen's book Attention Shoppers! American Retail Capitalism and the Origins of the Amazon Economy has received the American Political Science Association Gladys M. Kammerer Award for the best book published during the previous calendar year in the field of U.S. national policy. Congratulations, Kathy!

https://politicalsciencenow.com/congratulations-to-the-2026-apsa-award-winners/

MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences MIT Center for International Studies Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)