Rate My Professor Phil Mizen

Professor Phil Mizen is Professor of Sociology and Policy in the Department of Society & Politics at Aston University, where he serves as Associate Dean for Research in the College of Business and Social Sciences. He joined Aston University in January 2014 from the University of Warwick, where he taught social policy and sociology. At Aston, he previously held positions as Head of the Department of Sociology and Policy, Associate Dean for Research in the School of Social Sciences and Languages, Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Researcher Development, and Dean of Aston Graduate School. He also chairs the Graduate School Management Committee and has contributed significantly to researcher development initiatives, including leading the retention of Aston's HR Excellence in Research Award.

Phil Mizen's research specializations encompass the sociology of children and young people, with particular emphasis on child work and youth labour, the informal sector, political protest, and qualitative research methodology. He has authored three books, including The Changing State of Youth (1999), and over 40 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters. Notable publications include "Bringing the street back in: Considering strategy, contingency and relative good fortune in street children's access to paid work in Accra" (Sociological Review, 2018), "Agents of transition? Young workers experiences of using private employment agencies in three Midlands cities" (Journal of Youth Studies, 2021), "Unofficial truths and everyday insights: understanding voice in visual research with the children of Accra's urban poor" (Sociology, 2010), and The Sociology of Occupy. His funded projects include a British Academy study on children’s working lives in an urban informal settlement in Ghana, a European Commission project on young people’s political activism (MYPLACE), and an ESRC programme exploring young people's precarious pathways from education to the labour market. Mizen directs the £3.4 million Artificial Intelligence Researcher Development Network (AI.RDN+), funded by Research England in collaboration with the University of Leeds (2025). He is a member of the REF 2029 Sociology sub-panel, having previously served on the REF 2021 Sociology sub-panel.