Mathiowetz did her undergraduate studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, graduating in 1978 with a bachelor's degree in sociology.
She went on to graduate study at the University of Michigan, completing a master's degree in biostatistics in 1983 and a Ph.D. in sociology in 1988. Her dissertation was The Applicability of Cognitive Theory to Long-Term Recall Questions in Social Surveys.[2]
In 1995, Mathiowetz returned to academia as an assistant professor in the Joint Program in Survey Methodology at the University of Maryland, College Park, where she had already held an adjunct position since 1993. She moved to the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, as an associate professor of sociology in 2003, was promoted to full professor in 2005, and chaired the department from 2005 to 2009.[2]
In 2012 Mathiowetz was elected as a Fellow of the American Statistical Association.[6] The American Association for Public Opinion Research gave her their Award for Exceptionally Distinguished Achievement in 2015.[1]