Ariel studied for the M.Res. at CELL in 2008-2009. In her dissertation, she investigated the correspondence of Lucy Harington Russell, Countess of Bedford, to Sir Dudley Carleton, English Ambassador to The Hague. She also holds a B.A. in English from Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, where she earned high honors for her work on Early Modern Drama. She is currently at work on her doctorate at Columbia University.