Bio


I am an organizational sociologist with longstanding interests in educational sequences, lifelong learning, alternative educational forms, and the formal organization of knowledge.

Academic Appointments


Administrative Appointments


  • Co-Director, Stanford Center on Longevity (2022 - Present)

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations


  • Associate Professor, New York University (2003 - 2009)
  • Assistant to Associate Professor, Hamilton College (1995 - 2003)

Program Affiliations


  • Science, Technology and Society

Professional Education


  • PhD, Northwestern University (1996)
  • BA, Macalester College (1988)

Research Interests


  • Alternative Schooling
  • Educational Policy
  • Higher Education
  • Leadership and Organization
  • Lifelong Learning

Projects


  • Pathways Network, Stanford University (8/1/2016)

    The Network variety of data sources, methods, and theoretical tools to understand how people make sense of learning and work opportunities; how families, schools and employers recognize and reward talent; how education and employment opportunities can be made more equitable, enjoyable and humane.

    Location

    Stanford University

2024-25 Courses


Stanford Advisees


All Publications


  • Neither state nor market: competitive emulation in higher education STUDIES IN HIGHER EDUCATION Levine, E. J., Stevens, M. L. 2024
  • Financing Higher Education in America CONTEMPORARY SOCIOLOGY-A JOURNAL OF REVIEWS Stevens, M. L. 2024; 53 (2): 103-107
  • Major Selection as Iteration: Observing Gendered Patterns of Major Selection Under Elective Curriculums AERA OPEN Dalberg, T., Cortes, K. E., Stevens, M. L. 2024; 10
  • From pipelines to pathways in the study of academic progress. Science (New York, N.Y.) Kizilcec, R. F., Baker, R. B., Bruch, E., Cortes, K. E., Hamilton, L. T., Lang, D. N., Pardos, Z. A., Thompson, M. E., Stevens, M. L. 2023; 380 (6643): 344-347

    Abstract

    Students and administrators can benefit from new analytics.

    View details for DOI 10.1126/science.adg5406

    View details for PubMedID 37104602

  • Forecasting Undergraduate Majors: A Natural Language Approach AERA OPEN Lang, D., Wang, A., Dalal, N., Paepcke, A., Stevens, M. L. 2022; 8
  • Application essays and the ritual production of merit in US selective admissions POETICS Gebre-Medhin, B., Giebel, S., Alvero, A. J., Antonio, A., Domingue, B. W., Stevens, M. L. 2022; 94
  • Should I Start at MATH 101? Content Repetition as an Academic Strategy in Elective Curriculums SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION Harrison, M. H., Hernandez, P. A., Stevens, M. L. 2022
  • Essay content and style are strongly related to household income and SAT scores: Evidence from 60,000 undergraduate applications. Science advances Alvero, A. J., Giebel, S., Gebre-Medhin, B., Antonio, A. L., Stevens, M. L., Domingue, B. W. 2021; 7 (42): eabi9031

    Abstract

    [Figure: see text].

    View details for DOI 10.1126/sciadv.abi9031

    View details for PubMedID 34644119

  • What is educational entrepreneurship? Strategic action, temporality, and the expansion of US higher education THEORY AND SOCIETY Kindel, A. T., Stevens, M. L. 2021
  • Studying Undergraduate Course Consideration at Scale AERA OPEN Chaturapruek, S., Dalberg, T., Thompson, M. E., Giebel, S., Harrison, M. H., Johari, R., Stevens, M. L., Kizilcec, R. F. 2021; 7
  • Ambiguous Credentials: How Learners Use and Make Sense of Massively Open Online Courses JOURNAL OF HIGHER EDUCATION Laryea, K., Paepcke, A., Mirzaei, K., Stevens, M. L. 2021
  • Universities as peculiar organizations SOCIOLOGY COMPASS Eaton, C., Stevens, M. L. 2020

    View details for DOI 10.1111/soc4.12768

    View details for Web of Science ID 000506374600001

  • The Paradox of the Global University World Class Universities: A Contested Concept Stevens, M. L., Giebel, S. Springer Nature. 2020; 1: 123–37
  • Via: Illuminating Academic Pathways at Scale Angus, G., Martinez, R., Stevens, M. L., Paepcke, A., Assoc Comp Machinery ASSOC COMPUTING MACHINERY. 2019
  • Research Universities and the Future of Work ISSUES IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Stevens, M. L. 2018; 35 (1): 45–52
  • How a data-driven course planning tool affects college students' GPA: Evidence from two field experiments Chaturapruek, S., Dee, T. S., Johari, R., Kizilcec, R. F., Stevens, M. L., ACM ASSOC COMPUTING MACHINERY. 2018
  • Higher Education Politics after the Cold War Change Stevens, M. L. 2018; 50: 13-17
  • The Evaluation Machine CONTEMPORARY SOCIOLOGY-A JOURNAL OF REVIEWS Stevens, M. L. 2017; 46 (4): 403-405
  • From soldiers to students: The Tests of General Educational Development (GED) as diplomatic measurement Social Science History Hutt, E. L., Stevens, M. L. 2017; 41 (4): 731-755
  • Association, Service, Market: Higher Education in American Political Development ANNUAL REVIEW OF SOCIOLOGY, VOL 42 Stevens, M. L., Gebre-Medhin, B. 2016; 42: 121-142
  • Remaking College: The Changing Ecology of Higher Education edited by Kirst, M. W., Stevens, M. L. Stanford University Press. 2015
  • Football as a Status System in US Higher Education SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION Lifschitz, A., Sauder, M., Stevens, M. L. 2014; 87 (3): 204-219
  • A Sociology of Quantification ARCHIVES EUROPEENNES DE SOCIOLOGIE Espeland, W. N., Stevens, M. L. 2008; 49 (3): 397-432
  • Sieve, incubator, temple, hub: Empirical and theoretical advances in the sociology of higher education Annu. Rev. Sociol Stevens, M. L., Armstrong, E. A., Arum, R. 2008; 34: 127-151
  • Creating a Class: College Admissions and the Education of Elites Stevens, M. L. Harvard University Press. 2007
  • Kingdom of Children: Culture and Controversy in the Homeschooling Movement Stevens, M. L. Princeton University Press. 2001