Chris S. Hulleman

Chris S. Hulleman is a Research Professor of Education and Public Policy at the University of Virginia's School of Education and Human Development, within the Education Leadership, Foundations & Policy department. He is the founder and director of the Motivate Lab, which focuses on developing and testing interventions to support student motivation, particularly for historically marginalized groups. His work bridges social and personality psychology with education, emphasizing practical applications to reduce systemic inequalities through methods like utility-value and social-belonging interventions. Hulleman holds a Ph.D. in social and personality psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2007), an M.S. from the same university (2002), a Graduate Diploma from the University of Western Australia (1995), and a B.A. from Central College (1993). He previously worked as a teacher, coach, and social worker.

His research interests include educational interventions, learning mindsets, intervention fidelity assessment, and expectancy-value motivation theory. He collaborates with national networks such as the Learning Mindset Initiative and the Transition to College Project. Key projects address STEM participation barriers, community college math success, and addressing inequities in academic and social environments. He has received the Robert B. Cialdini Award (2013) for field-based research on social psychological interventions.

Hulleman's grants include a $2.4M award for improving advising practices and a PNAS-funded initiative on parental involvement in STEM motivation. He is affiliated with the Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning and the Virginia Education Science Training (VEST) Fellowships. His lab work involves scaling interventions to institutional levels while maintaining fidelity, with a focus on how contextual factors influence student motivation and performance.