Andrea Pena-Vasquez

Dr. Andrea Pena-Vasquez is an Assistant Professor of International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA). Her research focuses on migration governance, legal status, identity documentation, race/ethnicity, and multi-level state systems, with regional expertise in Western Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Notre Dame and a B.A. in Political Science and Sociology from the University of Florida.

Before joining GSPIA, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Hamilton College and served as a visiting researcher at the Juan March Institute (Carlos III University of Madrid) and the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Her work has been supported by prestigious institutions such as the J. William Fulbright Foundation, the American Political Science Association, and the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at Notre Dame.

Her research spans academic and public scholarship, appearing in outlets like The Washington Post’s Monkey Cage, Psychology Today's 'Economy of Happiness,' and the peer-reviewed journal Politics, Groups, and Identities. She teaches PIA 2478: Asylum Politics and Policy, contributing to policy-oriented academic discourse.

• Awards & Fellowships: J. William Fulbright Foundation Fellowship, American Political Science Association Fellowship, Kellogg Institute for International Studies Fellowship.

In advising and grants, Dr. Pena-Vasquez has secured institutional support for her research and maintains active engagement in migration policy analysis. Her work bridges theoretical frameworks with applied governance challenges, emphasizing the intersection of identity, legal status, and transnational migration dynamics.

She is affiliated with GSPIA’s academic initiatives, though no specific labs or teams are explicitly mentioned in her profile.