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University of Maryland
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Graduate Certificate: Population Studies (Z036)
Faculty
Director
Hofferth, Sandra L.,
Professor
Hellerstein, Judith K.,
Kahn, Joan R.,
Abstract
The Certificate Program in Population Studies provides interdisciplinary training in demographic methods, theory, and research for graduate students in departments affiliated with the Maryland Population Research Center, culminating in a Certificate in Population Studies for graduate students who complete the required coursework. Historically, the Population Sciences were born out of the discipline of Demography, a field that boomed during the 1950s around fears of a world-wide population explosion and its consequences. Demography was taught largely within departments of Sociology. Today the field has changed a great deal and researchers worry about issues of low fertility and underpopulation as much as overpopulation. What demographers of the 1950s missed in their dire predictions were unprecedented behavioral changes of families to changing economic circumstances, changing social pressures, and changing ideas of what constituted a family. Today, the core of the population sciences is not forecasting population growth and its components (mortality, fertility and immigration) but instead understanding what economic, social, and ideational factors affect these components and how changing mortality, fertility, and immigration may affect other family choices. With the growing emphasis on choice and on the consequences of population change, and with the shift from being a field focusing on forecasting to one focusing on understanding causal relationships, training across several fields of study has become necessary.
Admissions Information
The Certificate Program is offered to students enrolled in a Ph.D. program at the University of Maryland College Park.
Application Deadlines
Fall
Spring
Domestic Applicants:
U.S. Citizens and Permanent ResidentsDomestic Applicant Deadlines
Applications for the Certficate Program in Population Studies are accepted on an ongoing basis. Traineeship applications are due by March 15 and commence the following Fall .
Applications for the Certficate Program in Population Studies are accepted on an ongoing basis .
International Applicants:
Applicants from Outside the U.S. or U.S. Citizens / Permanent Residents with Non-U.S. Credentials
IMPORTANT: International Applicants and U.S. Applicants with Non-U.S. Credentials must follow the domestic deadlines above if they are earlier than the deadlines listed below.
Applicants seeking admission under F (Student) or J (Exchange Visitor) visas
February 1
If Domestic Deadline is after Feb. 1June 1
If Domestic Deadline is after Jun. 1Applicants seeking admission under A, E, G, H, I, and L visas and immigrants
May 1
If Domestic Deadline is after May 1
October 1
If Domestic Deadline is after Jun. 1
U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents with foreign credentials
May 15
If Domestic Deadline is after May 15
October 31
If Domestic Deadline is after Oct.31Application Requirements
The Certificate Program is available to students enrolled in a Ph.D. program at the University of Maryland College Park.
Degree Requirements
Certficate in Population Studies ()
The Certificate requires a minimum of four courses (12 credits) including two required core courses (chosen from three) and two electives (selected from a list of possibilities). At least one course taken for the Certificate must be from a department other than the student's home unit. (Follow this link for a complete course listing.)
Students must achieve a GPA of 3.0 or higher in these four courses. Previously earned credits may be retroactively applied toward the Certificate.
Students may apply to participate in the Certificate Program at any time up until the semester before they intend to graduate. Applications may be downloaded by following the link above.
Facilities and Special Resources
The Maryland Population Research Center (MPRC) is a multidisciplinary center dedicated to the support and advancement of population research. We provide a research environment conducive to interdisciplinary collaboration among our diverse Faculty Associates and to the development of young scholars through cross- disciplinary training and mentoring. Our proximity to Washington DC allows us to develop strong relationships with the U.S. federal statistical agencies and with policy communities. These ties provide our researchers access to under-utilized or restricted-use government data, allow them to partner with agencies on research and data improvement projects, and allow them to provide policy makers with non-partisan, scientific evidence on population-related issues. MPRC provides workspace, a fully-equipped computer lab, a laptop loaner program, SAS and Stata training courses, and administrative and financial support to associated graduate students.
Financial Assistance
Each year, MPRC's Certificate Program in Population Studies offers a small number of traineeships (i.e., fellowships) to highly-qualified graduate students from participating departments. Trainees are selected by the MPRC Executive Committee from among current and incoming Ph.D. students who have expressed an interest in population studies. It is expected that all trainees complete the coursework necessary to receive the Certificate in Population Studies; however, graduate students are not required to be trainees in order to earn the certificate. In addition to the coursework, trainees are also expected to complete a research apprenticeship with an MPRC faculty member or an internship at a federal statistical agency as well as to participate in the MPRC seminar series and at professional meetings. The Traineeship is an academic-year (9.5 months) appointment which includes full tuition remission, benefits and a stipend.
Contact Information
For more detailed information about the Graduate Certificate in Population Studies, please refer to the MPRC web site Certificate pages.
Dr. Joan Kahn
Associate Professor of Sociology
College Park
MD
20740
Telephone: 301-405-6390
jkahn@socy.umd.edu
www.popcenter.umd.edu/people/kahn_joan/
Dr. Judith Hellerstein
Associate Professor of Economics
College Park
MD
20740
Telephone: 301-405-3545
hellerst@econ.umd.edu
www.popcenter.umd.edu/people/hellerstein_judith/
current URL: http://www.gradschool.umd.edu/catalog/programs/printable.cfm?CODE=790
Copyright
2001 University of Maryland