Funding is sought for a multidisciplinary program which will train a new generation of scholars in the study of social and economic inequality and the public policies which may influence it. Inequality -now at its highest level since the end of World War II --is perhaps one of the most important problems facing the United States today, yet no university offers an organized program of study which provides the interdisciplinary training needed to address its complexities. The proposed program focuses on six constituent features of inequality: work, wages and the marketplace; neighborhoods and spatial segregation; family structure and parental roles; immigration, race and labor market segregation; educational access; and social and economic policy.
Students admitted into Ph.D. programs in economics, political science, public policy, or sociology would be eligible. Those accepted would participate in the following core activities in addition to meeting the requirements of their home doctoral programs: (1) Three semester Interdisciplinary Proseminar in Inequality and Social Policy, (2) Field Specialization, (3) Qualifying Paper on Inequality, (4) Research Apprenticeship, (5) Summer Research Fellowships, (6) Advanced Research Seminar on Inequality, (7) Summer Institute on Inequality, (8) Galbraith Scholars program for undergraduates, and (9) National Fellows program.
