Ph.D. Candidate

Sam Han’s research interests: Public assistance programs: 1) settlement support programs for immigrants and refugees and 2) anti-poverty programs for low-income families


Sam is a Social Policy and Policy Analysis Ph.D. candidate at the Columbia University School of Social Work. Her research focuses on improving public assistance programs, including settlement support and anti-poverty programs, which help immigrants, refugees, and/or low-income families develop human capital and escape poverty. Currently, she is working on her dissertation, Pro-Work Policy Changes of Settlement Support Programs and the Economic Adjustment of North Korean Defectors in South Korea, under the guidance of Dr. Qin Gao.

Sam is a doctoral fellow of China Center for Social Policy (CCSP) and Weatherhead East Asian Institute (WEAI), Columbia University. She is going to teach the following graduate-level courses: Immigrants and Families during the Summer 2020 semester and Research Methods during the Fall 2020 semester. Additionally, she served as a Lead Teaching Fellow (LTF) at the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL), Columbia University.

Before coming to the CSSW, Sam received a bachelor’s degree in Law and a master’s degree in Social Work with a concentration in social welfare policy and family welfare from Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea.