Appointed 2026

Rachel Brooks is Professor of Higher Education and Fellow of Linacre College at the University of Oxford, and a former President of the British Sociological Association. She is currently co-editor of the SRHE’s ‘Research into Higher Education’ book series, and has been editor-in-chief of the British Journal of Sociology of Education and Sociology, and co-editor of Sociological Research Online. She has served on the governing bodies of the SRHE and the UK’s Economic and Social Research Council, and as a member of the Education sub-panel for REF 2021 and REF 2029 (the UK’s research assessment exercise).

Rachel’s research focuses primarily on the sociology of higher education. Particular areas of expertise include international student mobility (and processes of internationalisation and Europeanisation in higher education more generally); student politics and protest; and ensuring equity in access to and outcomes within higher education. She has published 17 books and over 100 peer-reviewed articles in these areas.