Population Program

Stefan Leyk, an associate professor of Geography at CU Boulder and IBS Fellow, and his colleagues at IBS, Earth Lab and ASU have found a way to understand how and why the United States formed the way it did with the help of Zillow, the real estate website. Leyk, along with many other IBS researchers, published an article in ScienceAdvances, part of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).   Up until now, the spatial distribution and rapid population growth of the U.S. had been puzzling researchers for centuries. However, with the help of Zillow’s dataset-
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Stefan Leyk Helps Create New Mapping System to Study Human Land Use
Jason Boardman, Director of the Health and Society Program at IBS received the Clifford C. Clogg Award for Mid-Career Achievement through the Population Association of America (PAA).  Established in 1995, this biennial award originally honored innovative contributions to the design, collection, modeling, or analysis of population survey or census data. Beginning with the 2000 award, the terms were modified to recognize early career achievement in population studies and demography, broadly defined. It honors outstanding innovative scholarly achievements of population professionals who have attained their highest professional degree within the previous 10-20 years. Congratulations to Jason on this prestigious award.  Please watch
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Boardman receives PAA Clifford C. Clogg Award for Mid-Career Achievement
IBS Graduate Student Caitlin McShane (GEOG, advisor Stefan Leyk) was awarded an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and another IBS Graduate Student, Erica Jackson (SOCY, David Pyrooz), received an Honorable Mention. A total of 26 CU students were awarded the fellowship. These awards come with a generous 3-year annual stipend plus monies to the institution to cover tuition and fees. From the GRFP website, "The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees at accredited United States institutions." Read more about the awards on the GRFP website. CARTTS, with
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GRFP Awardee Caitlin McShane and Honorable Mention Erica Jackson
Kathleen Tierney, former Director of the Natural Hazards Center here at IBS, has recently been interviewed by multiple media sources about the COVID-19 situation.   Listen to Kathleen Tierney on Colorado Public Radio (90.1 FM and https://www.cpr.org/) today (March 11) at 9am.   Tierney also appeared on Al Jazeera TV station discussing COVID-19.  You can also read The New Yorker column (summarized below) here.  __________________ As the coronavirus has spread around the world, people have begun taking cautionary measures to prevent the spread of the disease. Supermarkets have sold out of non-perishable items and sanitizing products, and there is now an increased emphasis on stopping us
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COVID-19 Responses : Kathleen Tierney, IBS Fellow, Former Director NHC
On February 25, Myron Gutmann, Director of CU Boulder’s Institute of Behavioral Science (IBS), participated in meetings to help inform congressional efforts to reauthorize the National Science Foundation (NSF) this Congress. Gutmann met with the offices Senator Cory Gardner and Congressman Ed Perlmutter, who serve on the committees of jurisdiction, as well as a bipartisan group of House Science Committee staff. In addition, Gutmann met with new leadership at the NSF to offer his
Read More.

The IBS Director's Efforts with Congress and NSF

Stefan Leyk Helps Create New Mapping System to Study Human Land Use

Stefan Leyk, an associate professor of Geography at CU Boulder and IBS Fellow, and his colleagues at IBS, Earth Lab and ASU have found a way to understand how and why the United States formed the way it did with the help of Zillow, the real estate website. Leyk, along with many other IBS researchers, published an article in ScienceAdvances, part of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).   Up until now, the spatial distribution and rapid population growth of the U.S. had been puzzling researchers for centuries. However, with the help of Zillow’s dataset-
Read More.
Boardman receives PAA Clifford C. Clogg Award for Mid-Career Achievement

Jason Boardman, Director of the Health and Society Program at IBS received the Clifford C. Clogg Award for Mid-Career Achievement through the Population Association of America (PAA).  Established in 1995, this biennial award originally honored innovative contributions to the design, collection, modeling, or analysis of population survey or census data. Beginning with the 2000 award, the terms were modified to recognize early career achievement in population studies and demography, broadly defined. It honors outstanding innovative scholarly achievements of population professionals who have attained their highest professional degree within the previous 10-20 years. Congratulations to Jason on this prestigious award.  Please watch
Read More.
GRFP Awardee Caitlin McShane and Honorable Mention Erica Jackson

IBS Graduate Student Caitlin McShane (GEOG, advisor Stefan Leyk) was awarded an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and another IBS Graduate Student, Erica Jackson (SOCY, David Pyrooz), received an Honorable Mention. A total of 26 CU students were awarded the fellowship. These awards come with a generous 3-year annual stipend plus monies to the institution to cover tuition and fees. From the GRFP website, "The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees at accredited United States institutions." Read more about the awards on the GRFP website. CARTTS, with
Read More.
COVID-19 Responses : Kathleen Tierney, IBS Fellow, Former Director NHC

Kathleen Tierney, former Director of the Natural Hazards Center here at IBS, has recently been interviewed by multiple media sources about the COVID-19 situation.   Listen to Kathleen Tierney on Colorado Public Radio (90.1 FM and https://www.cpr.org/) today (March 11) at 9am.   Tierney also appeared on Al Jazeera TV station discussing COVID-19.  You can also read The New Yorker column (summarized below) here.  __________________ As the coronavirus has spread around the world, people have begun taking cautionary measures to prevent the spread of the disease. Supermarkets have sold out of non-perishable items and sanitizing products, and there is now an increased emphasis on stopping us
Read More.
The IBS Director's Efforts with Congress and NSF

On February 25, Myron Gutmann, Director of CU Boulder’s Institute of Behavioral Science (IBS), participated in meetings to help inform congressional efforts to reauthorize the National Science Foundation (NSF) this Congress. Gutmann met with the offices Senator Cory Gardner and Congressman Ed Perlmutter, who serve on the committees of jurisdiction, as well as a bipartisan group of House Science Committee staff. In addition, Gutmann met with new leadership at the NSF to offer his
Read More.

Apply for a Population and Health PhD from CU Boulder's Dept of Sociology (PDF)

Researchers in the Population Program study population dynamics and human well-being in a large variety of contemporary and historical settings. Birth, death, marriage and migration combine with culture to shape the human experience. This powerful combination allows us to understand the dynamics of social and health inequalities, human responses to environmental change, and the causes and consequences of human migration for individuals and places.

The Population Program is home to the CU Population Center, funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. It draws interdisciplinary researchers from across campus and beyond, with expertise in anthropology, behavioral genetics, demography, economics, geography, history, information science, psychology, and sociology.

The Population Program offers an outstanding training environment and student research opportunities, and houses CU Boulder's Graduate Certificate in Population Studies.

CU Population Center

Engaging in interdisciplinary population research and training, exploring demographic processes, particularly environmental demography, migration and population distribution, and health and mortality.
African Population Studies

Building strong collaborative research linkages with select African institutions, focusing on health, migration, population, and environment.

Institute of Behavioral Science

IBS is committed to advancing knowledge of society's most pressing challenges, and to pursuing solutions to those challenges through innovative and interdisciplinary research, education, and engagement in the world.