SOC 707 - Population Techniques

This course is one of two core courses in the Population & Health concentration of Sociology PhD program. The primary objective of the course is to introduce students to the ways in which social scientists measure, investigate, and interpret demographic change, composition, and processes such as fertility, mortality and migration. It will also focus on finding and applying demographic data and methods related to topics that lie at the intersection of demography and sociology such as marriage and morbidity. The course involves calculation, interpretation, and application of statistics and models frequently used in population studies and therefore requires a basic understanding of math and algebra. By the end of the course, students will be able to calculate and interpret standard demographic indices such as life expectancy and total fertility rates.