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Dr. Jennifer Karas Montez                                                                                      
Professor of Sociology
Gerald B. Cramer Faculty Scholar in Aging Studies
Director of the Policy, Place, and Population Health Lab
Syracuse University

Welcome to my personal webpage. I am a sociologist and demographer. I study the “social causes” of death and disease in the United States. The social cause I am most interested in is educational attainment (the amount of schooling an individual has acquired is one of the strongest predictors of how long and healthy they will live) but I also examine gender and geography.

Some of the questions that I ask in my research are:

  • Why do adults with more education live longer and healthier lives than adults with less?
  • Is education becoming more important for living longer and healthier lives?
  • Is education equally important for women and men?
  • Is education equally important in all U.S. states?
  • Can certain U.S. state policies exacerbate or mitigate the importance of education?
  • Why does life expectancy differ so dramatically across U.S. states?
  • Why is the life expectancy of U.S. women falling behind other industrialized countries?

This website provides a summary of my research, publications, and their coverage in the media. It also contains information on the courses I teach and the students I advise. If you have questions or comments, please email me via the “Contacts” tab.