Research Centers

Faculty and students are deeply engaged with several interdisciplinary centers at the University of Minnesota and in the Twin Cities community:

Minnesota Population Center

The Minnesota Population Center (MPC) is one of the top five population research centers in the country, with a multi-million-dollar annual budget and over 50 faculty affiliates. This University-wide, federally funded, interdisciplinary cooperative brings together scholars from sociology, geography, history, public health, and many other disciplines. Members share a commitment to cross-disciplinary demographic research and a focus on the analysis of demographic behavior across time and space. Sociology Professor Rob Warren is currently the Director of Graduate Studies for the MPC.

Life Course Center

The Life Course Center (LCC) provides an intellectual forum that enriches the research and educational activities of a broad range of faculty and students in the Department of Sociology as well as other units of the University.

Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies

The Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies (CHGS) promotes awareness of past genocides to gain an understanding of the causes and devastating consequences of mass violence and to prevent future atrocities. 

Institute for Advanced Studies

The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) supports faculty fellowships and research collaborative programs that bring together artists, scientists, and scholars from across and beyond the University.

Interdisciplinary Center for Global Change

The Interdisciplinary Center for Global Change (ICGC) fosters a cross-cultural community of faculty and students committed to supporting and advancing research, education, and collaborative initiatives related to global change, with a focus on the global south.

Robina Institute of Criminal Law & Criminal Justice

The Robina Institute of Criminal Law & Criminal Justice brings legal education, legal and sociological research, theory, policy, and practice together to solve common problems in the field of criminal justice.

Immigration History Research Center

The Immigration History Research Center and Archives (IHRC) share a mission to promote interdisciplinary research on migration, race, and ethnicity in the US and the world, develop archives documenting immigrant and refugee experiences, especially in the US, and support public programming and outreach efforts that connect US immigration history research to contemporary issues and communities.

Institute for Child Development

The Institute of Child Development is a premier center of scholarship, teaching, and outreach devoted to the understanding and fostering of child development.

Amherst H. Wilder Foundation

The Amherst H. Wilder Foundation is a nonprofit community organization that helps children, families, and older adults in the greater Saint Paul and East Metro area through direct service programs, research, leadership development, and community building.

Other Interdisciplinary Partnerships

Faculty members also currently have formalized partnerships with the: