Janani Mohan, MIP ’22, is a 2023 Gates Cambridge Scholar. (Image credit: Courtesy Janani Mohan)

Recent Stanford alum Janani Mohan is among the recipients of the 2023 Gates Cambridge Scholarship. In October, she will begin her graduate studies at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

Mohan said that receiving the award is “an adventure of a lifetime” that she can’t wait to begin.

“The Gates Cambridge Scholarship will empower me to help people around the world by improving the policies that impact their lives,” she said. “It means that I can give back to all the people who supported me in getting here with the knowledge that ‘we did it.’”

At Cambridge, she will pursue a PhD in politics and international studies. Her research will focus on the intersection of nuclear and human rights policy.

“Cambridge will support my goal to change the way that people in the international policy and nuclear security space approach crises by more closely integrating security responses with human rights,” she said.

Mohan grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and has also lived in the Washington, D.C., area. She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2019 and a master’s degree in international policy from Stanford in 2022.

At Stanford, Mohan helped conduct research on nuclear policy with lecturer Rose Gottemoeller and on human rights institutions with Professor David Cohen. She also collaborated with Allison Puccioni, an imagery analyst associated with the Freeman Spogli Institute, on monitoring the war in Ukraine.

“At Stanford, I not only found amazing role models, but also got to work with them,” she said. “I am so grateful to all the people at Stanford and beyond who helped me get the Gates Cambridge Scholarship and to where I am today.”

Mohan has had diverse professional policy experiences. She has worked with the United Nations Development Programme in South Africa to reduce inequality, interned in the office of U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, and participated in an exchange program at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna in Vienna, Austria. She also took part in the Executive Education Program on entrepreneurship at Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Mohan said she feels incredibly fortunate to receive the Gates Cambridge Scholarship. “The way I approach life is to find experiences that are genuinely meaningful and fun,” she said. “I believe that when you do good for others through your work, the world will ‘do good’ back to you.”

International scholarships

Stanford students interested in overseas scholarships and Stanford faculty interested in nominating students for such awards should contact Diane Murk, manager of the Office of Global Scholarships at dmurk@stanford.edu, Bechtel International Center.