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Olympic Breakdancer Raygun Has PhD in Breakdancing?

Rachael gunn earned a zero in breakdancing at the paris 2024 olympic games., aleksandra wrona, published aug. 13, 2024.

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Gunn's Ph.D. thesis, titled "Deterritorializing Gender in Sydney's Breakdancing Scene: a B-girl's Experience of B-boying," did cover the topic of breakdancing. However ...

... Gunn earned her Ph.D. in cultural studies. Moreover, a "PhD in breakdancing" does not exist as an academic discipline.

On Aug. 10, 2024, a rumor spread on social media that Rachael Gunn (also known as "Raygun"), an Australian breakdancer who competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics, had a Ph.D. in breakdancing. "This australian breakdancer has a PhD in breakdancing and dance culture and was a ballroom dancer before taking up breaking. I don't even know what to say," one X post on the topic read .

"Australian Olympic breakdancer Rachael Gunn has a PhD in breakdancing and dance culture," one X user wrote , while another asked, "Who did we send? Raygun, a 36-year-old full-time lecturer at Sydney's Macquarie University, completed a PhD in breaking culture and is a lecturer in media, creative arts, literature and language," another X user wrote .

The claim also spread on other social media platforms, such as Reddit and Instagram . 

"Is she the best break dancer? No. But I have so much respect for going on an international stage to do something you love even if you're not very skilled at it," one Instagram user commented , adding that, "And, I'm pretty sure she's using this as a research endeavor and will be writing about all our reactions to her performance. Can't wait to read it!"

In short, Gunn's Ph.D. thesis, titled "Deterritorializing Gender in Sydney's Breakdancing Scene: A B-girl's Experience of B-boying," indeed focused on the topic of breakdancing. However, Gunn earned her Ph.D. in cultural studies, not in breakdancing. Furthermore, it's important to note that a "PhD in breakdancing" does not exist as an academic discipline. 

Since Gunn's research focused on the breakdancing community, but her degree is actually in the broader field of cultural studies, we have rated this claim as a "Mixture" of truths.

Gunn "secured Australia's first ever Olympic spot in the B-Girl competition at Paris 2024 by winning the QMS Oceania Championships in Sydney, NSW, Australia," the Olympics official website informed . 

Gunn earned a zero in breakdancing at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and clips of her routine went viral on social media, with numerous users creating memes or mocking dancer's moves. "As well as criticising her attire, social media users mocked the Australian's routine as she bounced around on stage like a kangaroo and stood on her head at times," BBC article on the topic read . 

The website of the Macquarie University informed Gunn "is an interdisciplinary and practice-based researcher interested in the cultural politics of breaking" and holds a Ph.D. in cultural studies, as well as a bachelor of arts degree (Hons) in contemporary music: 

Rachael Gunn is an interdisciplinary and practice-based researcher interested in the cultural politics of breaking. She holds a PhD in Cultural Studies (2017) and a BA (Hons) in Contemporary Music (2009) from Macquarie University. Her work draws on cultural theory, dance studies, popular music studies, media, and ethnography. Rachael is a practising breaker and goes by the name of 'Raygun'. She was the Australian Breaking Association top ranked bgirl in 2020 and 2021, and represented Australia at the World Breaking Championships in Paris in 2021, in Seoul in 2022, and in Leuven (Belgium) in 2023. She won the Oceania Breaking Championships in 2023.

Gunn's biography further revealed that she is a member of the Macquarie University Performance and Expertise Reasearch Centre, and has a range of teaching experience at undergraduate and postgraduate levels "across the areas of media, creative industries, music, dance, cultural studies, and work-integrated learning." 

Moreover, it informed her research interests included, "Breaking, street dance, and hip-hop culture; youth cultures/scenes; constructions of the dancing body; politics of gender and gender performance; ethnography; the methodological dynamics between theory and practice."

