Ph.D. student Laila Abbas earned an ICA Top Dissertation Award Honorable Mention for her research on how emotionally charged TikTok content can inspire political identity and collective action, using the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement as a case study. In a Q&A, she reflects on the impact of her research, offers advice for aspiring scholars, and shares her favorite memory from SJMC.
Graduate Students
Spotlight on Graduate Student Award Winners
This year, four TAs were awarded campus-wide and college-level awards for their work both in and out of the classroom. They shared what these awards mean to them and what they find most rewarding about teaching.
Graduate Student Highlight: Tahereh Rahimi
Ph.D. student Tahereh Rahimi won ICA’s Top Student Paper Award in the Communication History Division for her research on press control in Iran during the Qajar Era. She shares what the award means to her, the value of staying true to your academic interests and her favorite memories from the SJMC community.
Graduate Student Highlight: Abby Qin
Ph.D. student Abby Youran Qin won AEJMC’s Top Student Paper Award for her research on democratic attitudes and the role of right-wing media in the United States. She reflected on the award, shared insights from her academic journey and offered advice for future scholars.
Graduate Student Highlight: Yanshu Sybil Wang
PhD student Yanshu Sybil Wang was recently awarded the Fall Mini Fellowship from the UW–Madison Robert F. and Jean E. Holtz Center for Science & Technology Studies to support her research on AI literacy and its impact on adolescents.
Graduate Student Highlight: Professional M.A. Class of December 2024
Last week, four of our Professional M.A. students presented portfolios of their journalistic work and completed their masters degrees.
Graduate Student Highlight: Jess Miller
Professional Master’s student Jess Miller shares about his journalistic work and advice for future SJMC professional master’s students.
Meet the Fall 2024 SJMC Student Representatives
Meet the undergraduate and graduate students working for and representing the School of Journalism and Mass Communication this Fall 2024.
Graduate Student Highlight: Chenjie Zheng
Watch our video about first year Ph.D. student Chenjie Zheng who recently received the Top Student Paper Award from the Family Communication Division at the National Communication Association 2024 Conference.
Commitment to Education Builds Community with Habermas Reading Group
Two years ago a group of Ph.D. students wrangled their hunger to learn Jurgen Habermas’ Theory of Communicative Action and created a reading group.