Department of Sociology and Social Psychology (DSS)

Dr. Irena Pietrzyk

Research focuses

• Educational inequality
• Interventions
• Experimental methods

Curriculum vitae

Education

• 2011 Diploma in Psychology, University of Münster
• 2014 Magistra Artium in Sociology, Political Science and Psychology, University of Münster

• 2024 Doctorate (Sociology), University of Cologne

  Scientific positions

• 2013 - 2016 Research Associate at the International Center for Higher Education Research (INCHER), University of Kassel
• 2016 - 2020 Research Associate at the Social Science Research Center Berlin (WZB)
• Since 2021 Research Associate at the Chair of Prof. Marita Jacob, University of Cologne

Selected publications

• Why Treatment Prevalence Matters: Overcoming a Blind Spot in Experimental Inequality Research (in press).In: Cologne Journal of Sociology and Social Psychology (together with M. Jacob).
• Same but Different: Gender, Social Origin, and University Access. Results from a Field Experiment on Guidance Counseling (2025). In: Research in Social Stratification and Mobility (together with M. Erdmann, J. Schneider, M. Helbig, and M. Jacob). doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2025.101062
• Guidance Counseling Can Reduce Inequality in University Enrollment in Germany: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial (2025).In: Sociology of Education (together with M. Erdmann, J. Schneider, M. Jacob, and M. Helbig). doi.org/10.1177/00380407251323888
• Who Benefits from Guidance Counseling? Insights on Native and Immigrant Students from Low Social Origins (2023).In: Cologne Journal of Sociology and Social Psychology (together with M. Jacob and M. Erdmann). doi.org/10.1007/s11577-023-00921-3
• Investigating the Impact of Interventions on Educational Disparities: Estimating Average Treatment Effects (ATEs) is not Sufficient (2020). In: Research in Social Stratification and Mobility (together with M. Erdmann). doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2019.100471