Gunn earned her Ph.D. from the Department of Media, Music, Communications, and Cultural Studies within the Faculty of Arts at Macquarie University. Below, you can find the abstract of her paper, shared by the official website of Macquarie University:

This thesis critically interrogates how masculinist practices of breakdancing offers a site for the transgression of gendered norms. Drawing on my own experiences as a female within the male-dominated breakdancing scene in Sydney, first as a spectator, then as an active crew member, this thesis questions why so few female participants engage in this creative space, and how breakdancing might be the space to displace and deterritorialise gender. I use analytic autoetthnography and interviews with scene members in collaboration with theoretical frameworks offered by Deleuze and Guttari, Butler, Bourdieu and other feminist and post-structuralist philosophers, to critically examine how the capacities of bodies are constituted and shaped in Sydney's breakdancing scene, and to also locate the potentiality for moments of transgression. In other words, I conceptualize the breaking body as not a 'body' constituted through regulations and assumptions, but as an assemblage open to new rhizomatic connections. Breaking is a space that embraces difference, whereby the rituals of the dance not only augment its capacity to deterritorialize the body, but also facilitate new possibilities for performativities beyond the confines of dominant modes of thought and normative gender construction. Consequently, this thesis attempts to contribute to what I perceive as a significant gap in scholarship on hip-hop, breakdancing, and autoethnographic explorations of Deleuze-Guattarian theory.

In a response to online criticism of her Olympics performance, Gunn wrote on her Instagram profile: "Don't be afraid to be different, go out there and represent yourself, you never know where that's gonna take you":

We have recently investigated other 2024 Paris Olympics' -related rumors, such as:

• Lifeguards Are Present at Olympic Swimming Competitions?
• Hobby Lobby Pulled $50M in Ads from 2024 Paris Olympics?
• 2024 Paris Olympics Are 'Lowest-Rated' Games in Modern History?

Gunn, Rachael Louise. Deterritorializing Gender in Sydney's Breakdancing Scene: A B-Girl's Experience of B-Boying. 2022. Macquarie University, thesis. figshare.mq.edu.au, https://doi.org/10.25949/19433291.v1.

---. Deterritorializing Gender in Sydney's Breakdancing Scene: A B-Girl's Experience of B-Boying. 2022. Macquarie University, thesis. figshare.mq.edu.au, https://doi.org/10.25949/19433291.v1.

Ibrahim, Nur. "Lifeguards Are Present at Olympic Swimming Competitions?" Snopes, 8 Aug. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/lifeguards-paris-olympics-swimming/.

"Olympic Breaking: Criticism of Viral Breakdancer Rachael Gunn - Raygun - Condemned by Australia Team." BBC Sport, 10 Aug. 2024, https://www.bbc.com/sport/olympics/articles/c2dgxp5n3rlo.

ORCID. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1069-4021. Accessed 12 Aug. 2024.

Paris 2024. https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/athlete/-raygun_1940107. Accessed 12 Aug. 2024.

Saunders, Grant Leigh, and Rachael Gunn. "Australia." Global Hip Hop Studies, vol. 3, no. 1–2, Dec. 2023, pp. 23–32. Macquarie University, https://doi.org/10.1386/ghhs_00060_1.

Wazer, Caroline. "2024 Paris Olympics Are 'Lowest-Rated' Games in Modern History?" Snopes, 1 Aug. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/paris-olympics-lowest-rated-games/.

---. "Hobby Lobby Pulled $50M in Ads from 2024 Paris Olympics?" Snopes, 8 Aug. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/olympics-hobby-lobby-ads/.

By Aleksandra Wrona

Aleksandra Wrona is a reporting fellow for Snopes, based in the Warsaw, Poland, area.

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University of Florida denies appeal of pro-Palestinian student protester's suspension

The University of Florida has denied the appeal of a graduate student who was suspended for three years following pro-Palestinian protests in the spring, a national free expression group has announced.

“As a public school, the University of Florida has a duty to mete out punishment in a viewpoint-neutral manner," Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression attorney Jessie Appleby said in a Wednesday statement.

"The draconian response from UF and its refusal to reconsider the facts of these cases suggest that these students are being targeted for their beliefs, not their individual conduct," Appleby continued. "That’s a clear First Amendment violation.”

The student in question, Keely Gliwa , was supposed to graduate in May with a master’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology. But that all changed when she decided to participate in a pro-Palestinian protest in late April.

"Keely was hit with disciplinary charges for failing to immediately disperse when police broke up the protest," FIRE wrote in a press release. "But video and witness testimony backed up Keely’s story that she only stayed behind to help another student who was in distress."

She was one of nine people arrested during the campus protest. Various charges included failure to obey police, resisting arrest without violence, wearing a hood or mask on public property and trespassing. One student accused of spitting on a police officer was charged with felony battery.

