Laura Morosanu

Dr. Laura Morosanu is a Reader in Sociology (Sociology and Criminology) at the School of Law, Politics and Sociology, University of Sussex. She is an established scholar in migration studies, with a focus on European migration, ethnicity, social networks, and integration. She serves as Associate Editor of the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies and is on the International Editorial Board of Ethnic and Racial Studies. She co-convenes the 'Ethnicity, Race, and Diverse Societies' Research Network at Sussex and co-coordinates the IMISCOE Standing Committee on Gender and Sexuality in Migration Research (GenSeM).

Her research centers on migration, transnationalism, and social belonging. She investigates how social location shapes migrants’ work and social lives, with particular attention to youth mobility, transitions to adulthood, return migration, and the second generation. Her work challenges essentialist views of ethnicity and explores cosmopolitan sociability, intersectionality, and the racialization of East Europeans in the UK. She has conducted extensive research on Romanian and Italian migrants in London, especially in the context of Brexit.

Her recent and current publications reflect a strong focus on migration decision-making, integration, and belonging, with recurring themes of identity, discrimination, and social networks. She leads major funded projects such as the Leverhulme Trust’s 'Pathways to Inclusion' (2025–2028), which examines how children of migrants navigate workplace inclusion. Her earlier projects include YMOBILITY and TRAFIG, both EU-funded, exploring youth mobility and protracted displacement.

• Associate Editor, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies
• International Editorial Board, Ethnic and Racial Studies
• Scholar in Residence, Max Planck Institute (2024)
• Visiting Research Fellow, GRITIM, Pompeu Fabra University (2016)

Dr. Morosanu actively supervises PhD students and has been involved in numerous grants from the Leverhulme Trust, European Union, and University of Sussex. She has co-supervised students on topics including migrant receptiveness, boundary-making in relationships, and diaspora political participation. Her teaching includes courses on migration, identity, and 21st-century sociology.

She is affiliated with research centers and networks such as GRITIM and IMISCOE, and has contributed to policy-relevant research on migration and integration. Her current work continues to advance critical understandings of migration, inclusion, and social worth in diverse societies.