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 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:

Pressing population issues as population ageing, integration of migrants, health inequalities and poverty

Individual decision-making processes behind demographic events, such as family formation, residential choices and migration, and health care use

Collecting and interpreting demographic data

Methods and techniques to analyze demographic data: life table, population projections, advanced survey analysis, qualitative research methods

Population policies and intervention programmes

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.

Job prospects

The Master Population Studies trains you to become a versatile demographer. As a demographer you are competent in describing and analyzing both the population dynamics of different countries or regions and the demographic behaviour of individuals or population groups. Also you are an expert in predicting the likely demographic developments for the future.

Because of the interdisciplinary nature of the master programme, you are capable of reflecting on how the context in which we live affects individual demographic behaviour and leads to different population dynamics, which again has societal consequences. Individual demographic behaviour and population dynamics are crucial to understand because of their effects on the economy, the environment, social networks, social cohesion, health and healthcare, pension reforms and social security, family life and wellbeing. Governments, for example, use demographic knowledge in their policy-making, for planning purposes (schools, housing, and health care) or in the localisation of potential problems. Also, for development cooperation, demographic information is crucial. Demographers have a good understanding of contemporary societal problems and issues that affect people in their daily life.