University officials said they had repeatedly warned protesters to disperse the area or face arrest.

"The University of Florida is not a daycare, and we do not treat protesters like children — they knew the rules, they broke the rules, and they'll face the consequences," said UF spokesman Steve Orlando in a statement at the time.

But Fresh Take Florida reported that a university hearing body recommended Gliwa only get probation. In closed-door hearings, that was overruled by the new dean of students, Chris Summerlin.

Gliwa, in a statement, said she was "deeply disappointed."

"This battle is not over and I will continue to fight, not just for myself, but to ensure that future students will not be victimized by the university for speaking out about the ongoing genocide in Gaza," she said.

FIRE says it's also working with students Parker Hovis and Tess Segal, who like Gliwa received recommendations of light punishment that were overruled by Summerlin. UF also denied their appeals, according to FIRE.

Tensions have been high on college campuses across Florida and the nation since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack  on Israel and the resultant conflict that has leveled wide swaths of Gaza.

The appeal denial is the latest example of how Gov. Ron DeSantis and state higher education officials have  taken strict action  against pro-Palestinian protesters accused of breaking any law or university rule.

UF representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The USA TODAY Network-Florida sent public records requests to UF in early May for records regarding its response to the protest. The university still lists those requests as "in progress."

This reporting content is supported by a partnership with Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. USA Today Network-Florida First Amendment reporter Douglas Soule can be reached at  [email protected] .

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Facing Antisemitism: Politics, Culture, History

The persistence of antisemitism manifests in hate crime figures, in opinion surveys, on social media, in political discourse and in murderous attacks on Jewish targets. At the same time, antisemitism provokes controversy. Both the persistence of antisemitism and the controversy raises urgent questions.

What is antisemitism? How can we recognise and define it? How widespread is it? Where does it come from? Why does it persist? How does antisemitism arise within different political and religious contexts? Is there a difference between anti-Zionism and antisemitism? What is the relationship, in theory and in practice, between anti-racism and opposition to antisemitism?  

‘Facing Antisemitism: Politics, Culture, History’ is a short course which explores the sources, development and contemporary forms of antisemitism drawing on information and concepts from the social sciences and history.  It is taught over three sessions by Birkbeck’s acknowledged experts on antisemitism, Professor David Feldman, Dr Ben Gidley and Dr Brendan McGeever.

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Tim Walz's military record: What to know about potential VP's National Guard service

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris selected Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate on Tuesday, choosing a progressive yet plain-spoken VP candidate from America’s heartland to help her win over rural, white voters.

“I’m pleased to share that I’ve made my decision: Minnesota Governor Tim Walz will join our campaign as my running mate,” Harris said via text to supporters. “Tim is a battle-tested leader who has an incredible track record of getting things done for Minnesota families. I know that he will bring that same principled leadership to our campaign, and to the office of the vice president.”

We look at Walz, a 60-year-old U.S. Army National Guard veteran, and his military career over the years.

More: Tim Walz is Kamala Harris' VP pick: Minnesota governor named running mate: Live updates

How long was Walz in the military?

Walz served in the military for 24 years, enlisting in the Nebraska National Guard at 17 in 1981 and then transferring to the Minnesota National Guard in 1996. He retired in 2005 to begin his successful run for the U.S. House, representing Minnesota as command sergeant major, among the highest ranks for enlisted soldiers. His battalion went on to deploy to Iraq shortly after Walz's retirement.

Walz specialized in heavy artillery and had proficiency ribbons in sharpshooting and hand grenades.

But during the 21 years that Walz spent working with large artillery pieces, he suffered hearing loss and tinnitus in both ears, Minnesota Public Radio reported. He was allowed to continue his service after undergoing surgery, which partially resolved his hearing loss.

Where did Walz serve, and what did he do in the National Guard?

During his service, Walz responded to natural disasters, including floods and tornadoes in Minnesota and Nebraska, and was deployed overseas for months at a time, according to MPR.

In 2003, he was sent to Italy, where he served with the European Security Force to support the war in Afghanistan. He was also stationed in Norway for joint training with other NATO militaries.

Walz told MPR that he reenlisted in the National Guard after the September 11 attacks but never saw active combat in his years in the military.

Stars and Stripes reported in 2020 that Walz credited his Army experience with helping him steer Minnesota through the COVID-19 pandemic as governor.

