Current Sociology PhD Students

Sociology: Higher Education; Workplace; Culture; Social Stratification; Student Experiences; Lived Experiences; Race, Class, and Gender; Identity; Second-Generation Immigrants; First-Generation College Students; Women; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; Belonging; Educational Transitions; Qualitative Methods; Quantitative Methods; Mixed-Methods; Data Visualization; Applied Research; Evaluation.

Tharuna Kalaivanan is a PhD Candidate and a mixed-methods scholar in the Public and Applied Sociology Program at George Mason University. She graduated from George Mason University with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology in 2020. She is also an Honors College Alum. She is currently a Graduate Research Assistant in the Sociology and Anthropology Department where she is analyzing the Annual Refugee Survey through quantitative methods. 

She is a co-founder of the Social Science Research Lab where she mentored students on qualitative research methods and techniques. This multi-disciplinary lab carves out vital space for both undergraduate and graduate students to learn and practice the skills of social science research in a collaborative environment. 

Her research interests include immigrants and first-generation college students, focusing how their experiences are shaped by race, ethnicity, gender, and other dimensions of identity in higher education and the workplace. She served as the Secretary in the Public Sociology Association where she played an active role in encouraging students to explore, learn, and do public sociology through pursuits devoted to activism around social problems on-campus and beyond. Kalaivanan was also an instructor for the Honors College at George Mason University where she taught courses on first-generation college students. The course provided students with opportunities to think through the challenges faced by first-generation college students as well as the forms of cultural wealth they bring to college from a range of perspectives.

Kalaivanan was also the Graduate Professional Assistant for Data and Inclusion in the Honors College. In her role, she focused on using evidence-based strategies to support inclusion for Honors College students, especially those from historically underserved and underrepresented populations. She collaborated with the Director of Data Analytics and Assessment and other Honors College faculty and staff in designing research instruments (i.e., surveys, focus-group questionnaires, interview protocols, etc.) to support the college’s mission.