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Scott Straus is a Professor and Department Chair in the Political Science department at the University of California, Berkeley. He received his Ph.D. from Berkeley in 2004. His academic work focuses on political violence, genocide, human rights, and post-conflict politics, with an empirical concentration on Sub-Saharan Africa. Straus is the author and editor of nine books, including 'Making and Unmaking Nations: War, Leadership, and Genocide in Modern Africa' (Cornell University Press, 2015), which won the Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order and the Lepgold Prize from Georgetown University. He has written 'Order of Genocide: Race, Power, and War' (Cornell University Press, 2006), which was honored as an Honorable Mention for the American Publishers book award by the Political Science Association. Straus also co-edited 'Volume III of Cambridge World History of Genocide' (Cambridge, 2023). He has published articles in numerous prestigious journals, including the American Journal of Political Science and Foreign Affairs. In 2016, he received a fellowship from the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation, and he was appointed by President Obama to the Council of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Prior to his academic career, he worked as a freelance journalist in Nairobi, where he was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1996 for his coverage of the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
University of California, Berkeley • Berkeley, CA
Teaches political science with a focus on topics such as political violence, genocide, and human rights. Chairs the department and engages in various academic and administrative responsibilities.
The Mathematics Subject GRE is required for the Fall 2026 admissions cycle. General GRE is optional.