The Center for Demography and Population Health at Florida State University offers a program leading to the degree of
Master of Science in Demography. The program has been designed for students who wish to
specialize in population studies and develop proficiency in the use of demographic concepts, data, and techniques. Emphasis is placed on the development of intellectual and analytical skills useful in a research setting. Students entering the program should have career objectives which will place them in either the private or public sector in mid-level research oriented positions. Examples of employers who have hired graduates of the program are federal, state, and local governmental agencies, marketing research firms, other businesses and independent research institutes.
DEGREE REQUIREMENTS (updated July 2008)
Candidates for the degree will be required to complete a minimum of 33 semester hours, including a 24 hour demographic core (shown below), 3 hours of graduate-level elective courses approved by the Director and normally selected from the list below, and 6 hours for preparation of the Masters Research Paper (DEM 5972). The Masters Research Paper is often completed in combination with a summer internship.
ADMISSION TO THE PROGRAM
Application must be made online through the Office of Admissions . When applying, you do not need to indicate a specialization or list faculty members to work with, but this information would be helpful if known. All applicants from Florida or from eligible states in the Academic Common Market may check the option to be considered for assistantship/fellowship support. International applicants may be eligible for Florida Linkage Institute Out-of-State Tuition Exemption. In order to qualify, the applicants must be from one of the countries where a Florida Linkage Institute has been established.
Admission requirements:
- A completed undergraduate degree.
- B average (3.0 on a 4.0 scale) for upper division undergraduate course work OR a GRE score of at least 1000 (combined verbal and quantitative).
- A writing sample (a term paper or equivalent).
- A short personal statement that describes your career aspirations and why you are interested in Demography.
- Two reference letters attesting to your potential to succeed in graduate school.
All applicants MUST take the GRE and have scores sent directly to the Florida State University prior to any final admission decision.
Applicants who have not earned at least one degree from an English speaking University must also take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and provide an official test score of at least 550.
DEMOGRAPHIC CORE COURSES
Six Hours-:
ECO 5936 Population Data
SYD 5135 Demographic Analysis OR
ECP 5117 Mathematical Demography
Three Hours- Choose one of:
GIS 5101 Geographic Information Systems
URP 5272 Urban & Regional Information Systems
Three Hours:
URP 5261 Forecasting
Nine Hours- Choose three of:
SYD 5215 Mortality
SYD 5225 Fertility; OR
ECP 5936 Economics of Fertility
SYD 5235 Mobility
ECP 5115 Economics of Population
GEO 5934 Population Geography
SYD 5045 Introduction to Demography
SYD 5177 Changing Families
SYA 6933 International Population Dynamics
SYD 5105 Population Theory
Three Hours- Choose one of:
SYA 5305 Introduction to Research Methods
SYA 5455 Social Statistics and Data Analysis
URP 5201 Methods of Planning Analysis I - Research and Evaluation
URP 5211 Methods of Planning Analysis II - Statistics
ECO 5420 Basic Econometrics
GRADUATE-LEVEL COURSES FOR DEMOGRAPHERS
ECO 5425 Time Series Analysis
ECO 5936 Population Data
ECO 5936 SAS
ECP 5115 Economics of Population
ECP 5116 Applied Economic Demography
ECP 5117 Mathematical Demography
ECP 5205 Labor Markets
ECP 5536 Health Economics
ECS 5015 Economic Development
ECS 5028 Economies in Transition
GIS 5101 Geographic Information Systems
GIS 5158 Advanced Geographic Information Systems
GIS 5400 GIS Social Sciences
GEO 5472 Political Geography
GEO 5545 Economic Geography
GEO 5605 Urban Geography
GEO 5934 Medical Geography
SYA 5305 Introduction to Research Methods
SYA 5406 Multivariate Analysis
SYA 5407 Advanced Quantitative Methods
SYA 5455 Social Statistics & Data Analysis
SYA 6933 Advanced STATA
SYA 6933 International Population Dynamics
SYA 6933 STATA
SYD 5045 Introduction to Demography
SYD 5105 Population Theory
SYD 5135 Demographic Analysis
SYD 5136 Life Course Epidemiology
SYD 5137 Fundamentals of Epidemiology
SYD 5215 Mortality
SYD 5225 Fertility
SYD 5235 Mobility
SYO 5177 Changing Families
SYO 6407 Race, Ethnicity & Health
URP 5261 Forecasting
URP 5272 Urban & Regional Information Systems
URP 5530 Planning for the Aging
URP 5614 Population & Development Planning
