full-time faculty teaching and conducting research in political science
of Maxwell faculty conduct research focused outside of the U.S.
graduate students in residence; fewer than 12 admitted each year
Undergraduate Studies
Graduate Studies
I am Maxwell.
Civic engagement is a core value for me. I have always aspired to help the communities I’m from.” Mazaher Kaila, a Maxwell alumna and third-year student at Syracuse University's College of Law, moved with her family from Sudan to Central New York when she was four years old. “I realized that to make meaningful change in society, I needed to understand the systems that power it—government and politics—and that’s insight I would gain by studying political science.”
Mazaher Kaila ’19, L’22
political science, law
Emily Thorson Receives Moynihan Award for Teaching and Research
April 29, 2024
The assistant professor of political science will make remarks at the Maxwell School Graduate Convocation on May 10.
Emily Thorson, assistant professor of political science, has received the 2024 Daniel Patrick Moynihan Award for Teaching and Research, the highest honor the Maxwell School offers to untenured faculty. The award will be presented at the Maxwell School’s Graduate Convocation on Friday, May 10, with Thorson as the featured speaker.
The Moynihan Award is given each year in recognition of an outstanding record of teaching, research and service. It was established eponymously in 1985 by then-U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who was also a former member of Maxwell’s junior faculty.
Thorson joined Maxwell in 2017, after serving as an assistant professor of political science at Boston College and the George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs. She is a senior research associate for the Campbell Public Affairs Institute. Her research focuses on how information and misinformation shape citizen attitudes and behavior in U.S. politics. Her book “The Invented State: Policy Misperceptions in the American Public” (Oxford University Press, 2024) explores how the lack of media coverage of existing policy leads the public to form systematic misperceptions about what the government actually does. Her work has been published in major journals such as the American Political Science Review, the British Journal of Political Science, Nature, and Science. She received a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 2013.
In his nomination letter, Associate Professor and Chair of Political Science Seth Jolly wrote that Thorson “is in the top tier of researchers not just in the department but also in the field…Her research record is extraordinary in political science.”
Jolly, who is a senior research associate for the Center for European Studies, added that Thorson “has an incredibly strong teaching record at Syracuse University,” highlighting “her ability to engage all students in discussion.”
Jolly also emphasized that Thorson is a “very good departmental citizen,” serving on search committees and the university’s SOURCE grant review committee and as an editorial board member of two journals and a reviewer for top political science journals. “In short, [she] is an outstanding member of the faculty across research, teaching and service.”
By Michael Kelly
The Maxwell School Graduate Convocation Ceremony will be held Friday, May 10, at 9 a.m. in Hendricks Chapel. The College of Arts and Sciences | Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs Undergraduate Convocation Ceremony will be held at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 11, in the JMA Wireless Dome. The College of Arts and Sciences Master’s Ceremony will be held on Saturday, May 11, at 2 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel. More specific details can be found on Syracuse University’s website.
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BaoBao Zhang Joins First Cohort of AI2050 Early Career Fellows
One of only 15 scholars chosen from across the U.S., Zhang will receive up to $200,000 in research funding over the next two years. Zhang will use the funding to partner with the nonprofit, non-partisan Center for New Democratic Processes to test whether public participation in AI governance is increased through the creation of public assemblies, known as “deliberative democracy workshops.”
Baobao Zhang
Assistant Professor, Political Science Department
Emily Thorson Receives Moynihan Award for Teaching and Research
April 29, 2024
The assistant professor of political science will make remarks at the Maxwell School Graduate Convocation on May 10.
Emily Thorson, assistant professor of political science, has received the 2024 Daniel Patrick Moynihan Award for Teaching and Research, the highest honor the Maxwell School offers to untenured faculty. The award will be presented at the Maxwell School’s Graduate Convocation on Friday, May 10, with Thorson as the featured speaker.
The Moynihan Award is given each year in recognition of an outstanding record of teaching, research and service. It was established eponymously in 1985 by then-U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who was also a former member of Maxwell’s junior faculty.
Thorson joined Maxwell in 2017, after serving as an assistant professor of political science at Boston College and the George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs. She is a senior research associate for the Campbell Public Affairs Institute. Her research focuses on how information and misinformation shape citizen attitudes and behavior in U.S. politics. Her book “The Invented State: Policy Misperceptions in the American Public” (Oxford University Press, 2024) explores how the lack of media coverage of existing policy leads the public to form systematic misperceptions about what the government actually does. Her work has been published in major journals such as the American Political Science Review, the British Journal of Political Science, Nature, and Science. She received a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 2013.
In his nomination letter, Associate Professor and Chair of Political Science Seth Jolly wrote that Thorson “is in the top tier of researchers not just in the department but also in the field…Her research record is extraordinary in political science.”
Jolly, who is a senior research associate for the Center for European Studies, added that Thorson “has an incredibly strong teaching record at Syracuse University,” highlighting “her ability to engage all students in discussion.”
Jolly also emphasized that Thorson is a “very good departmental citizen,” serving on search committees and the university’s SOURCE grant review committee and as an editorial board member of two journals and a reviewer for top political science journals. “In short, [she] is an outstanding member of the faculty across research, teaching and service.”
By Michael Kelly
The Maxwell School Graduate Convocation Ceremony will be held Friday, May 10, at 9 a.m. in Hendricks Chapel. The College of Arts and Sciences | Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs Undergraduate Convocation Ceremony will be held at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 11, in the JMA Wireless Dome. The College of Arts and Sciences Master’s Ceremony will be held on Saturday, May 11, at 2 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel. More specific details can be found on Syracuse University’s website.
Related News
School News
Jul 30, 2024
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Jul 29, 2024
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Jun 20, 2024