Matthew Vanden Bosch

Motivation to pursue graduate studies at FSU

I was motivated to pursue a graduate degree as I finished my undergraduate program early, and believed getting a master's degree would open more doors later in my life. While pursuing that degree, I found a love for conducting research and educating, motivating me to start working on my Ph.D. I chose FSU because of its reputation as an excellent university and program for researching criminology and advancing the state of knowledge in this field.

Importance and/or impact of research and work

My research generally focuses on hate or bias crimes, sexual violence, and political opinions or punitiveness. I believe my work is important because I tackle real-world issues that are often traumatic, as well as the issues that help to shape our society. My dissertation project is important because I am developing a scale to measure individual beliefs in myths about hate crimes. Through this scale, I, alongside future researchers, will be able to understand how individual expectations of hate crimes shapes how individuals and institutions, such as police and courts, respond to these offenses.

Advice for anyone considering graduate school

Perseverance is critical - the wins in graduate school (especially a Ph.D. program) are extremely gratifying, but they take time to develop. Writing a manuscript to submit to a journal takes time, then you also have to wait for reviewers to provide recommendations and see what the editors suggest. Often, you'll have to make edits and submit it again. This process takes a long time and you have to just keep moving forward and avoid getting discouraged. Keep up on your hobbies and social life - it all provides a great escape from the stresses of a graduate program, whether that's spending time with friends, in nature, or in a gym. Whatever helps you destress is going to be critical.

Accomplishments during graduate career

My proudest achievement so far is receiving the NSF/ASU Law & Science Dissertation grant - which took three applications! Perseverance is probably one of the most important skills you need in graduate school and certainly pays off. Additionally, I was nominated for a Mentorship award by undergraduate students I have been guiding through some of their first experiences with research and I was awarded a teaching award by my college. All of these experiences recognized and validated all of the hard work I've been putting into all of the important areas of work in academia - research, service, and teaching.

Career aspirations

After I receive my Ph.D., I want to continue to focus on research by becoming a professor at a research focused university.