Lauren Schudde is an associate professor of Educational Leadership and Policy. She studies how to ameliorate social inequities in the United States through higher education policy. Because the majority of college students, particularly those from low-income families, attend broad-access institutions, her research prioritizes students and policies at community colleges and regional public universities. Her ongoing projects examine dual enrollment pathways between high schools and community colleges, how community college students respond to state and institutional transfer policies, and the influence of dev-ed reforms on student outcomes. She uses both quantitative and qualitative research methods, though most of her research leverages state administrative data to answer pressing policy questions. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Institute for Education Sciences, the Spencer Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Greater Texas Foundation.

Schudde received her PhD in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Prior to joining the faculty at UT, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her work has been published in the Sociology of Education, Journal of Human Resources, American Educational Research Journal, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, AERA Open, Review of Research in Education, Review of Higher Education, Research in Higher Education, and Community College Review. She serves as Editor-in-Chief of Research in Higher Education. She is a faculty research affiliate of the UT's Population Research Center and the Charles A. Dana Center and Teachers College's Community College Research Center and holds a courtesy faculty appointment with UT's department of Sociology.