School of Education and Social Policy postdoctoral scholars Karla Thomas and briana rodríguez received 2026 National Academy of Education /Spencer Research Fellowships.
Lara Altman came to SESP after nearly 15 years working at the intersection of education, public health, and social work, leading initiatives focused on improving outcomes for children and families.
Peri Green, a learning sciences graduate student at the School of Education and Social Policy, received Northwestern's prestigious Presidential Fellowship for her work exploring how a child’s environment can create or reduce opportunities for learning.
When alumna Maddie Zimmer arrived in Evanston in 2020, Northwestern’s field hockey team hadn’t reached a Final Four in 26 years.
Fourteen new PhDs were honored and gifted regalia before the 2026 convocation celebration during the third annual doctoral robing ceremony at Northwestern University's School of Education and Social Policy.
Northwestern University’s Anusha Kumar, an honors student who studied social policy, received a U.S. Student Fulbright Award to teach English in Linz, Austria.
From our highest-ever U.S. News & World Report ranking to the first graduates of two news master's programs, it was a breakthrough year at the School of Education and Social Policy.
Lea Kalkowski's senior honors thesis grew from her experience interning at a legal advocacy nonprofit. After helping more than 70 people through the process of expungement — clearing a criminal conviction from the record — Kalkowski wanted to dig deeper into the issues around implementing policy.
Cynthia Coburn, the Margaret Walker Alexander Professor of Human Development and Social Policy, received the Martin E. and Gertrude G. Walder Award for Research Excellence.
Shirin Vossoughi, associate professor of learning sciences at the School of Education and Social Policy, has been elected a fellow of the International Society of Learning Sciences for her work studying how and why people learn.
Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy graduate students Andrew Stein and Corey Winchester have received highly competitive NAEd/Spencer Dissertation Fellowships to support their research and career development.
New Northwestern University research suggests negative perceptions about block-based programming can be challenged.
Connor Wong was in middle school when he first tried to sell his own stationery and hit a wall. Etsy and eBay had fees and required users to be older. Farmers markets charged $500 for a booth. Nobody was making room for kids.
School of Education and Social Policy Dean Bryan McKinley Jones Brayboy, the Carlos Montezuma Professor, was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation's oldest and most prestigious honorary societies.
The history of American schooling is tied to the forced removal of Indigenous peoples — and U.S. institutions must confront that legacy to build a fairer, more just future, School of Education and Social Policy Dean Bryan McKinley Jones Brayboy said during the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Distinguished Lecture, one of the signature events of the 2026 Annual Meeting.
School of Education and Social Policy senior Timothy Huff was named a Northwestern University Student Employee of the Year in Community and Belonging for his leadership work with Black Men LEAD, a mentoring program at Evanston Township High School.
Alumna Sloane Barry (BS22) and partner Brennan Hellmers appeared on Shark Tank, pitching SOMNIA+, a bed expander kit designed to make narrow dorm beds more functional and comfortable without replacing the mattress or using tools.
Northwestern University's School of Education and Social Policy (SESP) has earned its highest-ever ranking — No. 2 among graduate schools of education in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Professor Mesmin Destin was named a senior fellow with the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, joining a national effort to bridge the gap between what young people need to thrive and what high school currently delivers.
Ozivell Ecford, a learning sciences graduate student at Northwestern University's School of Education and Social Policy, has been selected for the 2026 Edward Alexander Bouchet Graduate Honor Society, which recognizes outstanding scholarly achievement and excellence in doctoral education.
Northwestern University professor Sally Nuamah has been selected as a 2026 Bellagio Center resident by the Rockefeller Foundation — a prestigious 26-day residency on the shores of Lake Como, Italy.
School of Education and Social Policy Dean Bryan McKinley Jones Brayboy has been selected to deliver the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Distinguished Lecture, one of the signature events of the 2026 Annual Meeting.
Juniper Shelley once thought the “cool” research happened in windowless STEM labs, not in the social sciences. But after joining Professor Sally Nuamah’s lab, she realized research can also mean getting out into the world, talking to people, and exploring challenging questions.
Four faculty members and an associated scholar with Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy were named to the 2025 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings for their work bringing research out of academic journals and into everyday life.
Michelle Yin has been elected to the National Academy of Social Insurance, the nation’s leading nonpartisan organization focused on Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, disability policy, and related issues in social insurance, workforce, and economic security.
Stories from 2025 that highlight our community, research, and faculty excellence.
