Katrin Kriz

Katrin Kriz is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at Emmanuel College (US) and a research associate at the Centre for Research on Discretion and Paternalism. She chairs the Sociology department and focuses on professional discretion in child welfare decisions internationally. Her research spans child protection systems, participation rights, and comparative welfare policies.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Sociology (Brandeis University)
• M.A. in International Development and Social Change (Clark University)
• M.A. in Sociology and Women’s Studies (Brandeis University)
• Mag. phil. (University of Vienna, Austria)

Research Interests: Katrin’s work examines the intersection of child welfare systems, professional discretion, and marginalized groups. She investigates how child protection decisions balance legal frameworks with cultural contexts, particularly in cross-country analyses. Current projects include a book chapter on Austria’s child protection system and a manuscript on children’s participation in Norway and the US.

Recognition:

• Recipient of the ISW Prize (2015) for groundbreaking research on minority parents’ challenges in welfare systems.

Teaching & Grants: Katrin teaches qualitative research methods and recently chaired a Ph.D. course at TIAS Business School (Netherlands). She collaborates on international grants examining child protection systems’ legitimacy and discretion.

Labs/Teams: Active in the Centre for Research on Discretion and Paternalism, focusing on global child welfare comparative studies.