ASHLEY LUCIA TORRES, Ph.D.

University of California, Irvine — 2025

Concentrations: Social Network Analysis; Digital Culture

Dissertation: “Virality and Obfuscation: Memetic Merging, Reduction, and Community Online”
Chair: David Schaefer
Committee: Carter T. Butts, Francesca Polletta, William Dewan

Relevant Coursework: Analysis of Social Network Data, Network Theory, Dynamic Network Modeling, Networks & Information Transmission, Informant Accuracy, Advanced Regression Methods, Demographic Methods, Digital Anthropology

Professional Affiliations: Alpha Kappa Delta; American Sociological Association (ASA); International Network for Social Network Analysis (INSNA); UCI Center for Networks and Relational Analysis (CNRA); UCI Social Network Analysis Research Group (SNRG); UCI Graduate Professional Success for STEM (GPS-STEM); UCI Sociology Graduate Student Association (SGSA) Cohort Representative

University of California, Irvine — 2022

Thesis: “Homophily Among News Organizations on Twitter: Following Selection on Believability and Bias”
Committee: David Schaefer (Chair), Carter T. Butts, Andrew Penner

Relevant Coursework: Graduate Statistics (I, II, III), Demographic Methods, Population

University of California, Berkeley — 2018

High Distinction, Departmental Honors, Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha Kappa Delta,

Departmental Citation Finalist

Thesis: “Virtual Group Formation: A Case Study of UC Berkeley Memes for Edgy Teens”
Faculty Advisor: Mary Kelsey