Moin Syed Assistant Professor N567 Elliott Hall, (612) 625-9501 moin@umn.edu Syed's personal web site Education Ph.D., 2009, University of California, Santa Cruz M.A., 2004, San Francisco State University B.A., 2003, San Francisco State University

Statement of Interests

I am a developmental psychologist with a primary appointment in the Counseling Psychology program and secondary affiliation in the Personality, Individual Differences, and Behavioral Genetics program. I am broadly interested in how adolescents and young adults from diverse ethnic, racial, and cultural backgrounds weave together their multiple identities to lead healthy, productive, and purposeful lives. Methodologically, I characterize my work as a mixed-methods program of research, meaning that I use qualitative methods, quantitative methods, or various syntheses of the two depending on the research question. My current research is focused on ethnic identity development along three inter-related lines:

1) Developmental trajectories, precursors, and sequelae of ethnic identity processes. This line of research focuses on developmental patterns and correlates of ethnic identity, including variations by social location, geographical region, institutional context, or relationships with friends and families.

2) Narratives of ethnicity-related experiences. My work on narratives (i.e., stories) has focused on documenting how they function as dynamic representations of ethnic identity development grounded in individuals’ lived experiences.   

3) How ethnic identity is associated with, and inextricably linked to, development in other important identity domains such as social class, gender, education and occupation, spirituality, and political ideology. My primary interest in this area is how theory and research on ethnic identity might be useful to understand the educational experiences of under-represented ethnic minority students (high school through graduate school), particularly those interested in majors/careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

Selected Publications

Chemers, M. M., & Syed, M. (Eds.). (forthcoming). Scaling the higher education pyramid: Academic and career success of minorities and women in science and engineering. Journal of Social Issues.

Syed, M. (in press). Disciplinarity and methodology in intersectionality theory and research. American Psychologist.

Syed, M., & Azmitia, M. (in press).Longitudinal trajectories of ethnic identity during the college years. Journal of Research on Adolescence.

Azmitia, M., Syed, M., & Radmacher, K. A. (Eds.). (2008). The intersections of personal and social identities. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 120. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Syed, M., & Azmitia, M. (2008). A narrative approach to ethnic identity in emerging adulthood: Bringing life to the identity status model. Developmental Psychology, 44(4), 1012-1027.

Syed, M., Azmitia, M., & Phinney, J. S. (2007). Stability and change in ethnic identity among Latino emerging adults in two contexts. Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research, 7(2), 155-178.