Regional Planning Ph.D. Candidate Nadia Kim Earns Multiple Research Honors
Ji Hyun “Nadia” Kim, a Regional Planning Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has recently received two fellowships and a dissertation travel grant and been named a finalist for a graduate fellowship in regional science.
Nadia was selected as one of three recipients of the 2026–2027 C. Lowell Harriss Dissertation Fellowship from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, which supports doctoral research on land and tax policy. She was also selected for EdFund’s State School Finance Fellowship, a program that connects emerging scholars with researchers and policymakers working on education finance. Additionally, she received a Dissertation Travel Grant from the University of Illinois Graduate College to support travel for her dissertation research in Chicago. Nadia was also named a finalist for the 2026 Benjamin H. Stevens Graduate Fellowship in Regional Science by the North American Regional Science Council (NARSC).
Her dissertation, A History That Lingers: Redlining, Education Funding, and the Path to Equity, examines how historical patterns of spatial inequality and contemporary fiscal institutions shape the distribution of public education resources. Focusing on Chicago, her research explores how local economic development policies, urban governance, and school finance intersect to shape educational opportunities across communities.
