About Us

The Population Studies Center (PSC) of the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) was established in 1962. In its original incarnation, population studies mainly concerned demography:  the study of the growth and structure of human populations, primarily in terms of fertility, mortality, and migration, although the interdisciplinary character of the PSC also supported substantial research on the labor force.  As the field of population studies has evolved, so too has the PSC at Penn, which is a major national resource for our understanding of the dynamics of human populations, with emphasis on the following research themes: the health and well-being of populations; human resources and endowments; innovation in methods; international population research; policy evaluation; growth and structure of populations; and networks in populations. Although we still maintain a strong core commitment to demography--including the Graduate Group in Demography (GGD), a world-leader in the training of demography Ph.D.s--we have also expanded our research ambit, especially in the direction of population health and population aging. 

The heart of the PSC is the collection of Research Associates, who hail from over a dozen academic departments spread across numerous Schools, including Arts and Sciences (primarily Sociology and Economics, but also Anthropology, Criminology, and History), Wharton (Statistics, Business and Public Policy, Management), Medicine (primarily Internal Medicine), and Nursing; and the staff that support their research, including administration, computing and other information technology, library and bibliographic services, and expertise in issues related to human subjects.  PSC Research Associates are heavily represented on national scientific boards and commissions, and have earned numerous honors reserved for recognized leaders in understanding the nation’s health. Their work has had demonstrable impacts on public programs and legislation in the US and abroad.  The PSC has long benefitted from support from a number of federal and private research funding mechanisms; in the most recent year, PSC Research Associates were involved in over $39 million in extramurally funded research projects.  Our capacity to maintain and organize this volume of research relies heavily on dedicated support from Penn's School of Arts and Sciences (the administrative home of the PSC) and, since 1978 and 1999 respectively, on awards from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and NIA Population Research Infrastructure Programs under the P30 and R24 mechanisms.

Herbert L. Smith, Professor of Sociology, is the current PSC Director.