Pirog received a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in economics from Boston College in 1975. In 1981, she earned a PhD in public policy analysis from the University of Pennsylvania. Pirog joined the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) as an assistant professor in 1983, being successively promoted to associate professor (1989), professor (1997) and the distinguished chair of Rudy Professor in 2004. Moreover, she holds visiting positions at the University of Washington Evans School of Public Affairs, the University of Johannesburg and the Higher School of Economics (Moscow, Russia).[3] During her career, Pirog has become a renowned expert in evaluation of social policies and programs, particularly in the areas of family and child support, poverty fight and education.[2] Indeed, she is the founder director of the Indiana University Institute for Family and Social Responsibility.
Between 2004 and 2014, Pirog was the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management and led the journal's JPAM Classics.[4]