Biography

Her research interests include racial and ethnic politics, immigration, political behavior and public opinion. Her first book, The Politics of Belonging: Race, Public Opinion and Immigration (co-authored with Jane Junn) examines how and why whites, blacks, Asian Americans and Latinos view immigration and immigrants in systematically different ways.  This book was the winner of the 2014 Ralph Bunche Award by the American Political Science Association.  Her second book, Multiracial Identity and Racial Politics in the United States, explores the rise of Americans who self-identify as mixed race or multiracial and the impact on politics. This book was recognized as the best book in political behavior by the Race, Ethnicity and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association. Professor Masuoka received her Ph.D. and M.A. from University of California, Irvine and a B.A. from CSU Long Beach. Before joining UCLA she taught at Tufts University and Duke University.