Demography
College of Letters and Science
Department Office: 2232 Piedmont Avenue, (510) 642-9800
Chair: Joshua R. Goldstein, PhD
Department Website: Demography
Overview
The Department of Demography offers an interdisciplinary training program leading to the MA and PhD in demography. Demography is the systematic study of human populations, a topic central to many pressing policy issues such as the economic development of Third World countries, population aging, the environment, health and mortality, family and household change, immigration, and ethnicity. Demography also has strong intellectual and institutional ties to other fields such as sociology, economics, social history, anthropology, biology, public health, and statistics. The program at UC Berkeley is one of the few in the United States granting graduate degrees in demography, rather than offering demography only as a field of specialization within some other department. This training strategy permits greater concentration and depth in demography, as well as program flexibility and breadth in related subjects. The program stresses both quantitative aspects of demography and demography in the context of social science theory.
No Undergraduate Major
Although there is no undergraduate major, seniors may take graduate courses with consent of the instructor. The department offers an undergraduate minor in demography, which is open to all interested undergraduates at Berkeley. (See below.)
Graduate Programs
The master's degree in demography is designed both as a final degree for those who wish to pursue a professional career at that level of training, and as a second degree for students earning a doctorate in demography or a related discipline. The basic coursework for the master's program is required for the doctoral degree as well.
Students already enrolled at a UC campus or at Stanford University are admissible to demography courses if they have completed the prerequisites. Students already enrolled in another graduate program at Berkeley who wish to earn a degree in demography may apply by executing a change or addition of major.
Students not already enrolled at Berkeley who wish to enter the degree programs or pursue coursework only for professional development should complete the required application and submit it to the student affairs officer in the department's main office. The general deadlines for application specified by the Graduate Division apply, as do the general degree program requirements of the Academic Senate and the Graduate Division. For specific degree requirements, please consult the department's website or contact the graduate student services adviser.
Doctoral students in demography are required to have or to earn a master's degree in an allied discipline.
Graduate Group in Sociology and Demography (PhD Program)
See the listing under Sociology and Demography , or go to the website.
Minor Requirements
UC students may complete one or more minor programs, normally in a field both academically and administratively distinct from their major.
The undergraduate minor in demography provides an opportunity to combine a traditional major, typically in one of the social sciences, with specialized training in population studies. Students in the minor must complete, with a grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.0 (C), a total of five upper division courses. All courses applied to the minor must be taken for a letter grade. The courses are chosen as follows:
- Three required courses: Demography 110, 126, and 175. Substitutions are not allowed.
- One elective course from Public Health 140 or 142A; Economics 140 or 141; Sociology 105; Statistics 102, 131A, 135, or Psychology 101. These courses are in statistical methods or vital statistics. Similar courses of at least three units may be substituted with consent of the department.
- One elective course from Demography 140, 145, 164, 165, 189; Economics 155, 157, or 171; History 137; Sociology 111, 125. These are courses in social science dealing with demographic factors. Similar courses of at least three units may be substituted with consent of the department.
- At least three of the five required courses must be completed at Berkeley. Note: According to University policy, no more than one course can be counted for both a student's major and minor degrees.
For up-to-date information about course requirements, go to the website.
DEMOG 5 Fundamentals of Population Science 3 Units
Department: Demography
Course level: Undergraduate
Term course may be offered: Fall
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
This course provides an accessible introduction to the social science of demography. The course is organized around cases in which population issues raise policy or ethical dilemmas (example: China's one child policy). Through these cases, students will learn how demographers use models and data to acquire knowledge about population. Throughout the course, students will also learn to read, interpret, evaluate, and produce tabular and graphical representations of population data.
Instructor: Johnson-Hanks
DEMOG 98 Directed Group Study 1 - 4 Units
Department: Demography
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Offered for pass/not pass grade only.
Hours and format: 1 to 3 hour of Tutorial per week for 15 weeks.
Undergraduate research by small groups.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
DEMOG 110 Introduction to Population Analysis 3 Units
Department: Demography
Course level: Undergraduate
Term course may be offered: Fall
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Measures and methods of Demography. Life tables, fertility and nuptiality measures, age pyramids, population projection, measures of fertility control.
Instructor: Wachter
DEMOG C126/SOCIOL C126 Social Consequences of Population Dynamics 4 Units
Department: Demography; Sociology
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 1 or 3 or 3AC or consent of instructor.