Northwestern University’s Uri Wilensky shared his vision for making computational thinking more accessible during the Yidan Prize Awards Ceremony in Hong Kong, where he received the 2025 Yidan Prize for Education Research.
Northwestern University’s Jen Munson has received a five-year, $815,789 CAREER grant from the National Science Foundation to design spaces that make math as enjoyable as recreational reading.
Alumna Izzy Dobbel (BS20), deputy chief of staff for the Illinois House Speaker, was named to the Crain’s Chicago Business 40 Under 40 Class of 2025.
Doug Medin, Professor Emeritus at Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy, received the David E. Rumelhart Prize, the most important award in the field of cognitive science.
Uri Wilensky, a preeminent scholar in computer modeling and simulations, received the 2025 Yidan Prize for Education Research, the world’s largest prize in education.
Olga Vaskova, a graduate student in the Master of Science in Education and Social Policy Program, earned a $500 prize in the Tzu Chi Center’s Character Education Lesson Plan Competition for her English language arts lesson focused on The Wizard of Oz, one of her daughter’s favorite books.
Northwestern University psychologist Dan P. McAdams has been selected to receive the International Society for Self and Identity’s 2025 Distinguished Lifetime Career Award for his contributions to the understanding of self and identity throughout his academic career.
Tre Wells, a Northwestern University doctoral candidate, received an AERA Minority Dissertation Fellowship in Education Research for 2025–26.
Northwestern University celebrated the distinguished careers of Dean Bryan McKinley Jones Brayboy and Professor Megan Bang during investiture ceremonies that recognized their groundbreaking contributions to education, access, and community-centered research.
Sarah Futa was a 45-year-old single mom of four when she returned to graduate school to refresh her skills and reclaim a part of herself that had long been missing.
A dozen new PhDs were honored and gifted regalia before the 2025 convocation celebration during the second annual doctoral robing ceremony at Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy.
Northwestern University’s Katarzyna (Kasia) Pomian Bogdanov, who just received her doctorate in learning sciences from the School of Education and Social Policy, received a 2025 Jhumki Basu Scholar Award from the National Association for Research in Science Teaching.
Graduating senior Kaylyn Ahn, one of the most decorated students in SESP history, received the Outstanding Undergraduate Leadership Award from Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy.
From Olympic competition to record-breaking performances on campus, Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy athletes balanced academics and elite competition during the 2024-25 school year.
Undergraduate researchers examined everything from consumer behavior and supports for dyslexic students to whether Hawai’i is truly a paradise as part of their senior thesis research projects.
Seniors Lillian Fu, Mia Xia, and Adrienne Scheide were honored for their research at Northwestern University’s Undergraduate Research & Arts Expo, which celebrates the accomplishments and discoveries of undergraduates through poster presentations and curated student panel talks.
Four high school educators who left a deep imprint on their students’ lives will be honored with the prestigious Morton Schapiro Distinguished Secondary School Teacher Award during Northwestern University’s 2025 Convocation ceremony on Sunday, June 15.
Michael Horn was awarded the Charles Deering Professor of Teaching Excellence Award for his innovative approach to computer science and his ability to inspire a lifelong love of learning—a critical skill in our rapidly changing world.
Professor Cynthia Coburn was one of nine Northwestern University faculty members elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honorary societies.
Faculty, alumni and and students will showcase their research at the 2025 American Educational Research Association’s meeting in Denver.
Tre Wells, a graduate student studying human development and social policy, has been selected for the Edward Alexander Bouchet Graduate Honor Society, which recognizes outstanding scholarly achievement and excellence in doctoral education.
School of Education and Social Policy alumna and basketball standout Nia Coffey (BS17) was one of nine Wildcats inducted into the Northwestern Athletics Hall of Fame.
Northwestern University senior Maya Alexandra Vuchic, a student in the School of Education and Social Policy, has been named a Student Laureate by the Lincoln Academy of Illinois for her work in community and civic engagement.
Five faculty members from Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy were named to the 2025 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings for their work bringing research out of academic journals and into everyday lives.
Kaylyn Ahn won a prestigious 2025 Marshall Scholarship to study public policy at the University of Oxford in England. Ahn, the first School of Education and Social Policy student to receive the award, is Northwestern’s 29th overall winner.
Psychological scientist Claudia Haase and undergraduate research assistant Angela Zhong, a member of Haase’s Lifespan Development Lab, were honored during a recent Fletcher Awards ceremony at Northwestern University.
