DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology (CSDE) at the University of Washington requests a five-year continuation of its pre-doctoral training program in demography from NICHD, beginning May 1, 2012. The proposed training program is carried out in conjunction with five disciplines in the College of Arts and Sciences - Anthropology, Economics, Geography, Sociology and Statistics, as well as PhD programs in the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs and the School of Social Work. CSDE requests support for five pre-doctoral trainees per year, with total direct costs of $210,298 the first year and $1,051,492 for the period May 1, 2012 to April 30, 2017. This request includes continuing renewal funds for four trainees and a request to fund one more trainee for a total of five trainees. The request for an additional trainee reflects our growing capacity and documented latent demand for demographic training across the UW campus. Predoctoral trainees are selected from applicants who are new or continuing graduate students in PhD programs with a population-related specialization. Annual admission rates to these departments is selective - ~29 percent across the departments. Among the trainees selected for funding from our collaborating programs, average GRE scores are 100 or more points higher and average GPAs are higher than for peers in their respective program. CSDE funded trainees also graduate faster than non-funded student peers by an average of one to four years depending on home department.

Demographic research and training is an integral part of NICHD's mission to ensure that every person is born healthy and wanted, women suffer no harmful effects from reproductive processes, and that everyone is ensured health, productivity, independence and well-being. Through population-based studies and development of rigorous methods, demographic research and training contributes to more comprehensive assessments of health conditions, public and private health interventions, health behaviors, and the environmental contexts that influence short and long term health outcomes across different settings and populations.