Introduction to population issues and the field of demography, with emphasis on historical patterns of population growth and change during the industrial era. Topics covered include the demographic transition, resource issues, economic development, the environment, population control, family planning, birth control, family and gender, aging, intergenerational transfers, and international migration.
DEMOG 145AC/HISTORY C139B The American Immigrant Experience 4 Units
Department: Demography; History
Course level: Undergraduate
Term course may be offered: Spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of lecture, 1 hour of self-paced laboratory and 1 hour of optional discussion section per week.
The history of the United States is the history of migration. The course covers the evolution of the American population from about 20,000 BC with the goal of understanding the interdependent roles of history and demography. As an American cultures class, special attention is given to the experiences of 18th- and 19th-century African and European immigrants and 20th- and 21st-century Asian and Latin American immigrants. Two substantial laboratory assignments; facility with a spreadsheet program is assumed.
Satisfies the American Cultures requirement
Instructor: Mason
DEMOG 160 Special Topics in Demography 3 Units
Department: Demography
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Special topics in demography. Topics may include the demography of specific world regions, race and ethnicity, population and policy, and population and environment and similiar specialized or new topics in the field of demography will be covered.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
DEMOG C164/PUB POL C164 Impact of Government Policies on Poor Children and Families 4 Units
Department: Demography; Public Policy
Course level: Undergraduate
Term course may be offered: Fall
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Examination of the impact of policies of state intervention and public benefit programs on poor children and families. Introduction to child and family policy, and study of specific issue areas, such as income transfer programs, housing, health care, and child abuse.
This course may be applied to the Demography major. Instructor: Mauldon
DEMOG C165/SOCIOL C184 Family and Household in Comparative Perspective 3 Units
Department: Demography; Sociology
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Sociology 1, 3, 3AC or consent of instructor.
How are families and households organized around the world? Which aspects of household and family vary, and which are constant? What are the relationships between household and family on the one hand and the political, economic, or broad social patterns on the other? This course examines all of these questions, taking historical and contemporary examples from Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas.
DEMOG C175/ECON C175 Economic Demography 3 Units
Department: Demography; Economics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks. 6 hours of Lecture per week for 8 weeks. 7.5 hours of Lecture per week for 6 weeks.
Prerequisites: Economics 1 or 2.
A general introduction to economic demography, addressing the following kinds of questions: What are the economic consequences of immigration to the U.S.? Will industrial nations be able to afford the health and pension costs of the aging populations? How has the size of the baby boom affected its economic well being? Why has fertility been high in Third World countries? In industrial countries, why is marriage postponed, divorce high, fertility so low, and extramarital fertility rising? What are the economic and environmental consequences of rapid population growth?
Formerly known as 175. Instructor: Lee
DEMOG 198 Directed Group Study 1 - 4 Units
Department: Demography
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Offered for pass/not pass grade only.
Hours and format: 2 to 6 hours of tutorial per week for 8 weeks. 1 to 3 hours of tutorial per week.
Prerequisites: 60 units; good academic standing.
Undergraduate research by small groups. Enrollment is restricted by regulations governing 198 courses.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
DEMOG 199 Supervised Independent Study 1 - 4 Units
Department: Demography
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Offered for pass/not pass grade only.
Hours and format: 2 to 6 hours of tutorial per week for 8 weeks. 1 to 3 hours of tutorial per week.
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor.
Supervised independent study and research.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
DEMOG 210 Demographic Methods: Rates and Structures 4 Units
Department: Demography
Course level: Graduate
Term course may be offered: Fall
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Population models, multiple decrement life tables, hazard functions, stable population theory, projection matrices, projection programs, population waves, dual system estimation, computer-based exercises and simulations. Required course for Demography M.A. and Ph.D. students.
Instructor: Wachter
DEMOG 211 Advanced Demographic Analysis 4 Units
Department: Demography
Course level: Graduate
Term course may be offered: Spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 210, Population Studies 110, or consent of instructor.
This course is designed to provide an overview of quantitative techniques commonly used in demography, sociology, economics, and other social sciences. Methods are described in both words and formulas, and students are encouraged to learn to move freely between verbal and mathematical representations of data.
Instructor: Wilmoth
DEMOG 213 Practical Computer Applications for Demographic Analysis 2 Units
Department: Demography
Course level: Graduate
Term course may be offered: Fall
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
Hours and format: 3 hours of lecture/laboratory per week.
