Tessa Provins is an Assistant Professor in the School of Government and Public Policy at the University of Arizona. She received her M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Merced in 2016 and 2018, respectively, and a B.A. in Economics from Stanford University in 2013.

Dr. Provins's research primarily focuses on two areas: American legislative institutions and Indigenous institutions and policy. In her work on American institutions, she examines how the design of legislative bodies impacts outcomes for groups divided by race, gender, and party affiliation. Her research on Indigenous institutions explores the structure of Native American tribal governments and their effects on intra-tribal, inter-tribal, and government relationships, as well as policy outcomes. While she has several ongoing projects that include tribal case studies, including work on her own tribe, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, most of Dr. Provin's Indigenous politics research takes a pan-tribal approach. Dr. Provin’s research has been published in peer-reviewed journals including the Journal of Politics, Journal of Public Policy, Political Research Quarterly, Legislative Studies Quarterly, Public Choice, and Social Science Quarterly.

Her teaching interests include American politics, race politics, gender politics, and quantitative methods.