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 

Jisoo Kim, Ph.D. 2025 | Assistant Professor, University of Washington 

Linqi Lu, Ph.D. 2025 | Assistant Professor, University of North Dakota

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 | Social Scientist, FDA

Xerxes Minocher, Ph.D. 2023 | Postdoc, Haverford College

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

Kiran Bhatia, Ph.D. 2022 | UI/UX Researcher, Victoria’s Secret

Shreenita Ghosh, Ph.D. 2022 | Data Scientist (Rider Experience – Maryland Transit Authority), Jeezny Sourcing

Hyungjin Gill, Ph.D. 2022 | Assistant Professor, California State Polytechnic University, 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 | Research Fellow, 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, Illinois State University 

Steven Wang, Ph.D. 2022 | Assistant Professor, Lawrence Technological University 

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

Ornella Hills, Ph.D. 2021 | Assistant Professor, Lawrence University 

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 | Assistant Professor, University of Missouri

Hyesun Choung, Ph.D. 2020 | Assistant Professor, Purdue 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 | Senior Director, Talent Selection & Onboarding Design, Northwestern Mutual

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

Alicia Wright, Ph.D. 2020 | Associate Director, Tuck Executive Education, Dartmouth College

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

Eunji Cho, Ph.D. 2019 | Assistant Professor, Wheaton College Massachusetts

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

Ceri Hughes, Ph.D. 2019 | Lecturer, Swansea University 

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

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

Mark Mederson, Ph.D. 2019 | Assistant Professor, Texas State University

Mitch Schwartz, Ph.D. 2019 | Consultant, Epic

German Alvarez, Ph.D. 2018 | Senior Research Scientist, Parenthetic 

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

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

Rachel Kornfield, Ph.D. 2018 | Assistant Professor, Northwestern University 

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

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

Catasha Davis, Ph.D. 2017 | Social & Behavior Scientist Administrator, National Institute on Aging

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 | Associate Professor, Hong Kong Baptist University

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

Mitchell Bard, Ph.D. 2015 | Chair and Associate Professor, Iona College

Matthew Barnidge, Ph.D. 2015 | Associate Professor, University of Florida 

Denise St. Clair, Ph.D. 2015 | Vice President, Health Policy & Interoperability, Global Alliant Inc. 

Nakho Kim, Ph.D. 2015 | Assistant Teaching Professor, Drexel University

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

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

Magda Konieczna, Ph.D. 2014 | Associate Professor, Concordia University

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

Min Woo Kwon, Ph.D. 2014 | Director of Global Marketing Team, People and Technology

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

Nicholas Brigham Schmuhl, Ph.D. 2014 | Research and Analytics Scientist, Population Health Institute, UW-Madison

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

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

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

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

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

John C. Thomson Jr., Ph.D. 2013 | Lead Solution Engineer, Salesforce

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

Stephanie Edgerly, Ph.D. 2012 | Professor and Associate Dean of Research, Northwestern University

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

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

Erica Salkin, Ph.D. 2012 | Interim Dean, 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 | Professor, University of Iowa

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

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

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

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

Emily Vraga, Ph.D. 2011 | Professor, University of Minnesota

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

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

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

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

Peter Hart-Brinson, Ph.D. 2010 | 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 | Dean, College of Liberal Arts, Colorado State University