Rachael Cobb, PhD

Education

• AB, Bryn Mawr College
• PhD in Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Research Interests

Election administration; political and civic participation; civic education, scholarship of teaching and learning.

Teaching Philosophy

I approach teaching as a coach. I help students practice — practice thinking, practice writing, practice revising. It is the act of revising, updating, and refining that helps us do the intellectual work to learn and grow. I build a classroom community to foster connection which ultimately creates even more space for learning and growth.

Professional Activities and Affiliations

• Boston Election Advisory Committee
• Board member, MassVOTE

Grants, Awards, Honors, & Recognitions

• Ask Every Student Implementation Grant 2025
• ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge (ALL IN) Standout Faculty Award 2025

Recent Scholarly or Creative Contributions

• Cobb, R. (2025). The Battle to Become the Oldest President Ever. In L. Perry (Ed.), The 2024 Presidential Election (pp. 103–115). Springer Nature Switzerland. 
• Stein, R. M., Burden, B. C., Lamb, M., Alberda, G., Atkeson, L., Bryant, L., Cobb, R., et al. (2025). Guardians at the Gates: Poll Worker Retention in a Challenging Election Environment. Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy, 24(1), 62–73. 
• Cobb, R. (2024). Civic Participation in New England. In A. Fried & E. E. O’Brien (Eds.), More Than Blue, More Than Yankee: Complexity and Change in New England Politics. University of Massachusetts Press.
• Conley, B. M., & Cobb, R. V. (2021). Gender and the 2020 Democratic Primary: An Analysis of the Warren/Sanders Battle for the Leftwing of the Democratic Party. In L. Perry (Ed.), The 2020 Democratic Primary (pp. 107–121). Springer International Publishing.