Bio

Margaret de Leon is a Fulbright Scholar at Stanford University, under the supervision of Professor Mitchell Stevens, at the Pathways Network. She is a PhD Research Fellow at the University of Toronto, specializing in Comparative International Higher Education. Her research interests include college affordability, economics of education, and financial aid policy in the United States and Canada.

She is also a Visiting Doctoral Scholar at the Center for the Study of Higher Education at the University of California Berkeley. She completed her MA in Higher Education and Educational Policy at the University of Toronto and her BA in Political Science and French at Trinity College.

Honors & Awards

  • Fulbright Scholarship, U.S. Department of State (2024)
  • Visiting Doctoral Scholarship, University of California, Berkeley (2024)
  • George Flower Award for Advanced Studies in Education, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (2024)
  • Best Paper in Measurement and Research Methodologies, American Educational Research Association (2024)
  • Junior Fellowship, Massey College, University of Toronto (2023)
  • CanStudyUS Fellowship, The Dais, Toronto Metropolitan University (2024)
  • Ontario Institute for Studies in Education Doctoral Research Fellowship, University of Toronto (2023)
  • Ontario Institute for Studies in Education Graduate Research Fellowship, University of Toronto (2022)
  • OISE Associate Dean, Research, International & Innovation Travel Award, University of Toronto (2023)
  • President's Scholarship of Distinction, University of Toronto (2016)

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations

  • Research Affiliate & Fulbright Scholar, Pathways Lab, Stanford University (2025 - Present)
  • Visiting Doctoral Scholar, Center for Studies in Higher Education, University of California, Berkeley (2024 - Present)
  • Council Member, Council on Public Policy in Higher Education, Association for the Study of Higher Education (2025 - Present)
  • Session Chair and Discussant, Association for the Study of Higher Education (2025 - Present)
  • Session Chair and Discussant, American Educational Research Association (2025 - Present)

Professional Education

  • MA, University of Toronto, Higher Education & Educational Policy
  • BA, University of Toronto, Political Science

Personal Interests

Margaret de Leon’s research explores the intersections of labor economics and higher education, with a focus on financial aid policy, student employment, and college affordability. She examines how work-study programs, employment patterns, and financial aid structures influence student persistence, academic success, and postsecondary access—particularly for low-income and first-generation students. Her work also considers the broader economic and policy implications of affordability and financial aid reforms in the U.S. and Canada.

Contact

  • Academic
    mdeleon3@stanford.edu
    University - Student Department: Graduate School of Education Position: Graduate

Links

Research Interests

  • Economics and Education
  • Educational Policy
  • Higher Education
  • International and Comparative Education
  • Research Methods

Current Research and Scholarly Interests

Margaret de Leon’s research explores the intersections of labor economics and higher education, focusing on financial aid policy, student employment, and postsecondary affordability. She examines how financial aid structures, employment patterns, and economic constraints shape student persistence, academic success, and access, particularly for low-income and first-generation students. Her work employs qualitative and mixed-methods approaches to investigate the broader policy and institutional implications of financial aid reform and student employment in North America.

As a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Stanford University, Margaret works with Professor Mitchell Stevens on a four-year longitudinal study examining the impact of student employment on persistence and graduation outcomes. This study investigates how financial pressures and work responsibilities shape students' academic experiences and informs institutional policies aimed at improving student retention and success. She is also a Visiting Doctoral Scholar at the Center for Studies in Higher Education (CSHE) at UC Berkeley, where she collaborates with Professor Jesse Rothstein on research related to higher education finance and affordability. Her work examines the political discourse surrounding financial aid, analyzing how public narratives, policy decisions, and labor market conditions influence perceptions of affordability and the value of postsecondary education.

Margaret is currently working on several research projects. Her study on Effective Nudges in Education Policy systematically reviews how behavioral nudges influence financial aid application completion and uptake across federally funded programs in the U.S. She is also investigating Political Discourse, Affordability, and the Shifting Value Proposition of Higher Education, analyzing how political rhetoric frames the cost and perceived value of higher education in the U.S. Through her Comparative Analysis of Work-Study Programs in the U.S. and Canada, she examines the structure, accessibility, and outcomes of federal work-study programs to inform policy development.

Her research on System-Level Governance in California and Ontario explores how governance structures influence higher education accessibility, quality, and outcomes in two distinct higher education systems. In addition, her study Financial Aid Policies as Catalysts for Equity and Access in Higher Education examines how activism and policy shifts have historically shaped financial aid policies in the U.S. and Canada to address educational inequities. She is also conducting Evaluating High-Impact Educational Practices, a systematic review and meta-analysis assessing the effectiveness of undergraduate research, internships, and other high-impact learning experiences in promoting student success.

Margaret’s work extends to the study of Community College Baccalaureate Pathways, where she explores the post-graduation education trajectories of students who complete baccalaureate degrees at community colleges. Across all her projects, she seeks to provide evidence-based recommendations to improve financial aid administration, institutional policies, and student support mechanisms.

Her research has been presented at leading academic conferences, including the American Educational Research Association (AERA), the Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education (CSSHE), and the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES). She has also contributed to knowledge mobilization efforts through the Stanford Public Scholarship Collaborative, translating research findings into policy insights for broader public engagement.