Olaf Groh-Samberg

Olaf Groh-Samberg is Professor of Sociology at the University of Bremen's Department of Social Sciences and SOCIUM Research Center on Inequality and Social Policy. He concurrently serves as Research Professor at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) in Berlin since 2009 and as Speaker of the Research Institute Social Cohesion (FGZ) since 2021. His institutional affiliations include the Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS) and multiple working groups within SOCIUM.

His educational background comprises a Master of Arts in Sociology from Münster and Kassel Universities (2000) and a PhD from the University of Münster's Institute of Sociology (2006).

Professor Groh-Samberg's research centers on social stratification dynamics, educational inequality systems, and poverty mechanisms within welfare societies. His methodological expertise combines longitudinal analysis with mixed-methods approaches to examine social mobility patterns, migrant integration trajectories, and the interplay between economic inequality and cultural values across social milieus. Current work emphasizes social cohesion in fragmented societies through comparative analyses of German and European contexts.

He leads major DFG and EU-funded projects including "Social Cohesion within and between social milieus" (2020-2024), "Qualitative Befragung langjähriger SOEP-Befragter mit türkischem Migrationshintergrund" (2014-2016), and "Social Strategies and Transitions into Adulthood of Young Migrants" (2008-2011), directing collaborative teams across Germany and France.

Within SOCIUM, he heads the "Social, Cultural and Economic Inequalities" working group under the Dynamics of Inequality in Welfare Societies department and contributes to Methods Research through the German Institute for Interdisciplinary Social Policy Research (DIFIS). His leadership extends to coordinating the Research Institute Social Cohesion (FGZ) across multiple German universities.