Latino Research Seed Grant Program
The Penn State Harrisburg, Penn State College of the Liberal Arts (CLA), Penn State Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) and Pennsylvania Center for Latino Research (PaCLR) are pleased to announce the 2025 Latino Research Seed Grant Program to support innovative interdisciplinary collaborations…
This Week in Immigration Podcast: "Estimating the Unauthorized Immigrant Population"
In this week’s episode, BPC Senior Advisor Theresa Cardinal Brown sits down with Robert Warren from the Center for Migration Studies, Jeffrey Passel from the Pew Research Center, and Jennifer Van Hook from Penn State's Migration Policy Institute to discuss methodologies used to estimate the…
In many of Appalachia’s flood-ravaged areas, residents have little choice but rebuild in risky locations
By Kristina Brant, Assistant Professor of Rural Sociology and SSRI cofund, for The Conversation
On Valentine’s Day 2025, heavy rains started to fall in parts of rural Appalachia. Over the course of a few days, residents in eastern Kentucky watched as river levels rose and surpassed flood levels.…
Thiede featured at PopTalks on climate shocks in population research
Megatrends met migration patterns as we launched the all-new PopTalks conversation series, hosted by Columbia’s own Thoai Ngo and featuring Brian Thiede of the Population Research Institute (PRI) at Penn State. On February 17, 2025, nearly 130 in-person and virtual attendees gathered for a spirited…
Andrew Read to host conversation focused on executive action affecting research
The Penn State community is invited to attend a conversation hosted by Penn State Senior Vice President for Research Andrew Read at 11 a.m. on Feb. 28 at University Park campus and online. The conversation will provide an opportunity for faculty, staff and students to engage in dialogue with Read…
SSRI faculty to present at Climate Solutions Symposium
The two-day Penn State Climate Solutions Symposium, taking place May 19-20 at The Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center, will highlight innovations from numerous disciplines through dynamic breakout sessions, keynote talks from leaders in the climate solutions space, a poster session, and more.…
Penn State rises in NSF Higher Education Research and Development rankings
Penn State has moved up two spots to No. 26 in the 2023 U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey, the most recently released rankings. The University also earned top 10 rankings in key research fields, including engineering, mathematics,…
Consortium on Moral Decision-Making Seed Grants Now Open
We’re re-opening the call for submissions and highly encourage teams to apply
The Consortium on Moral Decision-Making is seeking proposals for seed grants to support interdisciplinary research related to the conceptual and empirical study of human morality and ethical decision-making. …
New estimates reveal size and heterogeneity of unauthorized immigrant population
The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) recently released its latest estimates of the size of the U.S. unauthorized immigrant population, finding that between 2019 and 2023, the unauthorized immigrant population grew by 3 million, or an average of 6 percent per year. According to the MPI,…
Saunders named as 2024-25 cohort member of the Health Equity Scholars Program
Tracee Saunders, assistant professor of political science and Social Science Research Institute co-funded faculty member, was announced in fall 2024 as a member of the 2024-25 cohort of the Scholars Strategy Network (SSN)’s Health Equity Scholars Program (HESP).
This fellowship supports…
NIH cost recovery update
On Friday, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) — the world’s leading public funder of biomedical research — announced that the agency is making cuts to grants that support research institutions across the country by limiting the amount of indirect cost recovery for research projects to 15%.…
Who are immigrants to the US, where do they come from and where do they live?
This article was originally written for The Conversation by Jennifer Van Hook, PRI Director & Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Demography.
Undocumented immigration is a key issue in American politics, but it can be hard to nail down the basic facts about who these immigrants are, where…
New website provides updates related to executive action
Penn State recently launched a website to provide our community with information related to executive orders issued beginning in January 2025.
The site is a landing page with basic information about what is known at this time, and it will be updated as developments arise. Please note, this is…
Update on Executive Orders signed by President Trump
You are likely aware of the recent developments within the Trump administration and executive orders that may impact our research operations. We have just received an executive order related to sponsored research and are working with PIs to help them achieve compliance. We will provide further…
Mexican Americans' educational history detailed in new book
A new book examining the institutional barriers faced by Mexican immigrants in Texas is now available for purchase.
"Texas-Style Exclusion: Mexican Americans and the Legacy of Limited Opportunity," written by Penn State Population Research Institute Director Jennifer Van Hook and Temple University…
PRI T32 Postdoctoral Positions Available
SSRI's Population Research Institute (PRI) anticipates openings for two T32 Postdoctoral Scholars, one NICHD-funded trainee in Social Environments and Population Health, and another NIA-funded trainee in Emerging Disparities in Population Health.
Owing to sponsor requirements, applicants…
Penn State among top universities for social science research expenditures
Michael T. Nietzel, Senior Contributor, Forbes Magazine
Because many of the most pressing problems facing the nation today involve patterns of human behavior and the social forces affecting them, research in psychology and the social sciences continues to be a vital source of information about…
Consortium on Moral Decision-Making Seed Grants
The Consortium on Moral Decision-Making is seeking proposals for seed grants to support interdisciplinary research related to the conceptual and empirical study of human morality and ethical decision-making. How do people decide whether to help or harm others, whom to trust and cooperate with, and…
Ag student travels to Arctic for research training in a climate-changed region
The Arctic is filled with picturesque scenery and communities of people closely connected to the land and its history. Like many areas of the world, it’s also a region threatened by climate change. But the Arctic is especially vulnerable, with its temperatures rising four times more quickly than in…
Increased area income improves birthweight rates, researchers find
Higher incomes are often correlated with healthier pregnancies and babies, but is it really the money that matters? Sedimentary rocks that formed 390 million years ago, surprisingly, help provide the answer, at least for those who live above the Marcellus Shale formation, according to a team led by…
New Book: Texas-Style Exclusion: Mexican Americans and the Legacy of Limited Opportunity
New Book: Texas-Style Exclusion: Mexican Americans and the Legacy of Limited Opportunity
In Texas-Style Exclusion, Population Research Institute Director Jennifer Van Hook (Pennsylvania State University) and sociologist James D. Bachmeier (Temple University) compare how Americans have responded to…
Social media users probably won’t read beyond this headline, researchers say
Congratulations. Reading this far into the story is a feat not many will accomplish, especially if shared on Facebook, according to a team led by Penn State researchers. In an analysis of more than 35 million public posts containing links that were shared extensively on the social media platform…
New SSRI Working Group - Collaborative on Population Aging Disparities
Collaborative on Population Aging Disparities
The Collaborative on Population Aging Disparities (CoPAD) is an SSRI-funded working group that focuses on new and growing sources of inequality among aging adults, with attention to the ways that population dynamics and life course processes interact to…
How do formerly incarcerated individuals navigate community reentry?
Fifty years of punitive criminal justice policies have created a growing population of older incarcerated individuals who are now eligible for community release but lack the social or economic capital to rebuild their lives, according to a team of researchers from Penn State and the University of…
Social Science Research Institute accepting applications for inaugural SJRC Equity Fellows
The Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) is seeking applications for their inaugural Social Justice Research Council (SJRC) Equity Fellows for the 2025-26 academic year.
SJRC Equity Fellows are expected to engage in work, together or individually, that aligns with the…