Doctor of Philosophy in Population Studies - Poverty and Inequality

The Office of Population Research (OPR), founded in 1936, is the demographic research and graduate training center at Princeton University. The field encompasses a wide range of specializations that span substantive and methodological subjects in the social, mathematical, and biological sciences. Building on its historical strengths in signature fields such as demographic methods, fertility, health and mortality, OPR researchers have embraced fields that are currently prominent in population studies, such as international migration and development, children, youth and families, biosocial interactions, health and wellbeing, poverty and inequality, as well as various aspects of social and economic inequality. In addition, OPR researchers are involved in new fields of inquiry such as epigenetics, biodemography, social epidemiology, and web-based experimentation. OPR affiliated faculty are some of the nation's foremost researchers on poverty and social inequality in the United States. Collectively, their work has had a significant impact on social policy. An important emphasis of OPR faculty is city life and the urban poor (Edin), with studies that focus on crime and urban poverty (Sharkey), housing insecurity and eviction (Desmond, The Eviction Lab), low-income fathers (Nelson), and the relationship between government institutions and the urban poor (Fernandez-Kelly). OPR researchers have examined racial residential segregation in American cities and its consequences for poverty, academic achievement, and health among African Americans (Massey, Sharkey), the role of family structure, race, and social class in child outcomes (Espenshade, The Future of Families and Child Wellbeing), the influence of racial, socioeconomic, and gender disparities on educational and health outcomes (Jennings, Conley), racial differences in health and labor-market outcomes between U.S.-born and foreign-born individuals in the United States (Hamilton). OPR is affiliated with the Eviction Lab, run by Matthew Desmond.

All official Transcripts. A bachelor's degree or its foreign equivalent from an accredited college or university. Official transcripts of your grades.
Three letters of recommendation. Applicants are required to upload a transcript (may be unofficial at this time) including the key from all attended colleges or universities.
The transcript must show the name of the student, name of the issuing institution, name of courses taken, and the grades received in those courses.
The Graduate School does not have a minimum TOEFL or IELTS score requirement. If you are offered admission and accept our offer and have scored below a 27 on the Speaking sub-section of the TOEFL iBT or below an 8.0 on the Speaking sub-section of the IELTS you will be required to take an English placement test at the start of the fall term. Students who do not pass the test will be required to enroll in English Language Program classes.

GRE:
General Test required

Additional departmental requirements
Writing samples while not required are strongly encouraged.
Optional: Applicants may submit a statement with their application, briefly describing how their academic interests, background, or life experiences would advance Princeton's commitment to diversity within the Graduate School and to training individuals in an increasingly diverse society. Please submit a succinct statement of no more than 500 words.