Robert Crosnoe

Robert Crosnoe is the Rapoport Centennial Professor of Liberal Arts, Professor in the Department of Sociology, and Senior Associate Dean in the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Texas at Austin. He also holds appointments as Professor in the Department of Psychology and Faculty Associate in the Population Research Center. A distinguished scholar in Social Science, Crosnoe earned his Ph.D. in Sociology from Stanford University in 1999, M.A. in Sociology from Stanford in 1995, and B.A. in Plan II Honors Program from the University of Texas at Austin in 1994. As Department Chair of Sociology, his research centers on the life course and human development, specifically the intersections of children’s and adolescents’ health, psychosocial development, educational trajectories, family dynamics, immigration, and population inequalities by race, social class, and immigrant status. His work, funded by grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, William T. Grant Foundation, and Foundation for Child Development, contributes to major networks including the NICHD Early Child Care Research Network and the Institute of Medicine Study Group on Young Adult Health and Safety.

Crosnoe has published influential books such as Mexican Roots, American Schools: Helping Mexican Immigrant Children Succeed (Stanford University Press, 2006), Fitting In, Standing Out: Navigating the Social Challenges of High School to Get an Education (Cambridge University Press, 2011), The Starting Line (University of Texas Press, 2020), and The Journey into Adulthood in Uncertain Times (Russell Sage Foundation, 2025, with Shannon E. Cavanagh). Key articles include “Gender, Obesity and Education” (Sociology of Education, 2007) and “Children’s Early Child Care and Mother’s Later Involvement with Schools” (Child Development, 2012). His scholarship, with over 36,000 citations, has earned awards including the Distinguished Contributions to Interdisciplinary Understanding of Child Development Award from the Society for Research in Child Development (2019), President’s Associates Award for Teaching Excellence (2015), James S. Coleman Award for Best Paper in the Sociology of Education (American Sociological Association, 2010), Award for Early Career Contributions (Society for the Study of Human Development, 2007), and William T. Grant Faculty Scholar Award (2004). Crosnoe has served as President of the Society for Research on Adolescence, Chair of the Children and Youth Section of the American Sociological Association, and on NIH study sections and editorial boards.

Professional Email: crosnoe@austin.utexas.edu