Maria Palma Carvajal

Maria Palma Carvajal is a Research Fellow and Post-doctoral Co-investigator at University College London's Institute of Education, Social Research Institute. She concurrently serves as a Postgraduate Teaching Assistant and is completing her PhD in Social Sciences under supervisors John Jerrim and Lindsay Macmillan.

Her educational background includes:

• PhD in Social Sciences (in progress), UCL Institute of Education
• MSc in Social Policy Research, London School of Economics
• MSc in Economic Analysis, Universidad de Chile
• BA in Economics, Universidad de Chile

Dr. Carvajal's research bridges demography and educational economics, with dual focus areas: 1) Analysis of educational inequalities using Chilean administrative data to evaluate policy impacts on disadvantaged students; and 2) Longitudinal studies of medically assisted reproduction outcomes across UK, Finnish, and European cohorts. Her methodological expertise in quantitative analysis of large-scale datasets informs evidence-based policy recommendations.

Recent publications demonstrate consistent output in high-impact journals spanning educational policy evaluation and reproductive health outcomes. The research shows increasing international collaboration, with recent work integrating Chilean, UK, and Finnish datasets to address questions of social mobility and child development.

Her scientific recognition includes:

• ESRC studentship
• UCL Overseas Research Scholarship
• UCL Graduate Research Scholarship
• Becas Chile fellowship

As co-investigator on Nuffield Foundation funding, she directs research on high-achieving disadvantaged students' trajectories while mentoring through quantitative methods teaching. Her active grant portfolio and collaborative network support ongoing research in educational equity and demographic transitions.