The political science and Spanish double major is the sole recipient of the University College Dublin Taught Master’s Program Award, which she’ll use to study philosophy and public affairs.
The prestigious Fulbright U.S. Student Program grants hundreds of study and research awards at universities in 140 countries around the globe. But it has only one spot available via its partnership with University College Dublin in Ireland. Next year it will be given to Haverford’s Alexandra Corcoran ’19.
The political science and Spanish double major will use her Fulbright award to pursue a one-year interdisciplinary master’s in philosophy and public affairs at University College Dublin. Corcoran was drawn to the program because it includes the study of many of her social science interests and uses them to explore foundational questions in public policy formulation.
“This Fulbright will really help me think about the intersection of public policy and citizenship—something that I touch on a little bit in my [political science senior] thesis… and a topic that I hope to continue exploring in my professional career,” said Corcoran, whose thesis is focused on state-level health and legal-advocacy groups and their mobilization of low-income citizens around Medicaid-reform proposals.
Corcoran was inspired to apply for the Fulbright to continue her studies overseas after an “amazing experience” during her semester abroad at the University of Havana in Cuba. And she was pleased to discover a program that was able to accommodate her wide-ranging academic interests as well as a policy focus, since she plans to eventually work in the public sector.
“Living in Cuba made me think about what problems can and cannot be addressed through social programs,” she said. “I'm excited to get another international perspective on the welfare state.”
A resident of Quaker House on campus, Corcoran is looking forward to getting to know Dublin’s Quaker community and to volunteering with a local program that connects homeless people to support services. Between those commitments and a full slate of coursework, she has a busy year ahead of her, but she also plans to carve out time to get to know her new city and the surrounding country.
“In Ireland,” she said, “I'm looking forward to taking some hikes along the coast and drinking lots of tea!”
