Dr. Jonathan Cervas

Instructor

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Biography

Jonathan Cervas is an Assistant Teaching Professor at Carnegie Mellon University specializing in redistricting, voting rights, and American political institutions. He earned his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Irvine in 2020. Cervas has served as Special Master in New York and as a consultant for the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on redistricting issues. He has also worked as an Assistant Special Master in federal court cases related to the Voting Rights Act and racial gerrymandering, preparing remedies for the federal court case Allen v. Milligan. Additionally, he has testified as a credible fact expert in numerous redistricting lawsuits. His research has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the Election Law Journal, the Albany Law Review, and Political Geography. Jonathan has been profiled in the New York Times in 2022.

Research Interests

Courses

American Political Divides Representation and Voting Rights Democracy's Data: Analytics and Insights on American Elections

Requirements for Carnegie Mellon University

Doctorate Program
Requirements
GPA Requirement
Required:3.5
GRE General
Verbal
Required:158
Quantitative
Required:149
Analytical Writing
Required:4
Overall
Required:4
Prerequisites
Bachelor's degree in Psychology or related field Research experience/publications
Application Checklist
  • Online application
  • Statement of Purpose
  • Three letters of recommendation
  • Transcripts
  • GRE scores (optional but reported in profile)
  • English Proficiency (TOEFL/IELTS/Duolingo)
Specialization Notes

Admission is extremely competitive with no strict GPA cut-offs; holistic review is used.