Matthew Cota
About Me
I am a 5th year ABD PhD Candidate on the 2026-27 job market. I expect to receive my PhD by April 2027. My research is on American political institutions with a focus on the U.S. federal courts, particularly the U.S. Supreme Court. My research agenda is focused on explaining the etiology of the U.S. Supreme Court’s dissenting and concurring opinions, a significantly under studied topic with relevance to contemporary judicial decision making. These opinions have no legal weight, but the justices believe they can influence the law. My dissertation lays the foundation for my research agenda by examining the legal content of separate opinions alongside two papers about how the justices’ law clerks impact opinion writing and how the public perceives of opinion authors with different genders. I won my Department’s William E. Rhode Fellowship to support my dissertation. My research has been published in PS: Political Science & Politics, is under review at peer review journals, and has been presented at national academic conferences.
I am also a dedicated teacher and undergraduate mentor. During my PhD, I taught two classes on constitutional law, for which I won the Department’s Graduate Student Teaching award. I also served as a lab instructor for MSU’s methods of political analysis course, was a co-instructor for multiple online undergraduate summer courses, and was a co-instructor for the Department’s Programming in R camp for first-year PhD students. Outside the classroom, I have mentored 27 undergraduate students on research projects and prioritize involving them in research.
Biography
I was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and I love running, brewing coffee, making homemade pizza, and playing guitar. I earned my BA in Political Science from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities in 2022. To learn more about me, please visit my website at https://matthewtcota.com/.
Peer-Reviewed Publications
Cota, Matthew T., Rachael Houston, Elizabeth A. Lane, and Jessica A. Schoenherr. 2026. "Beyond the Front Page: Supreme Court Media Coverage in the Digital Age." PS: Political Science & Politics 59(3): 438-446.
Research Interests: American Politics, Judicial Politics, U.S. Supreme Court,
Teaching Interests: Constitutional Law, Judicial Politics/Process, Introduction to American Politics, Research Methods/Methodology
Email: cotamatt@msu.edu
Website: https://matthewtcota.com/
