Institutional and interactional perspectives on family organization, relationships, and transitions are studied in this area. Most of the research is linked either to family and household demography, sociology of the life course and aging, social psychology, sociology of gender, or cross-cultural family and kinship. A good number of faculty and students work with the National Survey of Families and Households (centered in this department) as well as with other major national and international data sources. Graduate students working in the family area may be supported on a variety of research projects or traineeships. Several courses and seminars are offered in this area. Seminars are offered on such topics as social change and families, family and household demography, fertility, gender and society, and life course and aging.