Irenee Beattie’s research focuses on the sociology of education, social inequality (race, gender and class), adolescent transitions to adulthood, and law and social policy.  Her work has been funded by grants from the American Educational Research Association and she has published in such outlets as Sociology of Education, Youth & Society, Criminology, and on Harvard University Press.  A series of current projects examine variation in the effects of social capital on college outcomes by race, gender, and first generation college student status.

Beattie earned her BA (summa cum laude en thesi) in Social Psychology (joint in Sociology and Psychology) with a minor in Women’s Studies from Tufts University, and her MA and Ph.D. in Sociology from University of Arizona.  Prior to attending graduate school, she was a Sixth grade teacher in East Palo Alto, CA through the Teach for America program which solidified her longstanding interest in educational equality.  At UC Merced, she teaches courses in Education, Gender, and Research methods.