Graduate Research Assistantships at NCSU

North Carolina State University - Graduate Program in Sociology

GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANTSHIPS STUDYING LOW-INCOME FAMILIES AND
CHILDHOOD OBESITY

Please forward this announcement widely to prospective Master’s or Ph.D. students in Sociology.  We are seeking high quality applicants for up to three graduate research assistantships on a five-year qualitative
research project on low-income families and childhood obesity.  Awards are available beginning in Fall 2011.  Assistantships are for one and possibly multiple years and include stipend, full tuition remission, and fully-paid health insurance. 

Research assistantships are associated with a USDA-funded project on the structural (social, cultural, political, economic, and environmental) factors that contribute to childhood obesity among low-income and
minority populations.  Students will participate in a community-based project that will involve interviewing low-income mothers about their food practices and perceptions and working with community groups to
develop community-driven, culturally-appropriate policy changes that increase food access and address the specific challenges faced by these families.  Students will have the opportunity to be actively involved in
the entire research process.  Students with any combination of the following interests are particularly encouraged to apply:

•       Sociology of food and/or agriculture
•       Environmental sociology
•       Gender
•       Race and ethnicity
•       Social stratification
•       Sociology of family

Please contact Sarah Bowen (sarah_bowen@ncsu.edu) or Sinikka Elliott (sinikka_elliott@ncsu.edu) for more information about the project.

Students and faculty at NC State engage in a broad range of research projects that utilize both quantitative and qualitative methods and take place in both domestic and global settings.   An additional strength of
the program is our faculty’s strong commitment to mentoring graduate students, in teaching and in research.  Faculty strengths include sociology of agriculture and food systems; environmental sociology; race, class, and gender inequality; family and life course; work and the economy; global social change and development; and crime, delinquency, and social control.  Please see our website (http://sociology.chass.ncsu.edu/graduate.php) for more information about the program.   To be considered for an assistantship, applications for graduate study are due by January 1, 2011.