The Order of Merit is awarded annually to approximately 2% of the Social Sciences graduating class. Students are recognized for their academic excellence, original research, leadership activities, and service contributions to the School of Social Sciences, UCI campus, or community. We are especially pleased that this marks our 43rd year in which we can honor our very best and most accomplished students. Also receiving special recognition are 19 undergraduate and graduate students honored with individual scholarships and awards.

UNDERGRADUATE AWARDS

Lavanaya Garg, Political Science
School of Social Sciences Outstanding Honors Thesis Award for “Judicial Discretion and Structural Bias in U.S. Asylum Adjudications: The Role of Political Ideology, Experience, and Regional Context”

Minh Hoang, Political Science
Outstanding Community College Transfer Student Scholarship

Lucy Hurtado-Figueroa, Political Science and Criminology, Law & Society
Elena B. and William R. Schonfeld Scholarship

Zeynep Karatas, International Studies and Political Science
School of Social Sciences Alumni Academic Excellence Scholarship

Milad Asadi, Political Science
Alice B. Macy Outstanding Undergraduate Paper Award for “Countering Misinformation: Strategic Solutions to Protect the Average Person from Misinformation’s Distortive Effects” 

Cynthia Ramirez, Chicano/Latino Studies and Sociology
Justice and Equity Research Paper Award for “Undocumented Grief: Exploring Transnational Grief and Loss Among Undocumented Latino Immigrants” 

Dahyun Park, Economics
Charles A. Lave Paper Prize Award for “The Impact of Fully Remote Work on Fertility Rates”

Rachal Hamilton, Sociology
Moore Scholarship for Community and Social Change

Alexis Parker, Sociology
Moore Scholarship for Community and Social Change

Suhina Chand, Cognitive Sciences and Biological Science
Moore Scholarship for Community and Social Change

Anannya Bhuskat, Political Science
Moore Scholarship for Community and Social Change

Anthony Guillen, Social Policy & Public Service
Moore Scholarship for Community and Social Change

GRADUATE AWARDS

Monica De Roche, Political Science
Kimball Romney Award for Outstanding Graduate Paper for "Hidden Transcripts: How Negative Legal Consciousness Guides Victims’ Navigation of Domestic Violence Services"

Caroline Martinez, Sociology
Kimball Romney Award for Outstanding Graduate Paper for "Indigenous Identity and Struggles for State Recognition in Ecuador"

Isabelle Soifer, Anthropology
Justice and Equity Research Paper Award for “Unsettling the Affordable Housing Crisis Myth in New York City”

Yunjie Ellen Shi, Logic & Philosophy of Science
Outstanding Service

Weijie Xu, Language Science
Outstanding Scholarship

Alisson Rowland, Political Science
Kathy Alberti Prize  

MacKenzie Bonner, Sociology
Etel Solingen Award for Outstanding Paper in International Cooperation for "Bureaucratic Entrapment: Refugee Experiences of the European Union (EU) Migration Regime"