Matthew Diemer

Matthew Diemer is a Professor at the University of Michigan's Marsal Family School of Education and holds a courtesy professorship in the Department of Psychology at the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. He also serves as Chair of the Combined Program in Education and Psychology and is a Faculty Associate at the Institute for Social Research. Diemer earned his PhD from Boston College and focuses on developmental psychology, examining how marginalized youth resist societal inequities through critical consciousness—defined as analyzing systemic inequalities, motivating change, and engaging in political action. His work emphasizes measuring social class, validating critical consciousness scales, and exploring family wealth's role in intergenerational success.

Diemer's research spans topics like youth activism, racial justice, and educational equity, with projects such as the Advancing Critical Consciousness, Methods & Equity (AC2ME) lab. He investigates family civics' impact on marginalized youth and parents of color, HIV treatment in Mozambican couples, and youth leadership councils' role in civic engagement. His grants include funding for programs like the MYHealth initiative training underrepresented students in health research and the #MYHealth training program.

• Key Research Areas: Critical consciousness, sociopolitical development, racial and socioeconomic inequality, educational equity, marginalized youth empowerment
• Grants: Includes projects on HIV treatment for seroconcordant couples, family-based civic engagement, and youth organizing trajectories
• Labs/Teams: AC2ME Lab, MYHealth Initiative

Diemer teaches courses such as EDUC 737 (Topics in Educational Studies) and EDUC 606 (Developmental and Psychological Perspectives on Education), applying theories to classroom and societal challenges. His work bridges psychological research with real-world interventions to promote social justice and equity across educational and healthcare systems.