As governor of Minnesota, Walz is commander in chief of the 13,000-soldier Minnesota National Guard. “I’m certainly proud of my military service, but it’s one piece of me,” he told Minnesota Public Radio in 2018. “It doesn’t define me.”

Reuters and USA TODAY reporter Tom Vanden Brook contributed to this story.

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19 Facts About Tim Walz, Harris’s Pick for Vice President

Mr. Walz, the governor of Minnesota, worked as a high school social studies teacher and football coach, served in the Army National Guard and chooses Diet Mountain Dew over alcohol.

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By Simon J. Levien and Maggie Astor

• Published Aug. 6, 2024 Updated Aug. 9, 2024

Until recently, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota was a virtual unknown outside of the Midwest, even among Democrats. But his stock rose fast in the days after President Biden withdrew from the race, clearing a path for Ms. Harris to replace him and pick Mr. Walz as her No. 2.

Here’s a closer look at the Democrats’ new choice for vice president.

1. He is a (very recent) social media darling . Mr. Walz has enjoyed a groundswell of support online from users commenting on his Midwestern “dad vibes” and appealing ordinariness.

2. He started the whole “weird” thing. It was Mr. Walz who labeled former President Donald J. Trump and his running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, “weird” on cable television just a couple of weeks ago. The description soon became a Democratic talking point.

3. He named a highway after Prince and signed the bill in purple ink. “I think we can lay to rest that this is the coolest bill signing we’ll ever do,” he said as he put his name on legislation declaring a stretch of Highway 5 the “Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Highway” after the musician who had lived in Minnesota.

4. He reminds you of your high school history teacher for a reason. Mr. Walz taught high school social studies and geography — first in Alliance, Neb., and then in Mankato, Minn. — before entering politics.

5. He taught in China in 1989 and speaks some Mandarin. He went to China for a year after graduating from college and taught English there through a program affiliated with Harvard University.

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The Birkbeck Department of Politics and its research centre, the Centre for the Study of British Politics and Public Life, hosts a range of talks, lectures, seminars and workshops throughout the year. Our events feature leading academics, public figures and commentators from a range of fields. Listen to them here.

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Birkbeck Politics Roundtable on the Truss Premiership

On 6 September 2022, Liz Truss became the third women in history to occupy the UK's highest political office and the UK’s ninth ‘takeover' Prime Minister since the Second World War. Truss inherits a Parliamentary Conservative Party which remains scarred by Brexit and divided over how to handle the cost-of-living crisis and worsening outlook for economic growth. International challenges, including the war in Ukraine, require close cooperation between the UK and European partners, but Truss enters Downing Street with a reputation as a divisive figure who plays to the domestic gallery. And yet, throughout her political career, Truss has beaten expectations and changed her policy positions. In this roundtable, members of the Department of Politics at Birkbeck discussed what to expect from Liz Truss’s premiership, as a general election and perhaps even further leadership challenges loom on the political horizon. The panel was chaired by Dr Samantha Ashenden (Reader in Politics and Sociology) and included Dr Laura Richards-Gray (Lecturer in British Politics) and Dr Ben Worthy (Senor Lecturer in Politics) as speakers.

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Westminster Watch is a podcast in which members of the Department of Politics at Birkbeck, University of London discuss current issues in British politics. In Episode 62, Professor Dermot Hodson and Dr Ben Worthy discuss the Conservative leadership election. For more information about research on politics at Birkbeck, the range of events run by the Birkbeck Centre for British Political Life and our undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD programmes in politics, please visit www.bbk.ac.uk/politics

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Westminster Watch is a podcast in which members of the Department of Politics at Birkbeck, University of London discuss current issues in British politics. In Episode 61, Professor Dermot Hodson and Dr Ben Worthy discuss Boris Johnson’s resignation as leader of the Conservative Party and his legacy as Prime Minister. For more information about research on politics at Birkbeck, the range of events run by the Birkbeck Centre for British Political Life and our undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD programmes in politics, please visit www.bbk.ac.uk/politics

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Birkbeck Politics Interviews: Ben Wood

‘Studying Politics at Birkbeck prepared me for this campaign'. Listen to current Birkbeck Politics student Ben Wood talking about his experience of running for Parliament in the recent North Shropshire by-election. For more information about Birkbeck’s undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in Politics, please visit www.bbk.ac.uk/politics