An introductory course for first year Demography graduate students in the use of the Demography laboratory. Covers Unix based tools for manipulating computer programs and data files, and the R, SPlus, and SAS statistical packages. The course introduces the proportional hazard model and methods of estimating it. The final project for this course is use of the 1995 Current Population Survey (fertility supplement) to compute Total Fertility Rates for the U.S.
Instructor: Mason
DEMOG 215 Current Research Topics in Demography 2 Units
Department: Demography
Course level: Graduate
Term course may be offered: Spring
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
Hours and format: 1 hour of Lecture and 2 hours of Laboratory per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 213.
The goals of this course are 1) to familiarize graduate students with active research projects in Demography and 2) to improve skills in R and Stata. Topics covered include demographic micro-simulation with SOCSIM, the Human Mortality Database, stochastic simulation/forecasting, GIS for Demographers, and mortality forecasting. Two-thirds of class time will be spent in the computer laboratory. Students will present results.
DEMOG 220 Human Fertility 4 Units
Department: Demography
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
This course offers a critical, graduate-level introduction to the social science of reproduction, drawing especially on models and theories from demography, sociology, and anthropology. Among the topics are parity specific control and the calculus of conscious choice, below-replacement fertility, and the political economy of stratified reproduction.
Instructor: Johnson-Hanks
DEMOG 230 Human Mortality 4 Units
Department: Demography
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 210 or consent of instructor.
Measurement of mortality by age and cause. Traditional, transitional, and modern mortality patterns in European and non-European areas. Current trends and differentials by age, sex, race, occupation and marital status. Consequences of mortality declines for fertility change and development.
Instructor: Wilmoth
DEMOG 240 Human Migration 2 Units
Department: Demography
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 7.5 weeks.
Human populations analyzed from the stand point of their spatial distribution and movement. Special attention to rural-urban migration, metropolitan structure, inter-regional movement, and demographic aspects of land-use, the collection and analysis of emigration and immigration data and statistics, migration policies.
DEMOG 260 Special Topics in Demography Seminar 1 - 4 Units
Department: Demography
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of seminar per week.
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor.
Special topics in demography, such as anthropological and evolutionary approaches, kinship and family structure, race and ethnicity, and similar specialized or new topics in the field of demography will be covered. Seminar will be offered according to student demand.
Course may be repeated for credit as topic varies. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
DEMOG C275A/ECON C275A Economic Demography 3 Units
Department: Demography; Economics
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Economic consequences of demographic change in developing and developed countries including capital formation, labor markets, and intergenerational transfers. Economic determinants of fertility, mortality and migration.
Instructor: Lee
DEMOG 296 Advanced Research Techniques 4 Units
Department: Demography
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Seminar per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: 295 and consent of instructor.
Problems in data acquisition, analysis, and presentation of technical demographic research. Required of graduate students in the Ph.D. program in Demography.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
DEMOG 298 Directed Reading 1 - 12 Units
Department: Demography
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 1 to 12 hour of Independent study per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor.
Intended to provide directed reading in subject matter not covered in available course offerings.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
DEMOG 299 Directed Research 1 - 12 Units
Department: Demography
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 1 to 12 hour of Independent study per week for 15 weeks. 1.5 to 20-2.5 hours of Independent study per week for 8 weeks.
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor.
Intended to provide supervision in the preparation of an original research paper or dissertation.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
DEMOG 301 GSI Training 1 - 6 Units
Department: Demography
Course level: Professional course for teachers or prospective teachers
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
Hours and format: 2 hours of seminar or private consultation with instructor. 2 hours of seminar or private consultation with instructor.
Prerequisites: Appointment as a graduate student instructor in department.
Course credit for experience gained in academic teaching through employment as a graduate student instructor.
DEMOG 601 Individual Study 1 - 8 Units
Department: Demography
Course level: Graduate examination preparation
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
Hours and format: 1 to 8 hour of Independent study per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Graduate standing.
Individual study, in consultation with the graduate adviser, intended for qualified students to do necessary work to prepare themselves for language examinations, and the comprehensive examination.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
DEMOG 602 Individual Study for Doctoral Students 1 - 8 Units
Department: Demography
Course level: Graduate examination preparation
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
Hours and format: 1 to 8 hour of Independent study per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: For qualified graduate students.
Individual study in consultation with the major field adviser, intended to provide an opportunity for qualified students to prepare themselves for the various examinations required of candidates for the Ph.D.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
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