Dr. Jocelyn Sage Mitchell

Politics researcher, collaborator, speaker, author

Meet Jocelyn

Dr. Jocelyn Sage Mitchell is an award-winning educator and researcher studying politics in America and the Middle East. Her research and career are centered on hearing the voices of individuals and understanding how people engage with one another as well as their governments to have their voices heard and their needs met.

Dr. Jocelyn Sage Mitchell’s work focuses on public opinion, nationalism, gender, and political legitimacy. To understand people’s voices and concerns, she gathers public opinion data in different ways: large-scale surveys, focus groups, and ethnographic interviews. Jocelyn has secured more than $1 million USD in competitive grant funding and has recruited and led diverse teams of researchers and students. She loves interdisciplinary work and collaborating with diverse perspectives and expertise to solve real-world problems! Jocelyn also communicates her research to multiple audiences through media appearances, public presentations, and published writings.

Jocelyn Sage Mitchell attended Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where she graduated in 2003 with a dual major in Political Science and Middle Eastern Studies. Jocelyn then enrolled at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where she earned her Master’s Degree in Government in 2008 and her Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Government in 2013.

Jocelyn and her family moved to Doha, Qatar, in 2008, where she worked as a Graduate Teaching Assistant for Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar. In 2010, Jocelyn began teaching political science in the Liberal Arts program at Northwestern University in Qatar. Since graduating with her Ph.D. in 2013, Jocelyn Sage Mitchell has been an Assistant Professor in Residence at Northwestern University in Qatar, teaching political science and interdisciplinary courses to students, including a focus on the politics of climate change.


Jocelyn Mitchell prioritizes the inclusion of students in all of her research projects, building undergraduate research assistant positions into her grant proposals, training them in research skills, and welcoming their expertise. She also works one-on-one with her students to disseminate their ideas. Under her guidance, her undergraduate researchers have presented their work at international conferences, received summer research grants,
published their papers, and won awards. Outside of the classroom, she mentors and advises students to graduation and beyond: Jocelyn’s students have attended MA and PhD programs at institutions such as Georgetown University, Columbia University, London School of Economics and Political Science, the University of Cambridge, and Northwestern University, among others.

Throughout her career, Jocelyn has demonstrated her skills and expertise in quantitative and qualitative research, political analysis, and communication. She has raised $1,144,637 in grants to fund her team projects on women’s empowerment, national museums, and weaponized social media. As a professional, she thrives in collaborative environments with multifaceted perspectives where there can be a free exchange of ideas. Jocelyn Mitchell enjoys sharing her knowledge through media appearances, including with the international TV news station Al Jazeera and the London-based radio station Monocle. Jocelyn has given more than 80 academic presentations and more than 60 public lectures to diplomats, community groups, and general audiences. She has published over 20 academic pieces, including peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and encyclopedia articles. Jocelyn is also an active member of her community, looking for ways to help better the world around her. And she loves spending time with her family on her parents’ lake in Maine!

Learn more about Jocelyn Sage Mitchell’s work in political science by visiting her blog page for the latest updates!

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