Matthew Wolfgram

Associate Researcher and Principal Investigator

Matthew Wolfgram, Ph.D., is an anthropologist of education and education researcher at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research. His research employs ethnography, participatory action research, and other qualitative research methods to study factors that impact the educational experiences of minoritized college students. His recent publications are featured in International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, Harvard Education Review, Teachers College Record, Journal of Education and Work, Action Research, Anthropology & Education Quarterly, Refuge: Canada's Journal on Refugees, Signs and Society, and Cultural and Pedagogical Inquiry. Dr. Wolfgram's current study examines STEM experiences of Hmong undergraduates across Wisconsin—studentengagedpar.wceruw.org.

Selected publications

• Wolfgram, M., & Larson, J. (2025). “It was supposed to be an internship”: The consequences of semiotic ambiguity for labor and learning in the new economy. Signs and Society. 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1017/sas.2024.6
• Wolfgram, M., & Van Auken, P. (2023). The time politics of refugee resettlement and higher education in the United States. Refuge: Canada's Journal on Refugees, 39(1), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.25071/1920-7336.41129
• Wolfgram, M., & Kendell, N. (2023). “Piling on the stress”: Low-income students’ experiences in a neoliberal majoritarian university. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 54(4), 392–413. https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.wisc.edu/10.1111/aeq.12458
• Vang, M., Wolfgram, M., Smolarek, B., Lee, L., Moua, P., Thao, A., ... & Yang, L. (2022). Autoethnographic engagement in participatory action research: Bearing witness to developmental transformations for college student activists. Action Research, 21(1), 104-123. https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.wisc.edu/10.1177/14767503221145347
• Wolfgram, M., & Ahrens, V. (2022) "One internship, two internships, three internships … more!": Exploring the culture of the multiple internship economy. Journal of Education and Work, 35(2), 139-153. https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.wisc.edu/10.1080/13639080.2022.2036713
• Wolfgram, M., Vivona, B., & Akram, T. (2021). On the intersectional amplification of barriers to college internships: A comparative case study analysis. Harvard Education Review, 91(4), 457-481. https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.wisc.edu/10.17763/1943-5045-91.4.457
• Smolarek, B. B., Wolfgram, M., Vang, MN., Xiong, C. Lee, L. Lee, P., Thao, M., Vang, K., Xiong, P. K., Xiong, O., & Xiong, P. (2021). Our HMoob American college paj ntaub: Student-led community-based participatory action research (CBPAR) as counter-invisibility work. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 36(6), 1018–1038. https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.wisc.edu/10.1080/09518398.2021.1888162
• Wolfgram, M. (2020). Refugees and the audit culture of international higher education in the United States. New Directions for Higher Education, 2020, 55–66.  https://doi.org/10.1002/he.20382
• Kendall, N., Goerisch, D., Kim, E. C., Vernon, F., & Wolfgram, M. (2020). The true costs of college. Springer Nature. 

Curriculum Vitae

Contact Information

mswolfgram@wisc.edu
Phone: (608) 436-0478
Office: 551S Ed Sciences

Current Projects

Completed Projects