Alyssa Bryan, Class of 2017
Chagrin Falls, Ohio
Political Science and Economics
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been dissatisfied with the unidimensional approach to academics taken by my past educational institutions. As a double major in Political Science and Economics, I sought to combine two disciplines that seemed woefully lacking on their own. In doing so, I took a passion for international studies and transformed it into multidisciplinary study of communities and businesses, languages and cultures. I’m eager to continue this study in Vienna.
My study of Europe harkens back to middle school when I began learning French for my foreign language requirement. What was required became a passion, and I continued through with French, taking courses all through high school and college. As a senior, I’ve specialized my Political Science studies in Europe, taking coursework on the European Union, Global Security, International Organizations. My Honors Thesis focuses specifically on determinants of electoral success of far right parties in Europe, looking at the role of supply- and demand-determinants on various electoral planes (e.g., national versus European Parliament elections). Ultimately, I find that perceived sources of grievances, especially cultural, are the most significant predictors of support for far right parties. Legislative and electoral fractionalization – measures of political opportunity for existing far right parties – also significantly affect the vote share of far right parties on the country level. Finally, as an economics major, I am passionate about behavioral economics and structured incentive policymaking.
I’ve studied abroad twice before – spending a summer at Peking University in Beijing and a semester at the Université de François Rabelais in Tours, France studying philosophy and economics. In my spare time, I enjoy binge-watching Netflix and Disney movies, tasting menus, and yoga. After graduation, I will be attending the London School of Economics to receive an MSc in Development Management before returning to Charlotte as a management consultant.
