Name and graduation year: Lillian Frost, MPP, 2012

Tell us about the work that you’ve been doing since graduation.

I worked full time for the World Bank for a year while I applied to PhD programs in political science. During that year, I worked on social protection programs in the Middle East, including work trips to Kuwait and the Palestinian Territories as well as personal visits to Jordan immediately after these trips. 

The following academic year (2013–2014), I started my current PhD program in political science at George Washington University. My first three years in the program consisted of coursework, comprehensive/qualifying exams, applying for fieldwork fellowships (to Jordan), and writing as well as defending my dissertation proposal. At the end of March this year, I found out that I was a finalist for the Fulbright Student Research Fellowship, which is now funding my dissertation fieldwork in Jordan for nine months. 

My dissertation research focuses on understanding variations in host state citizenship policies toward long-term (or by the UN’s definition “protracted”) refugees. These citizenship policies refer to laws stipulating access to citizenship status and various citizen rights (e.g., civil, political, and social rights) as well as how these laws are enforced in practice. I am studying this broad topic by looking at Jordan’s diverse citizenship policies toward different groups of Palestinians over time, primarily using interviews with policymakers, activists, and lawyers in Amman as well as archival research in Jordan, the U.S., and the U.K. 

Did any work experiences or internships contribute to this current research?

I think my Batten APP/Capstone Project played a role in encouraging me to study host state policies toward long-term refugees. Specifically, for my APP, I worked with American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA) to examine the effectiveness of one of their projects in Lebanon, which involved promoting urban agriculture among women in a Palestinian refugee camp. This experience shed light on Lebanon’s citizenship policies toward Palestinians, which are generally more exclusionary than those toward Palestinians in Jordan. Witnessing this variation in policies helped trigger my interest in my dissertation topic.

Are there any courses or experiences at Batten that prepared you for your role?

I would say that the courses I took with Professors Christine Mahoney and Vesla Weaver enabled me to envision political science classes at the graduate level, which helped me make the decision to apply to political science PhD programs. My Batten coursework also likely helped me to do well in my PhD classes. In addition, Professors Jeanine Braithwaite, Harry Harding, and Christine Mahoney all showed me the value of being in both the academic and policy worlds, and I would say I have modeled my career path in some respects on their research, work, and professional pursuits. Lastly, I think the policy-relevance of my dissertation topic made me a more competitive applicant for the Fulbright Fellowship, and this concern with real-world policymaking certainly reflects my interest in and time at Batten.

What advice would you give prospective or current students about the Batten experience?

I would advise students to think about what aspects or types of policymaking they enjoy the most, and then use Batten’s flexible courses and assignments to pursue them. For instance, Batten allowed me to take Arabic as well as Middle East policy courses as electives, which was important to bolstering my language skills and remaining immersed in regional policy debates (both skills which were likely important in securing my fieldwork funding). In addition, I would advise students to look for specific mentors at Batten and to form close relationships with them. Professors Jeanine Braithwaite and Harry Harding as well as Christine Mahoney were pivotal in helping me prepare for and secure my positions post-Batten (e.g., at the World Bank and George Washington University). It has also been nice keeping up with these mentors since graduation.