He completed his PhD in sociology in 2010 guided by Prof. Bernd Wegener at the department of empirical research methods of Humboldt University, Berlin. Before his PhD, Juan Carlos Castillo studied political science and public administration at Potsdam University (1999-2000), and psychology at the Catholic University of Valparaiso, Chile (1991-1997). His research focuses on legitimacy of economic inequality, public opinion research, social justice research, quantitative methods, structural equation models and multilevel models.