A group of graduates pose for a photo during UW-Madison's winter commencement ceremony at the Kohl Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on Dec. 20, 2015. The indoor graduation was attended by approximately 1,200 bachelor's and master's degree candidates, plus their guests. (Photo by Jeff Miller/UW-Madison)

Recent Graduates

Nearly 85 percent of our graduates are placed in university positions, with 47 percent placed in top-tier research institutions. Another 11 percent find careers in government, private or nonprofit sectors. This list of recent Ph.D. recipients includes either first position or current position, depending on available information.

Xiaoya Jiang, Ph.D. 2025 | Assistant Professor, Boston University 

Lauren Kriss, Ph.D. 2024 | Senior Program Coordinator, University of Texas Center for Health Communication

Macau K. F. Mak, Ph.D. 2024 | Assistant Professor, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Danny Parker, Ph.D. 2024 | Assistant Professor, Cornell University

Omar Dumdum, Ph.D. 2023 | Senior Communications Specialist, WI Dept of Employee Trust Funds

Sang Jung Kim, Ph.D. 2023 | Assistant Professor, University of Iowa

Matt Minich, Ph.D. 2023 | Postdoctoral Researcher, UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health

Xerxes Minocher, Ph.D. 2023 | Assistant Professor, Haverford College

Margarita Orozco, Ph.D. 2023 | Assistant Professor, University of Kansas

Kiran Bhatia, Ph.D. 2022 | User Experience Researcher, Victoria’s Secret

Shreenita Ghosh, Ph.D. 2022 | Research Associate, Pew Research Center

Hyungjin Gill, Ph.D. 2022 | Assistant Professor, Cal State Poly Pomona

Soo Yun Kim, Ph.D. 2022 | Assistant Professor, University of Texas- Rio Grande Valley

Jianing Li, Ph.D. 2022 | Assistant Professor, University of South Florida

Estelle Ranran Mi, Ph.D. 2022 | Assistant Professor, Kean University

Swee Kiat “SK” Tay, Ph.D. 2022 | Postdoc, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Singapore

Yiping Xia, Ph.D. 2022 | Assistant Professor, Texas A&M University 

Ellie Fan Yang, Ph.D. 2022 | Assistant Professor, Northwest Missouri State University

Steven Wang, Ph.D. 2022 | Postdoc, University of Kansas

Helen Cho, Ph.D. 2021 | Assistant Professor, University of Richmond

Ornella Hills, Ph.D. 2021 | Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Steven’s Point

Juwon Hwang, Ph.D. 2021 | Assistant Professor, Oklahoma State University

Sunghak Kim, Ph.D. 2021 | Postdoc, Yonsei University College of Medicine

Jiyoun Suk, Ph.D. 2021 | Assistant Professor, University of Connecticut

Chau Tong, Ph.D. 2021 | Postdoc, Cornell University

Hyesun Choung, Ph.D. 2020 | Postdoc, Michigan State University

Jordan Foley, Ph.D. 2020 | Assistant Professor, Washington State

Josephine Lukito, Ph.D. 2020 | Assistant Professor, University of Texas-Austin

Meredith Metzler, Ph.D. 2020 | Research Lead, Northwestern Mutual

Jeff Tischauser, Ph.D. 2020 | Senior Research Analyst, Southern Poverty Law Center

Alicia Wright, Ph.D. 2020 | Assistant Director, Lifelong Learning, Dartmouth College

Yini Zhang, Ph.D. 2020 | Assistant Professor, SUNY – Buffalo

Eunji Cho, Ph.D. 2019 | Assistant Professor, Midwestern State University

Caitlin Cieslik-Miskimen, Ph.D. 2019 | Assistant Professor, University of Idaho

Ceri Hughes, Ph.D. 2019 | Lecturer, Brunel University – London

Jinha Kim, Ph.D. 2019 | Postdoc, University of Pennsylvania

Jiawei Liu, Ph.D. 2019 | Postdoc, Cornell University

Mark Mederson, Ph.D. 2019 | Assistant Professor, Loras College 

Mitch Schwartz, Ph.D. 2019 | Technical Service Engineer, EPIC

German Alvarez, Ph.D. 2018 | Postdoc, University of Texas, Austin

Yangsun Hong, Ph.D. 2018 | Assistant Professor, University of New Mexico-Albuquerque

Megan Duncan, Ph.D. 2018 | Assistant Professor, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University

