Thomas Rochow

Thomas Rochow is a Research Associate and Affiliate at the Centre for Public Policy, University of Glasgow, specializing in qualitative research on youth studies, welfare conditionality, and care policies. His work examines how social policies shape youth transitions and family experiences within welfare systems.

Education:

• PhD in Social Sciences, University of Glasgow (2023)

Rochow's research investigates youth transitions, social security systems, underemployment, and homelessness policies through qualitative methodologies. He focuses on lived experiences of young people and low-income families, emphasizing dignity and systemic barriers in welfare systems, with fieldwork spanning the UK and Spain.

His sole publication (2023) analyzes conditional housing pathways for UK youth, reflecting core themes of housing insecurity and welfare conditionality. The work demonstrates consistent attention to policy impacts on vulnerable populations and multi-level governance dynamics.

Rochow leads a Robertson Trust-funded project examining policy siloes and poverty cliffedges in Scotland. He co-produces research with organizations like Changing Realities and the rEUsilience Project, collaborating directly with parents and carers to drive social security reforms.

He co-convenes the Centre for Public Policy's Early Career Researcher network and is an active Social Policy Association member, contributing to academic discourse on welfare policy and youth transitions.