SUYEONG (SOPHIE) SHIN, PHD

Research Scientist

University of Utah

SuYeong (Sophie) is a research scientist in the Frey STEM Education Research group at the University of Utah. Her scholarly lens blends frameworks from multiple disciplines such as higher education, sociology, and data science. She is interested in developing innovative causal inference research design and analyzing multi-source data to understand the complex interplay among students, educators, and local communities. Focusing on organizational dynamics, her research explores how educational and cultural contexts shape students’ social identities, and in turn the impact of these factors on students’ educational outcomes. Prior to joining the University of Utah, SuYeong was a graduate researcher in the Center for Research on Undergraduate Education and a special graduate assistant in Iowa Testing Programs at the University of Iowa. She holds a Ph.D. in Educational Policy and M.S. in Information Science from the University of Iowa, and M.A. in Sociology of Education and B.A. in Education from Korea University. Among other honors, Dr. Shin has received the Kerckhoff Award from the Research Committee on Social Stratification and Mobility (RC28) of the International Sociological Association and was named a recipient of the Ballard and Seashore Dissertation Fellowship from the University of Iowa. Outside the lab, SuYeong enjoys exploring the outdoors, Zumba, writing with a fountain pen, cooking, and brewing coffee at home.