In order to achieve Ph.D. candidacy in Demography, students must satisfy the following requirements and maintain the judgment of the faculty that their progress is sufficient and predictive of eventual completion of the Ph.D.:

  • - Satisfactory completion of 20 course units, which can include those required for the A.M. degree.
    • Eight (8) required courses: DEMG 535, 536, 607, 609, 604, 707, 708 and 796
    • Four (4) demography elective courses
    • Eight (8) elective courses

  • - Satisfactory completion of a second-year research paper (written in conjunction with the two-semester Second-Year Research Seminar in Demographic Research [DEMG 707/708]) taken in the student's second year in the program, in addition to (or in distinction from) that required for the A.M. degree. Students are encouraged to identify a faculty advisor for this paper by the beginning of their second year in the program and to inform the Chair of the Graduate Group in Demography of their advisor.
  • Second-Year Research Paper Form

  • - Satisfactory completion of the PhD Examination administered in May in the end of the student's second year in the program.

Most students in Demography satisfy these requirements by the end of their second year.

Candidates for the Ph.D. in Demography must meet the following requirements to obtain the Ph.D. degree:

  • Demonstrate knowledge of the principle substantive topics of Demography and of the relation of these issues to their social and economic setting.
  • Indicate a firm grasp of both the substance and methods of studies in the core fields of Demography (mortality, fertility, migration, population aging, and demographic-economic interrelations).
  • Acquire specialized knowledge in the student's principal area of research within Demography such as mortality, fertility, migration, labor force, mathematical demography, urbanization, demographic history, population policies, or interrelations of population and development.
  • Successfully complete a dissertation on an approved topic. To remain in good standing students should establish a dissertation committee and defend their dissertation proposal before the beginning of their fourth year in the program.