For Denise Si Rui Tan, graduate school often felt like a marathon—daunting, intense, and exhausting. But by the end of her journey earning two master’s degrees in two different cultures, she was forever changed.
Aimee Resnick received the 2024 Future Industry Spotlight Award from the American Road & Transportation Builders Association for her leadership as an intern with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT).
Northwestern University scholars Ahmmad Brown and Ritu Tripathi received first place and a $10,000 prize in the 2024 University of Michigan Global DEI case competition for prompting students to think about how hard it can be to implement new equity policies in global organizations.
Northwestern University received a $1.2 million award from the National Science Foundation’s Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program to provide scholarships to undergraduate STEM majors who want to pursue teaching in high-needs school districts.
School of Education and Social Policy student athletes and alumni returned from the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics with medals, career bests, and unforgettable experiences. Here’s a quick update on how our athletes did.
Addison Feldman (pictured) and Ally Peak, both juniors at Northwestern University's School of Education and Social Policy, have been selected for the 2024 Obama-Chesky Scholarship for Public Service, also known as the Voyager Scholarship.
When David Rapp was in high school, he worked in one of his favorite places in the world: The public library. There, the teenager was put in charge of literary classics, magazines, science fiction, and humor sections, all genres he still adores.
Softball Hall of Famer Tammy Williams wasn’t quite sure which direction to take her career after graduation. She kept playing her sport at elite levels, earned a master’s in business administration, and soon realized she had a knack for both numbers and helping people.
Graduate student Julia de Oliveira Callegari received a 2024- 2025 Northwestern Cognitive Science Advanced Research Fellowship to support her work looking at the interplay between identity, culture, and learning in children.
Northwestern University psychologist Dan P. McAdams was honored with two lifetime achievement awards in recognition of his career-long impact on the field of psychology.
The 2024 Olympic Games begin Friday, July 26, followed by the Paralympic Games on Aug. 28. Of the 13 athletes and two coaches affiliated with Northwestern University, four have a connection with the School of Education and Social Policy.
Alumna Renetta McCann, a global leader in advertising, media, and organizational change, will receive the alumni medal, Northwestern University’s Alumni Association’s highest honor.
Thirty-seven student athletes from Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy earned Big Ten Distinguished Scholar recognition in 2023-24, setting a new School record.
Seven new PhDs were gifted regalia and honored during a special robing ceremony prior to the 2024 convocation celebration as part of a new School of Education and Social Policy tradition.
Developmental psychologist Claudia Haase received the 19th annual Dorothy Ann and Clarence L. Ver Steeg Distinguished Research Fellowship Award for her work probing the mysteries behind emotions and relationships.
Avery Hirschfield, who studied learning and organizational change and minored in psychology, received the School of Education and Social Policy’s Alumni Leadership Award for her work as president and co-director of the Global Engagement Summit, a student-led conference uniting entrepreneurs across the world.
Anxiety, identity, and mentorship emerged as key themes for honors students at Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy, who were recognized during a faculty meeting and presented their work at a poster session.
David Uttal was 13 years old when he took a wrong turn on a hiking trail in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Rescuers searched for him on foot, trail bike, jeep, and by air, probing thick underbrush and steep ridges across 60,000 acres.
Doctoral student Shanequewa Love has been awarded the highly selective National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship to support her work looking at the relationship between Black mothers and the child welfare system.
Megan Bang and Uri Wilensky were elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honorary societies.
Alumni Kathryn “Kate” Bowman and Neva Legallet are working for Bay Area city government as part of the San Francisco Fellows program.
Kaylyn Ahn (right), a junior at Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social policy, was one of two Northwestern students to be named a 2024 Truman Scholar, the nation’s premier scholarship for students interested in public service.
For the second year in a row, Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy (SESP) has been ranked among the top five graduate schools of education according to the 2024-25 U.S. News and World Report Best Education Graduate Schools rankings.
Northwestern University’s Sepehr Vakil and alumnus Victor Lee (PhD08) of Stanford University have been named to a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine consensus committee charged with looking at artificial intelligence and data science in K-12 education.
Sally Nuamah’s latest book, Closed for Democracy, which examines how closing public schools can influence democracy, was named a finalist for the 2024 Professional and Scholarship Excellence (PROSE) Award in the government and politics division.
Northwestern University’s Bryan Brayboy, a world renowned scholar on race, diversity, and Indigenous experiences in education, was elected to the Council and Executive Board of the American Educational Research Association.