• 14 DEC 2021

Westminster Watch Episode 60

Westminster Watch is a podcast in which members of the Department of Politics at Birkbeck, University of London discuss current issues in British politics. In episode 60, Professor Dermot Hodson and Dr Ben Worthy discuss Boris Johnson’s troubled premiership and Dominic Raab’s review of the Human Rights Act. For more information about research on politics at Birkbeck, the range of events run by the Birkbeck Centre for British Political Life and our undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD programmes in politics, please visit www.bbk.ac.uk/politics

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Westminster Watch Episode 59

Westminster Watch is a podcast in which members of the Department of Politics at Birkbeck, University of London discuss current issues in British politics. In episode 59, Professor Dermot Hodson and Dr Ben Worthy discuss political sleaze and the government’s on-off approach to the Northern Ireland Protocol. For more information about research on politics at Birkbeck, the range of events run by the Birkbeck Centre for British Political Life and our undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD programmes in politics, please visit www.bbk.ac.uk/politics

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We also accept a degree that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English speaking countries (non-MESC).

• Approved universities in non-MESC

If you are not a national of a majority English speaking country, then your degree must be no more than five years old* at the beginning of your programme of study. (*Revised 05 March 2024 to extend degree validity to five years.)

Find out more about our language requirements:

Fees and costs

Application fee.

This programme requires a non-refundable application fee.

Your application will not be processed until we have received your application fee.

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You will be responsible for covering living costs for the duration of your studies.

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School of Social and Political Science Scholarships

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For specialised guidance on submitting a competitive scholarship application, please follow the requirements and recommendations and how to contact relevant academic staff as advised here:

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If you live in the UK, you may be able to apply for a postgraduate loan from one of the UK’s governments.

The type and amount of financial support you are eligible for will depend on:

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• your tuition fee status

Programmes studied on a part-time intermittent basis are not eligible.

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Further information

• Postgraduate Admissions Team
• Phone: +44 (0)131 650 4086
• Contact: [email protected]
• Programme Advisor, Dr Sarah Liu
• Contact: [email protected]
• Graduate School of Social & Political Science
• Chrystal Macmillan Building
• 15A George Square
• Central Campus
• Programme: Politics
• School: Social & Political Science
• College: Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

This programme is not currently accepting applications. Applications for the next intake usually open in October.

Start date: September

Awards: PhD (36 mth FT, 72 mth PT)

Application deadlines

We encourage you to apply at least one month prior to entry so that we have enough time to process your application. If you are also applying for funding or will require a visa then we strongly recommend you apply as early as possible.

• How to apply

You must submit a research proposal demonstrating your knowledge of your field of research, which will be closely scrutinised as part of the decision-making process. We request that PhD research proposals are no more than four A4 typed pages in Times New Roman, 12pt font. This includes charts and figures but does not include references or a bibliography.

We require PhD applicants in particular to contact potential supervisors before applying to discuss their research proposal so we can ensure there is adequate supervision.

A non-refundable application fee of £50 must be paid after you submit your application. Your application will not be processed until we have received your application fee.

Find out more about the general application process for postgraduate programmes:

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Global politics of environment and resources, global politics and international relations, law with constitutional politics, law and theory, politics and language (french, german, italian, japanese, korean, spanish), global politics and language (french, german, italian, japanese, korean, spanish).

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Department of Politics and International Studies (POLIS)

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Programme Description

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• MPhil in African Studies
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Work with us

Prospective phd in politics and international studies.

The application and funding portal for October 2024 entry is now closed.

Our PhD in Politics and International Studies is structured as a three-year programme. With the expectation that PhD students will submit a full draft of their thesis at the end of the third year or soon after.

This is a research degree and is completed through the submission of a thesis of up to 80,000 words. As a full-time programme, it is completed in a period of between three and four years – that is between nine and twelve university terms. 

The First Year

The first year of the PhD is spent in Cambridge, with two major activities: firstly, developing a research topic with the guidance of a supervisor and secondly, training in research methods.

The development of the topic often involves extensive reading into relevant literature, the discovery of relevant information sources (such as archives or databases), and formulating plans for primary research, such as through making plans for fieldwork. This is done in combination with your primary supervisor, who discusses your progress and reviews your written work, usually fortnightly. You are also appointed a second supervisor who can be drawn upon for additional advice.

