Laura Hamilton

Laura Hamilton is a Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of California Merced. Her research focuses on educational inequality, student debt, and racial disparities in higher education. She examines how systemic structures like wealth, institutional partnerships, and policy frameworks shape access to and outcomes within educational systems.

Key themes in her work include the role of family wealth in educational transitions, the impact of for-profit and non-profit educational models, and the racialized dimensions of equity labor within universities. She critiques the marketization of public universities and advocates for equitable financial aid policies.

Her recent articles analyze topics ranging from wealth-based Pell Grant supplements to the stratification of graduate student debt and the societal implications of online education. Her work bridges sociology, education policy, and economics to propose actionable solutions for reducing systemic inequities.

Laura Hamilton’s research also explores gender dynamics in college culture, including midlife relationship strategies among women and the intersection of sexuality with institutional structures.