PhD Concentration in Economic and Racial Equity

Meet the Next Generation of Social Policy Researchers

The Economic and Racial Equity PhD concentration enables students to develop a theoretical and empirical understanding of the causes, manifestations and consequences of social, racial, and economic inequities and prepares them for challenging careers developing research and policy that addresses and aims to eliminate these inequities. Our faculty and staff work closely with students in the ERE concentration as advisors, mentors, and colleagues, teaching core courses for the concentration, providing funding support, and leading research projects that allow students to put their training to work.

Learn more about Heller's PhD in Social Policy

Meet the IERE Racial Equity Fellows

Meet Our Students

IERE Racial Equity Fellows

Each spring, we solicit proposals from advanced PhD students for the ERE Racial Equity Fellowship Program. Proposals are reviewed by our faculty, and fellows are announced before the beginning of summer. PhD candidates selected as fellows receive additional funding to support research work related to their dissertations. IERE Racial Equity Fellows are outstanding early-stage researchers whose dissertations are focused primarily on issues of racial equity across disciplines and policy areas.

Ophelia Akoto

2026 IERE Racial Equity Fellow

Dissertation Title: From STEM Precarity to Precocity: Addressing Female Labor Force Development and Livelihood Insecurity through STEM Education in Ghana

Project Description: My dissertation focuses on STEM education and its implication on labor force dynamics in Ghana. The research examines the relationship between STEM education at the high school level and women’s labor market outcomes in Ghana, focusing on occupational choice and wages. It further explores how teacher guidance shapes course selection for female Junior High School students, and barriers and challenges that female Senior High School students encounter in STEM-related courses and how these barriers shape participation and persistence along the STEM pipeline.

Anthony Grant

2026 IERE Racial Equity Fellow

Dissertation Title: Afrophobia, A Product of Empire: An Ethnography of How Intraracial Xenophobia Manifests in the U.S. Between Black Kin Groups

Project Description: My dissertation is an ethnography designed to look at how intraracial xenophobia manifests in the U.S. between Black kin (ethnic) groups, specifically African American, Caribbean, and African people. The contributions I seek to make through my research include expanding the knowledge on relationships between Black groups, how Black groups engage in ethnic-racial socialization, intraracial xenophobia specifically through a Black lens, and how members of Black groups perceive other Black people to be members of the same or other Black groups.