MSc in Population Studies

Are you interested in studying contemporary population issues like aging, migration, and global population growth? In the master program, Population Studies students learn the theories, methods, and skills required to become a versatile demographer.

Essential to understanding population dynamics is the study of people’s demographic behavior, such as birth, health, migration, and death. The master program focuses on these demographic events, on how decision-making regarding these life events is influenced by the economic, societal, cultural, and geographical context, and on how these demographic events have an impact on population-level trends.

You will learn about:

• Contemporary population issues as population aging, integration of migrants, health inequalities, and global population growth
• Individual decision-making processes behind demographic events, such as family formation, residential choices, and health care use
• Collecting and interpreting demographic data
• Methods and techniques to analyze demographic data: life tables, population projections, advanced statistical analysis, and qualitative research methods
• Population policies and intervention programs

The field of Population Studies reflects on and deals with contemporary demographic topics and related societal issues. The study is simultaneously concrete and broad.

The Master in Population Studies is also interesting for mid-career professionals working at, for example, statistical offices or demographic departments of government agencies.

We also offer two double degree programs: with the University of Cologne in Germany (Demography and Social Inequality) and with the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain (Social Demography). You can also combine the Master in Population Studies with our top-rated Research Master in Spatial Sciences.

Why study this program in Groningen?

Our program is unique in its combination of analytical and social demography, its combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods, and its international, multidisciplinary and strong scientific orientation. Interactive ways of teaching are being employed by very enthusiastic and dedicated teachers. Within the Netherlands, Groningen is the only university offering an MSC in Population Studies.