Ruzanna Grigoryan, an American University of Armenia (AUA) Master of Public Health (MPH) 2007 graduate, has been admitted to the one-year Master of Science program in Philosophy and Public Policy for the academic year of 2015-2016 at the London School of Economics and Political Science, one of the highly ranked universities in social sciences in the world. This is an interdisciplinary program that integrates philosophical analysis, moral and political theory with study of political, social and economic problems. It also provides foundation of evidence-based policy in policy-making.
Grigoryan has been granted the Chevening Scholarship in Armenia covering tuition fees as well as travel and living costs and other expenses. The Chevening Scholarship is a highly competitive global scholarship program of the UK government, funded by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and partner organizations (http://www.chevening.org/). The program is designed to fully award outstanding scholars with leadership potential to study in postgraduate courses at UK universities from all over the world.
Grigoryan’s educational background includes a Medical Doctorate from the Yerevan State Medical University (2005) and a Master of Public Health degree from the American University of Armenia (2007). She received Merit Scholarships while studying and was included in the Dean’s List at AUA. Her master thesis was published in the peer reviewed journal of Healthcare for Women International (goo.gl/bIhZTD). Since graduation she has worked as a Project Coordinator and Research Associate at the School of Public Health. Her research interests for the last three years include assessments of environmental and health risks of mining and smelting communities in Armenia, conducting participatory community research to facilitate defining local needs and capacities and empowering communities to advocate for their health and healthy environment. She presented her work and research findings in front of local stakeholders and international scholarly communities and published her work in peer-reviewed journals. Starting in March 2015, she has been working as a Study Manager at the FMD K&L Armenia consulting company.
Since 2011, Grigoryan has been a member of various civic movements and initiatives such as “Save Teghut Civic Initiative,” “Mashtots Park,” and “We Pay 100 Drams.” She was granted the Universal Right Award twice by the U.S. Embassy, the Delegation of the European Union to Armenia, the British Embassy, the OSCE Office in Yerevan, the Council of Europe Office in Yerevan, the United Nations Armenia Office, and Counterpart International for her efforts in civil society building in 2012 and 2014.