Nandini Narula Bajpai, MAPSS’26

Nandini Narula Bajpai was an international student from New Delhi, India, who earned her degree in the Master of Arts Program in the Social Sciences (MAPSS) (concentration: Psychology), along with the Education and Society (EDSO) certificate, in 2026. “Everyone from the faculty, to staff, to students, were extremely welcoming and warm, and it was the ideal setting for someone like me who values being meticulous and detail driven, while also having fun doing it!” shares Bajpai. 

Bajpai’s thesis, Love, Goals, & Culture: How Significant Others Impact Academic Goal Pursuit, examined how relational and cultural contexts shape students’ emotional experiences during academic goal pursuit, specifically during action crisis. Drawing on a diverse sample of students from 34 countries enrolled across 151 U.S. institutions, Bajpai's thesis explored whether reminders of someone they deeply care about influences how students navigate conflict when continuing or abandoning an important academic goal. Her thesis advisor, Dr. Alysson Light, started supporting Bajpai early in the development and ideation stages of her research; “My brainstorming sessions with Dr. Light were nothing short of intellectually stimulating in the best way possible,” explains Bajpai. Being an EDSO student, Bajpai has an additional advisor: Dr. Lisa Rosen, whom Bajpai describes as “extremely knowledgeable and forthcoming too!” Finally, Bajpai received the MAPSS Esther Johnson Student Research Award to facilitate participant recruitment for her thesis, allowing for a large sample size.

Bajpai emphasizes that while "choosing a favorite course is impossible because every second spent in the classroom added value––not only in how professors made sure to allow discourse on underexplored topics, but also in terms of the exposure to perspectives from students belonging to varied cultural, geographical, and stratified backgrounds; some courses that stood out were: Reward & Motivation; Moral Psychology & the Anthropology of Morality; and Exploratory Design Research, Social Stratification, and Schooling & Social Inequality." 

Bajpai also wanted to note the chances to learn outside of the classroom, particularly the Social Science Brown Bag, “This is where Psychologists from institutions across the U.S. come to present their research to students, faculty, and staff, and we have an opportunity to ask questions. This talk series has been instrumental in fueling the researcher in me and has provided me with something I will look back at for the rest of my life. Additionally, attending a guest lecture by Dr. Mahzarin Banaji (who coined the term "implicit bias") allowed me to finally decide on my 'favorite academic celebrity'––one of the many inspiring people I've had the privilege of learning from first-hand."

As an international student, Bajpai shares that moving to the U.S. was a significant transition; despite having completed her undergraduate studies in New York, she describes Chicago as “a completely new experience.” “Living in Chicago has been a mixture of culture-shock and cultural-integration for me; in just a short period of time, I have been able to make this place 'home' and immerse myself in the never-ending list of events and recreational activities the city has to offer, even beyond campus life,” she says.   

As a recent MAPSS graduate, Bajpai is currently planning on either working in a socio-cultural Psychology lab, as an adjunct professor in Psychology, or in non-profits related to empowering underrepresented communities across the U.S.. Bajpai's next step is to pursue a PhD in Socio-Cultural Psychology and then to ultimately become a college professor.

Bajpai also shares some advice for incoming students: “Immerse yourself in all that UChicago has to offer”. 

Lastly, you can also view her published research, The Relationship of Mindful Awareness & Acculturative Stress for International Undergraduate Students in America.