After entering the United States for a Master of Arts at Radcliffe College (completed in 1958), Lavrin completed her Doctor of Philosophy dissertation at Harvard University in 1963, entitled: "Religious Life of Mexican Women in the XVIII Century".
She is professor emerita at Arizona State University. Lavrin is the daughter-in-law of the artist Nora Fry Lavrin. Lavrin was in the first class of women who received a doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
Lavrin has received many awards for her contributions to the fields of history, women´s studies, and gender studies, including Corresponding Member of the Academia Mexicana de la Historia in 2011 and Distinguished Service Award from the Conference on Latin American History in 2009. Lavrin was also awarded two grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, and from 2002- 2003, the John Simon Guggenheim grant. During 2001 and 2002 she held the position of President of the Conference on Latin American History (CLAH).
