Ph.D. 2000, Sociology, University of Akron
Nichols is an applied sociologist who works to make social science research useful to organizations and policy-makers with a specific focus on education. Her recent research projects focus on the experiences of aspiring first-generation college as well as transfer students, and participatory program planning and evaluation.
Laura Nichols joined the Department of Sociology in 2000. At Santa Clara she teaches Applied Sociology; Sociology of Education; Introduction to Research Methods & Design; Community-Based Participatory Research; Research Capstone; and Self, Community, and Society. She loves connecting lessons from our local communities to the classroom and engaging students in learning more about themselves and others using our collective “sociological imagination”.
Laura grew up in the country east of Waterford, California, in the Central Valley. She graduated from SCU in 1990. She enjoys hiking, meditating, being with family and friends, and exploring the many communities in the bay area.