Claudia Finger

Dr. Claudia Finger is a Research Fellow at the WZB Berlin Social Science Center's Research Department for Skill Formation and Labor Markets. Her work focuses on social inequality in education access, welfare state dynamics, and the impact of institutional policies on educational trajectories. She holds a PhD in Sociology from Freie Universität Berlin (2018) with a dissertation on social background and college aspirations, alongside an MA in Sociology and an MSc in Social Science Research Methods.

Her research explores how systemic barriers and individual choices interact to perpetuate social stratification, particularly in prestigious academic programs and medical education. Key contributions include analyzing gender disparities in admissions, the role of standardized testing, and the societal implications of meritocratic beliefs. She has conducted field experiments to assess information deficits among disadvantaged students and their impact on college enrollment decisions.

Current projects investigate the interplay between student application behavior and university selection procedures, as well as meritocratic beliefs shaped by personal academic experiences. Her work bridges empirical sociology with policy analysis, addressing topics such as healthcare workforce distribution and Bologna Process effects on student mobility.

Publications span high-impact journals like European Sociological Review and Sociology of Education, emphasizing methodological rigor and policy relevance. She collaborates on initiatives such as the College for Interdisciplinary Educational Research (since 2016) and has held visiting roles at the European University Institute.