Michelle S. Dromgold-Sermen

Assistant Professor

Sociology: citizenship, membership, and belonging; legality and immigrant incorporation; U.S. immigration law and policy; refugee resettlement; global migration management; Middle East migration

Dr. Michelle S. Dromgold-Sermen is Assistant Professor of Sociology at George Mason University. From 2023-2024, she was Assistant Director of the Institute for Immigration Research (IIR) at George Mason. Her areas of expertise include membership and belonging, legality and immigrant incorporation, U.S. immigration law and policy, refugee resettlement, and global migration management. Her research is interdisciplinary and adopts multiple and mixed methods including computational, qualitative, and quantitative analysis to explore diverse questions about the impacts of migration systems and administration for the experiences of migrants and citizens. Her current research explores: contributions and challenges of the U.S. H temporary visa program; the consequences of uncertain policymaking and waiting for visa-holders in the United States who are navigating the adjustment of status process to become legal permanent residents; refugee experiences in the United States and globally; and immigrant pathways to entrepreneurship. She has spent extensive time researching and working with migrant and refugee populations in Germany, Türkiye, and the United States.

Selected Publications

Austin H. Vo and Michelle S. Dromgold-Sermen (equal authorship). 2025. “Global Division of Responsibility Sharing: How Refugee Systems Operate Through the Economic Management of Mobility and Immobility.” Social Sciences 14(7):1–21. doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci14070434.

James Ellis, Michelle S. Dromgold-Sermen, Kaitlyn Atkins, Carl Greer, Cynthia Demetriou, and A.T. Panter. 2024. “A Phenomenological Variant Ecological Systems Theory Approach for Exploring Racial Stress and Campus Engagement among Black Male College Students.” Urban Education 60(9):2478-2510. https://doi.org/10.1177/00420859241293101.

Hana Brown and Michelle S. Dromgold-Sermen (equal authorship). 2024. “Borders, Politics, and Bounded Sympathy: How US Television News Constructs Refugees, 1980-2016.” Social Problems 71(3): 836-857. https://doi.org/10.1093/socpro/spac036.

Michelle S. Dromgold-Sermen. 2023. “The Bureaucratic Waiting Tolls: Social Consequences of Prolonged and Uncertain Waiting in U.S. Lawful Permanent Residence Processing.” American Behavioral Scientist. https://doi.org/10.1177/00027642231216727.

Michelle S. Dromgold-Sermen. 2022. “Forced Migrants and Secure Belonging: A Case Study of Syrian Refugees Resettled in the United States.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 48(3): 635-654. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2020.1854087.

Expanded Publication List

Michelle S. Dromgold-Sermen. 2020. Farklılıkları Yönetme Kültürü: Göç Yönetimi Alanı ve Türkiye’ye Göç Eden Suriyeliler (A Culture of Managing Difference: The Field of Migration Management and Syrian Movers to Türkiye). Ankara: Middle East Technical University Press.

Kaitlyn Atkins, Bryan M. Dougan, Michelle S. Dromgold-Sermen, Hannah Potter, Viji Sathy, and A.T. Panter. 2020. “Looking at Myself in the Future”: How Mentoring Shapes Scientific Identity for STEM Students from Underrepresented Groups.” International Journal of STEM Education 7(42). DOI: 10.1186/s40594-020-00242-3.

Education

PhD Sociology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Graduate Certificate, Duke-UNC Consortium for Middle East Studies
M.A. Sociology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
M.S. Middle East Studies, Middle East Technical University, Ankara
B.A. International Studies, American University
B.A. German and Europe Area Studies, American University