Population Studies
SubjectSocial Sciences, Behavioural and Social Sciences
The objective of the international one-year MSc programme in Population Studies is to train young professionals in the theories, methods and skills required to comprehend population dynamics.
Essential to understanding population dynamics is the study of demographic behaviour of people, in terms of their life events, e.g. birth, marriage, divorce, health, migration, and death. The master programme focuses on these demographic events, on how decision-making regarding these life events (e.g. its timing) is influenced by the historical, economic, societal, cultural, and medical context, and on how these demographic events have an impact on population-level trends.
You will learn about:
- theories on individual decision-making behind demographic life events
- sources of demographic data, questionnaire construction and interviews
- methods and techniques to analyze demographic data: life table, population projections, survey analysis, in-depth interviews, focus group discussion and observation
- population policies and interventions and their link to research
The field of Population Studies reflects on and deals with currently relevant demographic topics and related societal issues. The study is simultaneously concrete and broad.
Available specialisations:
Job perspectives
The programme has been developed for future professionals in business, government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and academia. Demographers are competent in reflecting on how the context in which we live affects population dynamics (migration, fertility, mortality, ageing, etc.) and vice-versa. This can be either through analyses of large data files for demographic data and trends, or through in-depth qualitative analysis of people's life.
The career perspectives are good. Many of our alumni continue into a PhD, whereas international mid-career alumni mostly acquire a higher position within the institute they were working.
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