21 students recently received American University Doctoral Student Research Scholarships for the 2016-2017 academic school year. Three are PhD students in the School of Communication, and will receive research funding for their respective research and findings.

Kara Alessandra Andrade is a researcher, journalist and entrepreneur who focuses on Latin America, media, technology and society. She has more than ten years of experience working in the United States and Latin America as a bilingual journalist, entrepreneur and multimedia producer. Andrade has worked for a variety of leading media organizations including Al Jazeera America, Associated Press, Christian Science Monitor, The Huffington Post, The New York Times and others.

Andrade’s proposal is entitled: “Plaza Publica: Guatemala’s ‘Lab’ for the Diffusion of News Innovations”

Olga Khrustaleva is a journalist and editor. She is interested in researching the connections between journalism and visual arts relevant to the evolution of documentary film in the digital age, exploring the ethical issues central to documentary filmmaking.

Khrustaleva’s proposal is entitled: “The Effects of Cuba-US Relations Normalization on Internet Expansion and Civil Society Empowerment in Cuba"

Katerina Matsa is a Research Analyst for the Pew Research Center. At the Pew Research Center, she researches and writes about the American media landscape, news consumption in the U.S., news coverage and the elections, as well as the role of news in social media.

Matsa’s proposal is entitled: “The Changing Greek Media System During the Financial Crisis:  Media Bias & Contention in News Coverage”

See a list of all the scholarship recipients, here.