Carolina Valdivia

Carolina Valdivia serves as Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminology, Law and Society at UC Irvine with cross-affiliations in Sociology, Chicana/o Studies, Education, and the Center for Population, Inequality, and Policy.

Her educational background includes:

• Ph.D. in Education from Harvard University
• M.A. in Sociology from San Diego State University
• B.A. in Sociology and Criminology from California State University San Marcos

Her research examines how legal exclusion impacts immigrant youth/families across educational trajectories, mental health, and political participation through ethnographic methods including 103+ in-depth interviews and participant observation. Current projects analyze immigration enforcement consequences, post-deportation family reunification, and college student basic needs.

Her scientific recognition includes:

• UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship
• Society of Hellman Fellows

She secures major funding from the Ford Foundation, Russell Sage Foundation, Carnegie Corporation, ECMC Foundation, and UCSD's Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies for her UndocuBasic Needs project (uBNP) and UndocuResearch initiatives, which investigate immigrant student experiences through national interviews with 106+ college students and 40+ high school participants across eight California schools.