Northwestern University scholars Megan Bang and Elizabeth Tipton were named 2024 American Educational Research Association (AERA) Fellows for their outstanding contributions to the field.
Northwestern University’s Marcelo Worsley has been named a research fellow with the Jacobs Foundation to support his work helping students learn computer science through sports.
Calling her own 17-month experience an “epic adventure,” Ning Yu urged her classmates to embrace adversity and turn obstacles into opportunities during her Master of Science in Social and Economic Policy convocation remarks at Northwestern University’s Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall.
Scholars from the School of Education and Social Policy’s Center for Talent Development received the Mensa Foundation’s Award for Excellence in Research for a study looking at whether interventions designed to help underachieving gifted students actually work.
Five faculty members were named to the 2024 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings for their work bringing research out of academic journals and into everyday lives.
Tabitha Bonilla received the 2023 Adaljiza Sosa-Riddell Mentor Award from the American Political Science Association for her tireless support of Latino/a graduate students in political science.
School of Education and Social Policy Dean Bryan McKinley Jones Brayboy, one of the world’s most influential anthropologists of education, received the 2023 George and Louise Spindler Award for his work shaping the field, K-12 schools, and higher education.
Northwestern University professor Yang Qu, a development psychologist who looks at how teenagers’ brains can be shaped by parenting, stereotypes, and cultural experiences, won the 2023 Early Career Award from the Society for the Study of Human Development
School of Education and Social Policy faculty member Megan Bang was elected to the National Academy of Education’s Board of Directors. Her four-year term begins Nov. 3, 2023.
Corey Winchester (BS10, MS20) was named a Graduate Fellow in Residence for the Aspen Young Leaders Fellowship (AYLF) program to continue his work creating learning environments that foster connection, compassion, freedom dreaming, and a sense of belonging.
Student athletes Reggie Fleurima and Hailey Weaver were named distinguished Irving Kabiller Memorial Award winners for their leadership qualities and commitment to professional development.
The Center for Talent Development (CTD) at Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy was recently awarded a 5-year, $600,000 Jacob K. Javits Grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy alumnus Brennen Bariso (BSED20) received the Missy Hughes Teacher Award from 826CHI for nurturing his students’ love for writing.
Northwestern University education researcher David Uttal and colleagues received a $100,000 award in the annual Tools Competition to develop an interactive platform that helps students and teachers learn spatial and math skills by using intricate and familiar patterns found in the natural world.
Northwestern University alumni Claire Sampson (MS23) and Rose Taylor (MS22) are the latest School of Education and Social Policy recipients of a five-year fellowship from the Knowles Teacher Initiative.
Kirabo Jackson, one of the world’s leading experts in the economics of education, was appointed to the White House’s Council of Economic Advisors.
Bryan McKinley Jones Brayboy, dean of Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy, was named to The William T. Grant Foundation’s Scholars Selection Committee.
Northwestern University's Larry Hedges, a world-renowned statistician and methodology researcher, will receive the José Vasconcelos World Award of Education from the World Cultural Council at the University of Helsinki.
Chris Cvikota, a technical specialist at Northwestern University who earned his master’s in higher education administration and policy, received the Outstanding Leadership Awards from the Northwestern Alumni Association.
Eman Kasha Akhtar, who majored in social policy and statistics, received the School of Education and Social Policy's Outstanding Leadership Award for her tireless support of first-generation students.
Honors students explored everything from ethnic divisions in Israel to the impact of autoimmune diseases on the college experience as part of their senior honors thesis projects.
Five Northwestern University students and alumni, who are studying everything from alternative pathways to college to the design of Indigenous-led public schools, won 2023 National Academy of Education/Spencer Fellowships to support their scholarship.
Associate professor Lilah Shapiro was honored with a Northwestern University Teaching Excellence Award for her innovative classroom instruction and her unflagging investment in the success of her students.
Emily Lester, co-president of Campus Kitchen, received the Wildcat Impact award for her work managing the group’s activities through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Danny M. Cohen (PhD11) received a Provost Grant for Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts to expand his work helping teachers and students explore hidden histories of the Holocaust.
Undergraduates Aimee Resnick and Lauren Black were among ten Northwestern University students named to the 2023 Clinton Global Initiative University cohort of young leaders working to address global challenges.
Northwestern University’s Edwin Pokisa, a member of the Yaaku tribe in Kenya, received a $10,000 Projects for Peace grant to implement a honey-harvesting and bead making project in his hometown of Doldol in Laikipia County.