Rachel Kornfield, Ph.D. 2018 | Postdoc, Northwestern University 

JungHwan Yang, Ph.D. 2018 | Assistant Professor, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

David Coppini, Ph.D. 2017 | Assistant Professor, University of Denver

Catasha Davis, Ph.D. 2017 | Researcher, FrameWorks Institute

TaeJoon Moon, Ph.D. 2017 | Assistant Professor, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

Mallory Perryman, Ph.D. 2017 | Assistant Professor, Virginia Commonwealth University

Jordan Stalker, Ph.D. 2017 | Adjunct Faculty, DePaul University

Stephanie Tsang, Ph.D. 2017 | Assistant Professor, Hong Kong Baptist University

Michael Mirer, Ph.D. 2016 | Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Mitchell Bard, Ph.D. 2015 | Assistant Professor, Iona College

Matthew Barnidge, Ph.D. 2015 | Assistant Professor, University of Alabama

Denise St. Clair, Ph.D. 2015 | Senior Study Director at Westat

Nakho Kim, Ph.D. 2015 | Assistant Professor, Penn State Harrisburg

Linda Pfeiffer, Ph.D. 2015 | Assistant Professor, Purdue University

David Jasun Carr, Ph.D. 2014 | Assistant Professor, Idaho State University

Magda Konieczna, Ph.D. 2014 | Assistant Professor, Temple University

Timothy Macafee, Ph.D. 2014 | Assistant Professor, Concordia University

Min Woo Kwon, Ph.D. 2014 | Manager Big Data Group, Samsung Electronics Co., LTD

Bryan McLaughlin, Ph.D. 2014 | Assistant Professor, Texas Tech University

Nicholas Brigham Schmuhl, Ph.D. 2014 | Communications Manager, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, UW-Madison

Manisha Shelat, Ph.D. 2014 | Associate Professor, Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad (MICA)

Jiun-Yi Tsai, Ph.D. 2014 | Assistant Professor, Northern Arizona University

Davita Veselenak, Ph.D. 2014 | Program & Policy Analyst, Wisconsin Department of Administration

Woo Hyun Yoo, Ph.D. 2014 | Assistant Professor, Incheon National University

Robert Rabe, Ph.D. 2013 | Graduate Coordinator, Marshall University

John C. Thomson Jr., Ph.D. 2013 | Learning Platform Administrator, Stanford Graduate School of Business

Keith Zukas, Ph.D. 2013 | Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

Stephanie Edgerly, Ph.D. 2012 | Associate Professor, Northwestern University

Melissa Gotlieb, Ph.D. 2012  | Associate Professor, Texas Tech University

Christopher Terry, Ph.D. 2012 | Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota

Erica Salkin, Ph.D. 2012 | Associate Professor, Whitworth University

Bryan Ming Wang, Ph.D. 2012 | Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Eulalia Puig Abril, Ph.D. 2011 | Associate Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago

Anthony Dudo, Ph.D. 2011 | Associate Professor, University of Texas at Austin

Brian Ekdale, Ph.D. 2011 | Associate Professor, University of Iowa

Sojung Claire Kim, Ph.D. 2011 | Assistant Professor, George Mason University

Kang Namkoong, Ph.D. 2011 | Assistant Professor, University of Maryland

Kihun Sung, Ph.D. 2011 | Assistant Professor, Catholic University of Korea

Melissa Tully, Ph.D. 2011 | Associate Professor, University of Iowa

Emily Vraga, Ph.D. 2011 | Associate Professor, George Mason University

Amy Bree Becker, Ph.D. 2010 | Associate Professor, Loyola University Maryland

Porismita Borah, Ph.D. 2010 | Associate Professor, Washington State University

Julie Beth Lane, Ph.D. 2010 | Assistant Professor, Boise State University

Namjin Lee, Ph.D. 2010 | Associate Professor, College of Charleston

Peter Hart-Brinson, Ph.D. 2010 | Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire

Qiujing Lisa Bu, Ph.D. 2010 | Content Distribution Manager, TED Conferences

Timothy K. F. Fung, Ph.D. 2010 | Associate Professor, Hong Kong Baptist University

Philip Glende, Ph.D. 2010 | Student Media Executive Director, Indiana State University, Terre Haute

Kjerstin Sonja Thorson, Ph.D. 2010 | Associate Professor, Michigan State University