Royster Fellow and veteran will study global conflict
After improving operations for the U.S. Air Force, Emily Arnsberg returns to Carolina for a second degree.
Emily Arnsberg ’22 (MS) spent nearly a decade in the U.S. Air Force applying her analytical skills to help solve large-scale problems. This fall, she’s returning to UNC-Chapel Hill as a doctoral student in political science, ready to apply that experience to the study of international relations.
Arnsberg earned a master’s degree in library science from the UNC School of Information and Library Science. A self-described lover of school, Arnsberg also holds a master’s degree in international relations from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas, and a certificate in nuclear deterrence from Harvard University.
Before coming to Carolina, Arnsberg studied mathematics at the University of Colorado Boulder. Growing up in an Air Force family, she developed a love of public service from an early age. She enrolled as an ROTC cadet and was commissioned into the Air Force upon graduation. She served on active duty for several years in Texas, at the Pentagon and in Qatar, and now continues in the reserves. In her military career, she primarily served as an operations research analyst, applying her mathematical expertise to support decision-making within the Air Force.
While her work as an Air Force officer primarily involved applying her intellectual skills to solving operational problems, her proximity to military operations fostered her growing interest in national security and international relations. Over time, she became increasingly drawn to the broader context behind the problems she was helping to solve.
“Serving in the military, you have to stay up to date on international relations,” Arnsberg said. “I was often far from the fight, but it’s important for any military person to know what’s going on in the world. If we decide to go to war, that affects all of us –– military or civilian.”
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While her SILS degree developed her skills in research methods and information management, Arnsberg realized that her core interests lay in understanding how information and strategy intersect on the global stage. She is returning to Carolina as a member of the Royster Society of Fellows, The Graduate School’s prestigious fellowship program for the most talented graduate scholars.
Accepted into doctoral programs in both political science and information science, she decided to focus primarily on political science and international relations as a way of applying her expertise to pressing real-word issues.
“I’m interested in the systems that influence decision-making in war,” she said. “When we make the decision to go to war, how do our information gathering and decision-making systems operate? Researching that question could help us make better decisions related to big global conflicts.”
Arnsberg says she’s looking forward to returning to the Carolina community, citing the University’s excellence in scholarship and service. “I loved the academic environment at Carolina,” she said. “There’s a lot of momentum here to do meaningful, grounded work.”
As one of Carolina’s most promising incoming graduate students, Arnsberg hopes her research will enable her to have a positive impact on the world.
“I don’t know exactly what my next role will be, but I know I want to help people across the world avoid and recover from conflict.” Arnsberg said. “Through this degree, I’m hoping to better understand the systems that influence and shape their lives and find ways to make those systems work more fairly and effectively.”
