Program Overview

Overview

The graduate certificate in population studies is offered through the Population Program of the Institute of Behavioral Science (IBS) at the University of Colorado Boulder. This interdisciplinary program recognizes master's and doctoral degree students for their work in issues related to population dynamics and its components, composition, distribution, and change.

Requirements

Admission Requirements

All graduate degrees are awarded through departments, and therefore, graduate students wishing to pursue the Graduate Certificate in Population Studies must be first admitted into a departmental program. As certificates are only conferred with a degree, students must also satisfy all departmental degree requirements.

Course Requirements

The graduate certificate in population studies requires 9-12 credits, dependent upon status as MA, MS, or PhD student. The required courses include:

• Two required core courses that focus on population studies theory, methods, and issues.
• For MA or MS students: an additional two courses with substantial population studies content. One course must be outside the student's home discipline.
• For PhD students: an additional three courses with substantial population studies content. Two courses must be outside the student's home discipline.

Course List:

• SOCY 6012: Population Issues, Problems, and Policies (3 credits)
• GEOG 6732: Formal Population Geography: Analysis and Forecasting (3 credits)
• Other potential courses (6-9 credits):
  • ECON 8686: Labor Economics
  • ECON 8784: Economic Development
  • GEOG 5292: Migration, Immigrant Adaptation, and Development
  • GEOG 5622: City Life
  • GEOG 5642: Seminar: Urban Geography
  • GEOG 5662: Seminar: Topics in Economic Geography
  • GEOG 5852: Health and Medical Geography
  • IPHY 5800: Advanced Statistics and Research Methods in Integrative Physiology
  • PSCI 7021: Latinos and U.S. Politics
  • PSCI 7022: Seminar in Political and Economic Development
  • PSCI 7062: The Politics of Ethnicity
  • PSCI 7181: Immigration Law and Immigrants' Rights
  • PSCI 7203: Political Economy of International Migration and Policy
  • SOCY 7002: Social Disparities in Health
  • SOCY 7006: Sociology of Sex and Gender
  • SOCY 7012: The Social Demography of Race
  • SOCY 7014: Gender, Race, Class, and Crime
  • SOCY 7017: Population and Environment

Extracurricular Requirements

In addition to coursework, the graduate certificate in population studies requires participation in extracurricular offerings relevant to population studies. For MA or MS students, 10 hours of participation in extracurricular activities are required. For PhD students, 15 hours of participation in extracurricular activities are required. Such offerings can include:

• Attendance at the bi-weekly Population & Health workshop in IBS
• Attendance at CUPC research presentations in IBS
• Participation in methodological short courses and workshops
• ICPSR offers summer workshops in Boulder each year
• IBS Center for Research and Computing Services offers these on occasion
• Annual conference on "Integrating Genetics and Social Sciences" (IGSS)
• Annual Migration-Climate-Health workshops
• IBS' graduate student Professionalization Seminars ("ProSem")
• CARTSS dissertation writing workshop

Plan(s) of Study

For more information, see the center's Graduate Certificate Program in Population Studies webpage. The program is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of population studies and its applications. The plan of study includes coursework, extracurricular activities, and research opportunities that prepare students for careers in population studies and related fields.