Bridget Terry Long

Bridget Terry Long, Ph.D., is Dean and Saris Professor of Education and Economics at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Dr. Long is an economist who focuses on the transition from high school to higher education and beyond. Her research examines the impact of factors such as affordability and academic preparation on college student outcomes. Several projects also examine the effects of providing information and assistance with college processes on the likelihood that students engage in important educational activities such as the completion of financial aid forms, saving for higher education, and persisting in college. As part of this line of research, she and co-authors have developed a series of interventions and worked with multiple schools and other organizations to evaluate the impact of these initiatives. Dr. Long's other research projects examine the role of instructor quality, class size, and support programs on educational attainment.

Dr. Long is a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research and a member of the National Academy of Education. She is on the Board of Directors for MDRC, a nonprofit social policy research organization, and the Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness. She is also a Fellow of the International Academy of Education. Dr. Long served as Chair of the National Board for Education Sciences, the advisory panel of the Institute of Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education. She has also testified multiple times before Federal Congressional Committees and state government bodies, and she has been a Visiting Fellow at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Dr. Long has won numerous research grants, including major awards from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education, and the National Science Foundation (NSF). She was awarded the Robert P. Huff Golden Quill Award from the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. Dr. Long earned her Ph.D. and M.A. from the Harvard University Department of Economics and her A.B. from Princeton University in Economics with a Certificate in Afro-American Studies.