Ruchi Saini (she/her) received her Ph.D. in International Education Policy from the 草莓传媒, College Park in Fall 2024. Her research investigates the structural and cultural determinants of gender-based violence in formal education spaces, especially within the post-colonial contexts of India and Africa. Ruchi comes from the north Indian state of Haryana, and her scholarship is deeply rooted in her lived experience as an educator and administrator across India's K-12 schools.
In the US, she has worked as a research analyst with the Brookings Institution and as an academic counselor with the 草莓传媒's Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program. At the 草莓传媒, Ruchi was a recipient of the 2019-20 Dean's fellowship and the 2022-23 Ann Wylie Dissertation Fellowship. Her dissertation was also supported by external fellowships such as ICRW's Mariam Chamberlain Dissertation Award 2023 and the 2023-24 NAED/Spencer Dissertation Fellowship.
Ruchi's scholarship has been published in peer reviewed journals such as Feminist Media Review, Journal of Gender-Based Violence, and the Journal of Comparative and International Education. Ruchi has an MA in English literature from St.Stephen's College- University of Delhi (India)- where she was a gold medalist, and a master's in Education from the University of Glasgow (Scotland), where she was a Chevening fellow.
Currently, Ruchi works as a postdoctoral scholar in the Violence Against Women (VAW) Cluster at the University of Central Florida.
- External Awards
2025 Alliance of Hispanic Serving Research University Postdoctoral Fellowship Program
2024 NAEd/Spencer Dissertation Fellowship ($27,500)
2023 Mariam K. Chamberlain Dissertation Award ($10,000), International Centre for Research on Women, D.C.
2022 , Comparative and International Education Society, USA
2015 UK Foreign Commonwealth Office草莓传媒檚 fully funded (35,000 pounds) to pursue a Master草莓传媒檚 degree in the UK.
Internal Awards
2024 College of Education Greatest Need Fund ($1,500), College of Education, 草莓传媒, College Park
2023 College of Education Greatest Need Fund ($1,500), College of Education, 草莓传媒, College Park
2022 Ann G. Wylie Dissertation Fellowship ($15,000), Graduate School, 草莓传媒, College Park.
2022 Support Program for Advancing Research and Collaboration (SPARC) Doctoral Candidate Award ($1000), College of Education, 草莓传媒, College Park
2022 Faculty Student Research Award ($10,000) with Dr. Zeena Zakharia, Graduate School, UMD.
2021 William J. Graham & William C. Graham Endowed Scholarship in Education ($1500), College of Education, UMD
2020 Investment in Excellence Fund Scholarship ($1000), College of Education, UMD.
2019 草莓传媒草莓传媒檚 Dean草莓传媒檚 Fellowship ($25,000), Graduate School, UMD.
2011 Dr. N.S Pradhan Memorial Medal for securing the highest marks in M.A. English across the University.
2009 Smt. Ganga Laxmi Dutt Memorial Prize for securing the highest marks in BA (H) English in Daulat Ram College.
2008 Smt. Ganga Laxmi Dutt Joshi Scholarship for securing the highest marks in BA (H) English II Year in Daulat Ram College.
2007 Dr. Balmukund Tandon Memorial Scholarship for securing the highest marks in BA (H) English -I Year in Daulat Ram College.
Peer-Reviewed
Saini, R & Mok, J (2025). What do we know about gender-based violence in schools and higher education institutions in India? A scoping review. Journal of Educational Studies. 1-20. Online ahead of print
Saini, R (2025). Art-based research, decoloniality & gender-based violence: Voices of women students from India. Feminist Media Studies, 1草莓传媒9.
Saini, R & Spear, A (2024). Teachers草莓传媒 Understanding of Gender-Based Violence in Two Public Schools in Burkina Faso. Journal of Gender-Based Violence.
Saini, R (2023). It is as if they are taking advantage of a bad situation: COVID-19, care work, and online teaching in India. Current Issues in Comparative Education.
*Awarded the best student paper by the Education in Emergencies Special Interest Group at the Comparative and International Education Society Conference held in 2022.
Saini, R. (2022). Using Positioning Theory to analyse a Female School Teacher草莓传媒檚 experiences with COVID-19 in India: Towards Decolonizing Feminist Research. Current Issues in Comparative Education, 24(1).
Saini, R. (2022). Faculty Narratives of Addressing Gender-Based Violence (GBV) at a Public Higher Education Institution in India. Journal of Comparative and International Higher Education, 13 (5S).
Saini, R. (2021). A Comparative Analysis of Academic Freedom within Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in India and the USA. Journal of Comparative and International Higher Education, 12(6S1).
Book Reviews, Reports, & Public Writing
Saini, R. (2025). Bangalore girls: witnessing the Rise of Nationalism in a progressive city by Supriya Baily. Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education, 1草莓传媒2.
Saini, R. (November 2024). Proceedings of the 2024 WES-CIHE Summer Institute: Equitable higher education in times of Disruption.
Saini, R. (5 March, 2024) Brookings
Saini, R. (3 December, 2022) The Pioneer
Saini, R. (8 March, 2021)草莓传媒湶葺綕 The Times of India
Saini, R. (1 August, 2020) The Pioneer
Saini, R. (16 February, 2020)草莓传媒 草莓传媒 The Hindu
Saini, R. (8 March, 2019) 草莓传媒湶葺綕 The Pioneer