Princeton University - The Graduate School

Program in Population Studies
Demography has been a topic for graduate study at Princeton since the founding of the Office of Population Research (OPR) in 1936. There is a wide range of specializations encompassed by the field, including substantive and methodological subjects in the social, mathematical, and biological sciences. Four levels of certification of graduate training in population studies are available. First, the Program in Population Studies (POP) offers a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in demography that is intended for students who wish to specialize in this field and receive additional training in technical and substantive areas. Second, the program offers a general examination in demography that is accepted by the departments of economics, sociology, and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs (and, occasionally, by other departments) as partial fulfillment of their degree requirements. Those students who elect to specialize in population write their dissertation on a demographic subject. Third, by completing additional requirements established by the program, a student may earn a joint degree in demography and one of the affiliated departments listed above. Fourth, the program offers a non-degree certificate in demography upon completion of three graduate courses and a supervised research project. This last level, the certificate in demography, is also available to visiting scholars.

Ph.D. in Demography
A small number of entering graduate students with a strong interest in population and a strong quantitative background, often in statistics, mathematics, or environmental sciences (though not limited to these fields), will be accepted into a course of study leading to a Ph.D. in demography. As part of this program of graduate training, students are required to demonstrate basic competence in mathematics and statistics, as well as mastery of demography and a related discipline (e.g., sociology, economics, or public affairs). Specific requirements include completion of the general examination, a research paper of publishable quality, and the Ph.D. dissertation. The general examination consists of three examinations, usually taken over the course of two years, in which the student must demonstrate proficiency in basic demographic theory and methods as well as proficiency in two of the following fields of concentration: economic demography, family demography, fertility/fecundity, health, historical demography, mathematical/statistical demography, migration/immigration, mortality, population and development, population and environment, population policy, poverty/child wellbeing, and urbanization. More detailed information on degree requirements may be obtained from the director of graduate studies or the administrator for the program.

Departmental Degree with Specialization in Population
The majority of students who study at the OPR are doctoral candidates in the departments of economics, sociology, and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs who choose to specialize in population. To do so, they must complete the general examination in demography and write a dissertation on a demographic subject, supervised by program faculty, as part of their departmental requirements. In some additional departments, such as biology, history, or politics, the general examination in demography also may be accepted as partial fulfillment of degree requirements, and students in these departments may also elect to write their doctoral dissertations on a topic related to demography. The degree earned would be a Ph.D. in the discipline (e.g., economics, sociology, or public affairs). Application should be made to the relevant department, indicating demography as the area of interest.

Joint-Degree Program
Ph.D. candidates in good standing in the departments of economics, sociology, or the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs may wish to do a joint degree. The degree earned would be a Ph.D. in economics and demography, sociology and demography, or public affairs and demography. Application should be made to the relevant department. To qualify for a joint degree, the student must fulfill all home departmental requirements, including passing the general examination in demography and writing a dissertation on a topic related to the study of population. In addition, the candidate for the joint degree must pass a general examination in one additional specialized field of population beyond what is required for the standard departmental degree. Permission to take the joint degree is obtained from the director of graduate studies for POP. It is not necessary to apply for the joint degree as part of the application to Princeton; instead, the decision is usually made by students during their second or third year of study.

Certificate in Demography
OPR, in connection with POP, offers a non-degree certificate in demography to those who successfully complete four graduate courses in population studies (ECO/SOC 571, ECO/SOC 572, WWS 587, and one other approved population-related course). The first two are the basic graduate courses in demography; WWS 587 entails completion of a research project, which involves individual research under faculty supervision. A decision on the fourth course is made together with the director of graduate studies. Applicants are usually enrolled MPA (Master of Public Affairs) students from the Woodrow Wilson School . The certificate program is intended primarily for training scholars from other disciplines and does not lead to an advanced degree at Princeton.

Population Studies

An introduction to statistical methods for the analysis of multilevel data, such as data on children, families, and neighborhoods. Reviews fixed- and random-effects models for clustered and longitudinal data. Presents multilevel random-intercept and random-slopes models, discussing model fitting and interpretation, centering and estimation of cross-level interactions, and extensions to binary and count data using maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods. Course emphasizes practical applications using the multilevel package MLwiN. Half-term course, offered second half of spring term. Prerequisite: WWS509 or equivalent.