The Center for Social Science Innovation (CSSI) has recently accepted three participants for its Spring 2025 Dissertation Completion Program (DCP).  

DCP, which was established last year, offers support and resources to graduate students in the final years of their dissertations or creative projects.  

Selected students are provided with quiet, dedicated office spaces and funding to develop and advance their dissertation research. Additionally, students can collaborate with both CSSI staff and other participants, fostering their research progress and ties to a supportive community. 

“I am excited to collaborate with these students and extend resources to propel their research forward,” says Mark Berg, CSSI director. “Each student is tackling important and relevant issues in their dissertations. I am eager to see the creative and novel solutions they identify.” 

The Spring 2025 DCP cohort includes three doctoral students from two colleges at the University of Iowa.

Munachim Amah, PhD candidate in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS), is exploring why the journalistic ideals of Nigerian journalists do not align with their professional practices. 

Nathan Micatka, PhD candidate in the Department of Political Science in CLAS, is examining how political experiences and exposures in adolescence shape political behaviors and beliefs in adulthood. 

Lisa Nakahara, PhD candidate in the Department of Educational Policy and Leadership Studies in the College of Education, is investigating how World War II simultaneously expanded and limited American and Japanese women’s opportunities in science education.

To learn more about CSSI’s Dissertation Completion Program, click here.

Applications for the next DCP cohort will open in Fall 2025.

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