Federick Ngo's research examines the impact of higher education policies and practices, with a focus on college access and community college students. He has active research projects on developmental education reform, undocumented students, and community college leadership and practice. This includes projects funded by the National Science Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, and the William T. Grant Foundation. Federick has published original research articles in top education journals, including Educational Researcher, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, American Educational Research Journal, The Journal of Higher Education, Research in Higher Education, The Review of Higher Education, and others. Federick completed his Ph.D. at the University of Southern California and received the USC Ph.D. Achievement Award, the highest honor given to USC Ph.D. graduates. He received the College of Education's Early Career Award in 2020 and the Distinguished Research Award in 2023. He was formerly a high school math teacher in Oakland, CA.