Nathanael Okpych, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Nathanael J. Okpych is an associate professor at the University of Connecticut School of Social Work. His research focuses on postsecondary education outcomes for youth with foster care histories, with particular attention to the roles of social support, social networks, policies, and programs that promote college access, persistence, and completion.

Dr. Okpych’s scholarship examines the individual, relational, and structural factors that shape educational and early adult outcomes among youth transitioning out of foster care. His work integrates advanced quantitative methods and longitudinal data with applied, policy-relevant research to identify effective interventions and systems-level supports that improve educational attainment and life trajectories for this population.

Dr. Okpych is the author of Climbing a Broken Ladder: Contributors of College Success for Youth in Foster Care (Rutgers University Press, 2021), a widely recognized contribution to the field. He has led and collaborated on multiple funded research projects, including studies supported by the Connecticut Department of Children and Families, the California College Pathways Funders Alliance, and the Walter S. Johnson Foundation, examining college enrollment, persistence, and outcomes for youth with foster care backgrounds.

Dr. Okpych’s research has been published in leading journals, including Social Service Review, Journal of Public Child Welfare, Child Maltreatment, Children and Youth Services Review, Journal of College Student Retention, AERA Open, Innovative Higher Education, and the British Journal of Social Work, among others. His work has received national recognition, including finalist honors for the Frank Breul Memorial Prize for outstanding scholarship.

Dr. Okpych teaches doctoral and graduate courses in research methods, statistical analysis, and human behavior in the social environment. He has developed several advanced methods courses, including multivariate statistics and data analysis for social work research and practice.

Dr. Okpych earned his Ph.D. in social service administration and an MS in biostatistics and epidemiology from the University of Chicago, an MSW from Rutgers University, and an MA in clinical psychology from Duquesne University. At UConn, he is a faculty affiliate with the Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy (InCHIP) and the Collaboratory on School and Child Health. He is also a research affiliate with the California Child Welfare Indicators Project and a member of the International Research Network on Transition to Adulthood from Care (INTRAC) and the Society for Social Work and Research.

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