Around the world, families must raise children, join the labor force, and retain connections to aging relatives. How do they handle this balance of work and family? The growing power of the global economy and the increasing influence of public and private policies on families are causing the relationships between families and society to unfold in new and challenging ways.

The Family Studies program focuses on how family relationships develop and change, with particular attention to influences in the larger environment such as gender, age, historical period, birth cohort, ethnicity and socioeconomic status.

• Attention to the daily processes of family life.
• Recognition of the centrality of age, historical period, and birth cohort in family dynamics.
• Understanding of the complex interactions between families and social institutions.

Family Studies PhD Statement for Admissions