Ellen Bryer

I am a sociologist who uses qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate the relationship between economic inequality and young adults’ educational experiences. My work has been published in the Journal of Higher Education, Social Science Research, Sociological Forum, and Socius. 

My dissertation was a mixed methods study of student pathways through graduate education and their implications for social stratification. 

I have also conducted interview-based research on how young adults navigate their student debt in the context of family and peer relationships. I have additional ongoing collaborative projects on the emergence of racial wealth gaps in young adulthood and on political polarization among high school students. 

I am a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Annenberg Institute at Brown University, working with Dr. Lindsay Page to study policies and programs that support students' success in higher education. I was formerly a research assistant at a research and evaluation firm and an Americorps member. I received my Ph.D. in Sociology, with a certificate in education sciences, from the University of Pennsylvania and a BA in Sociology from Smith College.