Areas of Emphasis
Students are required to complete an "area of emphasis" taking a minimum of five courses or 15 credits in specialized theory or methods courses.
Students may choose one of the defined areas, or they may design an area of emphasis of their own with courses selected in conjunction with his/her mentor, based on past course work, experience, proposed dissertation topic, and career goals.
Sociology and Demography
This area of emphasis is for PhD students in the Department of Health Services who want to combine doctoral-level training in health services with discipline-based and graduate-level courses in sociology/demography. Students who complete the population-based sociology/demography area of emphasis will be able to apply demography and urban ecology theory and methods to research questions in health services research and population health. Although there are no prerequisites for the area of emphasis, students with a bachelor and/or masters degree in sociology or prior coursework in the social sciences have good preparation for completing this area of emphasis.
The traditional focus of demography is the growth and distribution of human populations through the central demographic processes of fertility, mortality, and migration. In recent years, demographic science has grown increasingly diverse. While maintaining its traditional focus, demography has strengthened its connections to other social science fields and specialties, including public health. As a result, it is increasingly common for demographic research to incorporate the theories, concepts, and methods from family sociology, urban sociology, social stratification, aging, and economic/political sociology.
Closely linked to demography is human ecology, the study of the organizational features of human populations in response to changes in demographic, technological, and environmental factors. Within sociology, human ecology has been closely tied to the study of urbanization and social structure of urban populations. The impact of immigration and internal migration on urban communities has grown to be an important focus of research in human ecology.
The Center for Statistics and the Social Sciences also offers course tracks designed for PhD programs on campus. Students choosing the Health Services PhD program Sociology and Demography area of emphasis may also be interested in fulfilling the additional requirements of the PhD track for Statistics in the Social Sciences. CS&SS also offers a minor in social statistics by completing a coherent set of four, pre-approved CS&SS courses and achieving a 3.3 grade point average. Students who wish to pursue these options should have in-depth discussions with the PhD Program Director, their faculty mentors and, in particular, the CS&SS faculty.
Required Courses:
Required courses are based on courses offered through the Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology. For sociology PhD students taking the sociology certification examination in demography and ecology, four courses are recommended strongly: SOC 513, SOC 430, SOC 431 and SOC 433. Students in other departments who want a concentration in demography typically take SOC 513 and SOC 433. Note that SOC 513 is a prerequisite for the 400-level demography courses. Ideally, SOC 513 and 433 should be taken before SOC 431.
Recommended Optional Courses:
Social Science Methods/Statistics Courses (at least 1 recommended):
