Abrehet Gebremedhin

Abrehet Gebremedhin

I am an Adjunct Instructor at Teachers College, Columbia University. I received my Ph.D. in International Relations at the School of International Service at American University in May 2026.

My research is on the politics of education in non-democracies, centered on Africa. With support from the Fulbright Fellowship, I conducted my fieldwork in Ethiopia and Zimbabwe. I combine mixed methods, namely statistical analysis of cross-national panel data, historical archives, and elite interviews. My work provides new insights into the causal effects of nondemocratic decision-making on education and public policy more broadly.  

At Teachers College, I teach in the Politics and Education Program, including a new self-designed graduate course on Comparative Politics and Education. At American University, I am affiliated with the Accountability Research Center at the School of International Service, as well as the Research on International Policy Implementation Lab (RIPIL). As part of my work at the Accountability Research Center, I also serve as the co-Principal Investigator of the Accountability for Education project.

I have secured funding for my research from the Global Partnership for Education, Oxfam, the U.S. State Department’s Fulbright Program, and the Housel-Stowell Fellowship, in addition to internal grants from American University.

Prior to my PhD, I spent many years in the international development field, specifically in monitoring and evaluation (M&E). I hold an MA and BA in International Development from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver.

You can access my CV here or reach out at ag6087a@american.edu.