Austin Barraza

PhD Candidate in Political Science

Austin Barraza is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Political Science at Northeastern University, specializing in American Politics and Public Policy. He has a strong background and interest in higher education policy. Austin has served as a Teaching Assistant for courses such as American Government, U.S. National Security Policy, and U.S. Health and Welfare Policy.

Related Schools & Departments

Political Science

Research Interests

Austin studies higher education policy, with a particular interest in how state legislatures fund public colleges and universities. His research explores new trends in higher education governance.

Prior Work

Before pursuing his doctorate, Austin worked as a research assistant for a San Francisco Bay Area trade union. He has also held positions in instructional technology, academic advising, and banking.

Degrees earned and Institutions:

AA in American Studies, Riverside City College (2015)
BA in Political Science, University of California, Los Angeles (2017)
MA in Political Science, California State University, Fullerton (2019)

Biography

Austin was born and raised in Southern California, outside of Los Angeles. He is a big baseball, basketball, and tennis fan. A first generation college student, Austin looks forward to working with and mentoring other first generation scholars as a doctoral student and eventual faculty member.

Conference Presentations

Barraza, A. (2019, April). Community college performance funding: Political support and resistance in
three states. Paper presented at the 72nd annual meeting of the Western Political Science Association, San Diego, CA.

Garcia, K., Contreras, F., & Barraza, A. (2019, March). Leadership and institutional capacity of Hispanic serving community colleges. Paper presented at the 14th annual meeting of the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education, Costa Mesa, CA.

Research Interests: Higher Education Politics, Education Policy, Performance Funding, College Access, Community Colleges, State and Local Politics

Contact info:
960A Renaissance Park
barraza.a@northeastern.edu

Curriculum Vitae

More Student Paths

Charles T. Wallace-Thomas IV

Charles took "Sustainable Renewable Energy Development in the Global South" with Professor Shalanda Baker, which pushed him to further question systems as they exist, no matter their entrenched in society.
He did community service as part of the Ujima Global Leaders Program through the John D. O’Bryant African American Institute. He worked on the Timebank team, helping give back to local communities.
Charles split his time for his first co-op between the Center for Economic Democracy and the Boston Ujima Project, where he analyzed studies on community needs, including infrastructure and childcare.
He was one of the co-creators of the #BlackAtNU campaign and advocated for racial literacy courses and a restorative and transformative justice center on campus.
Charles made his own research project- a macroeconomic index to measure democratic participation in municipal economies, partnering with NU, the Columbus Foundation and the Center for Economic Democracy.
He worked at the Participatory Budgeting Project as a Program Associate, helping city systems and other organizations actively decide how to invest money across different spaces.
Charles graduated in 2022. ..

Casey Greenleaf

Casey took Global Markets and Local Cultures. After traveling, she better saw how the coursework mirrored real life, and knew her education was preparing her for the world.
She went on a DOC to Argentina and Uruguay, and become highly proficient while living in Buenos Aires and visiting the glaciers of the Patagonia region.
Casey completed her first co-op at the Museum of Fine Arts as a community arts program assistant. She gained valuable hands-on experience assisting in arts classes for local communities.
She joined the Sociology & Anthropology Student Association during her third year. It allowed her to get to know her fellow students and mirrored the small school experience she loved.
Casey studied abroad in Nepal for her capstone thesis. She lived alone for a month while she researched and wrote about the lived experience of climate change in the lower Himalayas.
She worked for the Environmental Data and Governance Initiative, founded by Professor Sarah Wylie. She produced promotional videos, developed a virtual research event, wrote event programming, and more.
Casey graduated in 2020. ..

Sunita Pfitzner

Sunita took Revolution, Civil War, and Insurrection, taught by Professor Risa Kitagawa. The course invited students to question the motives behind acts of violence against governments.
She traveled on a Dialogue of Civilizations to Jordan and Egypt; while there she grew interested in Middle East politics and the Arabic language.
Sunita worked at the Institute for Economics and Peace in Sydney, Australia, where she analyzed data on the corruption of police forces in Mexico.
Sunita was a member of the International Relations Council and traveled abroad with the club to compete in Model Arab League, Model NATO, and Model UN conferences.
Sunita conducted research with Berna Turam, developing a greater understanding of the Mediterranean migrant crisis. She also researched the feminist response to Covid-19 with Val Moghadam.
She graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2022.
..

Yasser Aponte

Yasser was in the Foundation Year program at Northeastern. The program was a rigorous deep dive into core subject classes that helped Yasser bridge the gap between his high school and college experiences.
He took Issues in Cities and Suburbs with Professor Erin Graves in Fall 2018. As someone deeply invested in urban life, he found the course was an enlightened look at the problems endemic to cities.
Yasser joined the Boston Beer Company as a Program Operations and Event Assistant for his first co-op. He worked on inventory, public relations, brewery events, and workspace organization.
He implemented community gardens all over Boston on deserted plots of land during his time as the Northeastern Campus Director for the campus’ United Nations Millennium Fellowship.
Yasser maintained a farm in Dorchester for The Food Project. He harvested crops, distributed produce through donations and food markets, and worked on overall logistics.
In 2020, Yasser won the Community Service Leadership award, given to students who show exemplary community engagement. He was recognized for his work at The Food Project, Northeastern Crossing, and more.
He graduated 2022 with his Bachelor’s in International Affairs and Religious Studies and his Master’s in Security and Resilience Studies, through Northeastern’s PlusOne program...