Center for Demography and Ecology

About

The Center for Demography and Ecology (CDE) is a multi-disciplinary cooperative for social scientific demographic research and graduate training at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. CDE affiliates produce demographic research and data in the center’s five research areas: Family Demography; Economic Demography; Spatial Demography; Reproductive Health; and Health and Biodemography. CDE receives funding via a Population Research Infrastructure grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (P2C HD047873).

Overview

Faculty

CDE is home to over 80 faculty affiliates who represent more than 20 departments and schools from across campus, including sociology, public affairs, economics, and population health sciences. By providing a bridge between a large number of academic disciplines, CDE serves as a hub for population research at UW–Madison.

Picture of Carillon Tower in the fall framed with golden leaves

Research

For nearly 60 years, CDE affiliates have conducted cutting-edge research on a broad array of population related issues, including the demography of inequality; fertility, families, and households; health and the life course; biodemography; and environmental and spatial demography.

Training

Each year, CDE trains 45-50 predoctoral scholars from departments across the UW–Madison campus. Training at CDE aims to develop an interdisciplinary community of junior scholars in population research, to build expertise in demographic theory and methods, and to cultivate students’ professional skills and preparation for research careers.