Susan completed her doctoral research in Sociology/Policy at the University of Calgary, Canada in 1990. Prior to this she had worked in the Research Division of the Ministry of Education, Western Australia. Since completion of her doctorate, Susan went on to hold academic posts at the University of Auckland, University of Bristol and, since 2016, at the University of Cambridge.
In the Faculty of Education, aside from teaching undergraduate and graduate sociology of education classes, Susan is convenor of the Culture, Politics and Global Justice research cluster, Editor-in-Chief of the journal Globalisation, Societies and Education, and Director of the Doctoral Programme. She also sits on the ESRC’s funding council.