Clavin was born in England to Irish parents and holds dual Irish and British nationalities. Clavin was raised in Germany where Irish father was serving in the British army. She studied Modern History at King's College London, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree.[2]
In October 2021 Clavin was appointed to the Professorship of Modern History at Worcester College, succeeding Robert Gildea and becoming the first woman to ever hold the chair.[5]
Clavin, Patricia (1996). The failure of economic diplomacy: Britain, Germany, France and the United States, 1931-36. Basingstoke: Macmillan. ISBN978-0333605301.
Clavin, Patricia (2013). Securing the world economy: the reinvention of the League of Nations, 1920-1946. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN978-0199577934.