Alumnus earns full Columbia doctoral fellowship

Gustavo de las Casas

Alumnus Gustavo de las Casas ’00 ’03 has won a full doctoral fellowship to Columbia University’s political science program, ranked No. 1 in the world. The program earned its ranking in a study by the London School of Economics published in Political Studies Review.

At FIU, de las Casas earned a bachelor’s degree in international business and a master’s in international relations, where he worked with professors Félix Martín and Paul Kowert. Among the achievements that captured Columbia’s attention, the alumnus graduated from the master’s program with a perfect 4.00 grade point average, and presented a paper on interstate bargaining at the 2004 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association in Chicago.

He also contributed a chapter about Spanish investment in the Latin American energy sector in the upcoming book Latin America’s Quest for Globalization: the Role of Spanish Firms, edited by Professor Martín and FIU alumnus Pablo Toral Cueto. De las Casas’ research focuses on bargaining dynamics among different actors, or as he explains, “what it takes -and doesn’t take- for states, firms, or people to accept deals.” In addition, de las Casas studies Mandarin and has an interest in Chinese foreign policy.

The Columbia program is among the most exclusive in the country, accepting only 18 of the more than 600 students who apply each year.

"The acceptance of Gustavo de las Casas into the Columbia University Ph.D. program is a wonderful achievement for him and for our Department,” said International Relations chairman John Clark. “This achievement is a recognition for Gustavo's intellectual potential and the hard work that he put into his master's work with us. It also reflects the diligence and careful mentoring of his faculty advisors, Professors Felix Martin and Paul Kowert.”

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