The Minor in Population Studies aims to provide students with academic insight into this wide spectrum of population issues. The focus of the Minor is on recent demographic trends, the causes and consequences of these trends, and the context in which they take place. The main disciplinary background of the Minor is social demography, but insights are also obtained from human geography & planning, sociology, economics, anthropology, public health, gerontology and epidemiology.
Upon completion, students know about recent demographic trends and processes (fertility, mortality/health, migration, ageing), their socio-cultural background, the role of social and institutional change, and the consequences of the trends for society, in the Netherlands, Europe, and countries in the Global South. They also know about important theoretical underpinnings (e.g. the first and second demographic transition, the epidemiological and nutrition transition, migration & culture, the life course perspective), and methodological issues.
