Population Studies Minor
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Program description
Population studies encompasses the study of the size, structure, and distribution of populations and spatial or temporal changes in them in response to birth, migration, aging, and death. Changes in the size and composition of populations, as well as in the underlying components of population change (i.e., mortality, fertility, and migration), strongly influence and are influenced by natural and human systems in ways that are increasingly consequential.
Population studies equips students with the ability to connect to demography in ways that promote understanding, preparedness, leadership, and service in a period of rapid social change. This program draws from a rich set of resources at the University of Minnesota with a possible experience with the Minnesota Population Center (MPC) via internships, employment, or course offerings.
Coursework focuses on the intersections of population studies with ecology, economics, education, environmental science, epidemiology, geography, history, political science, public health, public policy, sociology, and statistics. Faculty interests in the comparative study of demography and institutions in various countries add an international emphasis to these areas of study. All population studies courses emphasize the skills of social inquiry necessary for analyzing patterns of social relationships.
For those students who pursue completion of an advanced minor elective, the minor will also equip and credential undergraduates with highly marketable skills for employment in a range of business, government, and non-profit organizations. The population studies minor would help to qualify students and signal qualifications to employers for jobs such as data science and data management; research analysts in government and non-profit organizations focused on social services, urban planning, elder services, environmental stewardship, and resource management, family planning, health, transportation, and education; market analysts and consultants employing market forecasting based on demographic projections; and actuaries.
Population studies equips students with the ability to connect to demography in ways that promote understanding, preparedness, leadership, and service in a period of rapid social change. This program draws from a rich set of resources at the University of Minnesota with a possible experience with the Minnesota Population Center (MPC) via internships, employment, or course offerings.
Coursework focuses on the intersections of population studies with ecology, economics, education, environmental science, epidemiology, geography, history, political science, public health, public policy, sociology, and statistics. Faculty interests in the comparative study of demography and institutions in various countries add an international emphasis to these areas of study. All population studies courses emphasize the skills of social inquiry necessary for analyzing patterns of social relationships.
For those students who pursue completion of an advanced minor elective, the minor will also equip and credential undergraduates with highly marketable skills for employment in a range of business, government, and non-profit organizations. The population studies minor would help to qualify students and signal qualifications to employers for jobs such as data science and data management; research analysts in government and non-profit organizations focused on social services, urban planning, elder services, environmental stewardship, and resource management, family planning, health, transportation, and education; market analysts and consultants employing market forecasting based on demographic projections; and actuaries.
Program last updated
Fall 2024