This year the graduates were honored in a joint ceremony with all the other UMass graduate students. The still present COVID-19 pandemic led to a hybrid ceremony with the graduate students gathered on the field of the football stadium – all seated in a socially-distant array facing the commencement stage.  Graduates were awarded their degrees standing by their chairs.  Hooding of doctoral candidates became a personal event – done by a family member or friend before the public ceremony.  

There were five CIE/IE graduates this year, one Master’s student and four Ph.D students.  As always, they were a diverse group, representing different countries – India, Zimbabwe and the USA.

Doctoral Graduates

Nyaradzai Changamire (Zimbabwe) The School and My Health: (Re)centering young women’s voices in peer-led sexual and reproductive health (SRH) education in Machakos, Kenya
Jennifer Flemming (USA) Mobilities Through and Against Governance: Narratives from Lesvos, Greece, and the Humanitarian Borderscapes of the EU
Bharat Rathod (India) Dalit Academic Experiences: Stigma, Social Reproduction and Systemic Exclusion in Indian Higher Education
Wendy Wheaton (USA) The power of perception: Social cohesion, child protection, and access to education in conflict-affected communities in South Sudan

Master's students complete a capstone project as part of their degree program.  Projects range from small-scale research projects to innovative applied activities.