Matías Martinez, a doctoral student in the Human Development and Social Policy program, received the DevSci Graduate Student Fellowship to further his research looking at how schools can prevent bullying and helping kids cope with peer victimization.
Georgia Rose Munns (BS09), the centerpiece of an era of incredible success for Northwestern women’s tennis during her career, was one of eight Wildcats inducted into the 2022 Northwestern University Athletics Hall of Fame.
School of Education and Social Policy alumna Ruby Scanlon (BS22), an international antitrust specialist at the US Department of Justice, received a 2023 Schwarzman Scholarship, one of the world’s most selective graduate programs.
Northwestern University’s Michael Horn received the 2023 Daniel Linzer Award for Faculty Excellence in Diversity and Equity for finding creative ways to make coding fun and accessible.
Northwestern University economist Michelle Yin has received a $4.29 million grant from the US Department of Education to assess a Virginia intervention designed to end the practice of paying less than the minimum wage to people with disabilities.
Six members of Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy community were selected to the 2021-22 Associated Student Government Faculty and Administrator Honor Roll for their teaching, dedication, and care for students.
Graduate students Melanie Muskin and Andrew Stein received honorable mention in the Society for Psychological Study of Social Issues essay contest, which challenged writers to address the legacy of white supremacy and Western dominance in psychology.
School of Education and Social Policy graduate Samira Asseh received a 2022–2023 Project Horseshoe Farm Fellowship, a rigorous and intensive year of volunteer service and learning in the community health field.
Northwestern University’s Jessica Marshall, a doctoral student in the learning sciences program, and two School of Education and Social Policy alumni were among the 35 scholars who received 2022 National Academy of Education/Spencer Dissertation Fellowships.
Morgan Hodges (BS22), who plans to pursue her master's in counseling, received the School of Education and Social Policy's Outstanding Leadership Award from the Northwestern Alumni Association. She was one of dozens of undergrads who earned accolades this year.
Julissa Muñiz, who earned her PhD in Human Development and Social Policy, was named the School of Education and Social Policy's Outstanding Alumna, in part for founding the first graduate student organization for Latinx students, Comunidad Latinx.
Jacob Kelter, who studies how the power of computer modeling and simulations can help solve some of society’s most complex problems, received the prestigious Presidential Fellowship at Northwestern University.
Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy honors students were recognized for rigorous and relevant scholarship by interim Dean Dan P. McAdams, Professor David Rapp, Assistant Dean Susan Olson and faculty members during a ceremony and poster presentation session.
David Uttal received the 2022 International Mind, Brain and Education Society’s translation award for his work strengthening the links between research and practice in both schools and informal contexts such as museums and community centers.
Scholars Sofia Bahena and Camila Morales have been named the inaugural early career visiting fellows at Northwestern University's Center for Education Efficacy, Excellence, and Equity (E4) during the 2022-23 academic year.
James Spillane received the 2022 Spencer Foundation Mentor Award for his generous, wise, and decades-long support of the next generation of scholars.
Professor Kirabo Jackson was one of four Northwestern University faculty members elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of nation’s most prestigious honorary societies.
Northwestern University professor Kirabo Jackson was appointed lead editor for the American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, one of the nation’s most respected scholarly economic journals.
Northwestern University alumna Emily Salzman (MS21) a math teacher at Chicago’s Lane Tech College Prep High School, is the latest School of Education and Social Policy recipient of a five-year fellowship from the Knowles Science Teaching Foundation.
Shirin Vossoughi was honored with a Northwestern University Teaching Award for bringing justice-oriented, intergenerational, and collaborative teaching to a new level and for championing the “half-baked idea.”
Sally Nuamah received the Rodney Higgins Best Faculty Paper Award from the National Conference of Black Political Scientists for her work highlighting the link between the ‘adultification’ of Black girls and public support for their punishment.
Northwestern University learning scientists Miriam Sherin and Uri Wilensky were among 17 exceptional scholars elected to the prestigious National Academy of Education for their outstanding work in education scholarship and research.
Northwestern University’s Paula Olszewski-Kubilius has been awarded the Palmarium Award for her pioneering vision of talent development and leadership in the field of gifted education.
Professor Megan Bang and alumna Carrie Tzou (PhD08) received a $1.8 million National Science Foundation grant to better prepare aspiring elementary school teachers in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
Six Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy faculty members were named to Education Week’s annual list of 200 influential academics in education policy. The scholars are among the top in their fields and were selected for moving academic research findings into the national conversation.