Stephanie Moller

Professor, Department of Sociology

Professor, Public Policy Doctoral Program

Faculty Website

Education:

Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2003

Research Interest:

She conducts research on income inequality within the United States and cross-nationally. She also conducts research on mathematics achievement in primary and secondary schools, examining racial, ethnic and socio-economic gaps in achievement. Dr. Moller has published numerous articles, including articles in the American Sociological Review, American Journal of Sociology, Social Forces, Social Science Research, Sociology of Education, and World Politics. She has received funding from the National Science Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Education. She is a previous member of the Editorial Board of the American Sociological Review and the current Editor of Social Science Research.

Recent Publications:

• MISRA, J., BUDIG, M. J., & MOLLER, S. (2020). Reconciliation policies and the effects of motherhood on employment, earnings and poverty. In Policy Sectors in Comparative Policy Analysis Studies (pp. 204-224). Routledge.
• Jha, N. K., Banerjee, N., & Moller, S. (2020). Assessing the role of teachers’ unions in the adoption of accountability policies in public education. The Urban Review, 52(2), 299-330.
• Moller, S., & Cai, T. (2020). Welfare state policies and their effects. The New Handbook of Political Sociology, 812-841.
• Bottia, M. C., Stearns, E., Mickelson, R. A., Moller, S., & Jamil, C. (2020). The importance of community colleges in students’ choice to major in STEM. The Journal of Higher Education, 91(7), 1116-1148.
• Dancy, M., Rainey, K., Stearns, E., Mickelson, R., & Moller, S. (2020). Undergraduates’ awareness of White and male privilege in STEM. International Journal of STEM Education, 7(1), 52.
• Stearns, E., Bottia, M. C., Giersch, J., Mickelson, R. A., Moller, S., Jha, N., & Dancy, M. (2020). Do relative advantages in STEM grades explain the gender gap in selection of a STEM major in college? A multimethod answer. American Educational Research Journal, 57(1), 218-257.
• Giersch, J., Bottia, M. C., Stearns, E., Mickelson, R. A., & Moller, S. (2021). The predictive role of school performance indicators on students’ college achievement. Educational Policy, 35(7), 1085-1115.
• Moller, S., Yavorsky, J. E., Ruppanner, L., & Dippong, J. (2024). Remote work penalties: Work location and career rewards. Social Currents, 11(6), 493-514.
• Moller, S., Ruppanner, L., & Yavorsky, J. E. (2024). Do working parents in the United States expect work location to impact job and family satisfaction in the post-pandemic period? Evidence from a survey experiment. Frontiers in Sociology, 9, 1368594.
• Stearns, E., Mickelson, R., Bottia, M., Allen, D., Dancy, M., & Moller, S. (2024). How community college educations generate both science capital and science-specific transfer capital among low-Income white women majoring in STEM. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 1-21.
• Moller, S. (2025). Close social relationships and happiness in the United States: the moderating role of love by God. Frontiers in Public Health, 13, 1567701.Mickelson, R. A., Allen, D., Bottia, M., Stearns, E., Dancy, M., & Moller, S. (2025). Pre-collegiate factors contributing to the choice of a chemistry major: the role of science capital. Chemistry Education Research and Practice.

Social Policy Faculty Website