The first year culminates in the production of a report, which serves as the basis for the registration exercise at the end of the year. This registration exercise is required to move on to official registration for the PhD degree and is conducted through a meeting with your second supervisor and an independent assessor. Its purpose is to ensure that your research project is viable, that an appropriate methodology is applied and that relevant literature is drawn upon.

The second major focus of the first year is research training. There is a weekly seminar on the methodological and philosophical questions that underpin research in the contemporary social sciences, which all first-year PhD students attend. Alongside this, PhD students choose two further courses to attend from a range of options, such as statistics, qualitative methods and languages.

As the induction process and training courses start at the beginning of October, entry to the PhD programme must also begin then. We cannot therefore accept applications to begin at other points during the academic year.

The Second and Third Years

The content of the second and third years varies considerably depending on the type of research being conducted. Many students spend a considerable portion of the second year of their PhD out of Cambridge on fieldwork, while others are resident throughout. To assist you in the development of your research, we schedule an annual meeting with your primary and secondary supervisor, for which you produce a report for discussion.

In the second year and onwards, many of our PhD students contribute to the Department's teaching programme, principally in small-group teaching of undergraduates (supervisions).

There is also the opportunity to deliver a lecture if your research interests align with the taught courses. There is no obligation to be involved in this, but many of our PhD students consider this valuable experience, particularly for those considering academic careers.

Dissertations are assessed through an oral examination with two senior academics, of whom at least one must be external.

Supervision

Full-time candidates on the course are expected to devote themselves fully to their studies . Full-time students must spend at least three terms resident in Cambridge.  Part-time students are required to attend Cambridge and undergo formal supervision with their supervisor at a frequency agreed upon between the supervisor and student and determined by the nature of the research project. Generally, we would expect part-time students to be resident in Cambridge for around 45 days per year, spread throughout the year, for supervision and training.

• How to apply  
• Fees and Funding  

Testimonials from current students

"POLIS’ unparalleled array and quality of resources have remained crucial to my growth as a researcher. Diligent research experts like my supervisor and advisor have guided me through fine tuning my academic voice, acquainting myself with my ontological outlook, and even confronting some of my political inclinations. The depth and rigor of the PhD modules around methodology and professional development have rooted my thesis design and helped me envision longer term applications for my work. Above all, navigating this PhD with my POLIS peers, alumni, faculty, and staff has fashioned an intellectual home for me, contributed to my confidence, and steadied my sense of belonging at Cambridge. Whether it’s forging through top tier research conferences, teasing out field studies in foreign countries, or navigating everyday challenges like illness or impostor syndrome, I can always count on a member of the POLIS community to see me, hear me, and stand with me. And that has almost always been the determining factor in my success."

Abii-Tah Bih -  PhD Student POLIS  (April 2022)

"A PhD at POLIS has been a fantastic choice. Graduate students have the opportunity to be connected to faculty researching across a wide range of issues and approaches. There are many opportunities to broaden intellectual horizons by attending workshops or talks, and I encourage anyone considering applying to do so!"

Say Jye Quah -  PhD Student POLIS- 2022

“A wonderful place to carry out independent research, POLIS paves the way for serendipitous and life-changing opportunities, within and beyond the world of academia. The PhD community is truly phenomenal, filled with passionate and driven students who bring a diverse range of perspectives and approaches to their study. I have found POLIS to be a rewarding research environment and have been privileged to find much support and inspiration from my peers and academic staff. “ 

Elizabeth Paradis - 2022

"Coming to the programme with a different intellectual background, I was immediately made to feel at home at POLIS by the sheer diversity of research carried out and the varied kinds of approaches people bring to the PhD programme. The openness and friendly support, the in-depth and challenging discussions, as well as the encouraging process of developing your own project in constructive exchange and collaboration with other PhD students make the programme an intellectually stimulating and deeply enriching experience."

Carl Pierer PhD Student POLIS  2021

"The structure of the PhD course, amazing staff, the events and workshops organised by the different centres at POLIS all provide a fertile ground for one to thrive. The diversity of research topics means you are always learning something different from your colleagues. I am grateful to be part of the POLIS family."

Edward Murambwa, PhD Student POLIS  - 2019

More Information

The Department of Politics and International Studies, The Alison Richard Building, 7 West Road, Cambridge, CB3 9DP

Contact: [email protected]

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