Hee Jung Gong was awarded the national AERA-NSF Dissertation Grant in 2019-2020, and the Thomas D. Dyer Outstanding Dissertation Research Award in 2020-2021.
Prior to beginning her doctoral study at the IHE, she worked in a research position at the Center for Global Higher Education at Yonsei University, and at the Korean Educational Development Institute (KEDI). Also, Hee Jung was also a doctoral intern for assessment and research in the Department of Student Affairs Assessment and Staff Development at UGA for the 2016-17 academic year.
Her research interests include college access, choice, and success, as well as education policy and STEM higher education. She has presented a variety of papers as a lead author at the ASHE, AERA, and AEFP conferences in the U.S., and has also published research papers in peer-reviewed scholarly journals in Korea and the U.S.
She received two bachelor's degrees with a minor degree, graduating with academic honors from Sookmyung Women's University in Korea, and earned a master's degree in education, focused on higher education, from Yonsei University in Korea.