Central Department of Population Studies

The Master’s Degree in Population Studies (MPS) program follows a credit system and consists of four semesters spread over a period of two years. The program covers 7 major themes (topics) deemed essential for students to be awarded with a Master’s Degree in Population Studies: theories and concepts in demography, demographic techniques, dynamics of population and society, population and development, research in population studies, computer application in population research and thesis.

In total, there are 20 papers (including a thesis) which a student must successfully complete for them to be awarded a MPS degree. All papers are of 3 credit hours (CH) except the thesis which is 6 CH, hence, the total of 63 credit hours. These papers can be broadly categorized as: i) theory papers, ii) semi-practical papers and iii) practical papers. Altogether there are 14 theory papers, 3 semi-practical papers, 2 practical papers and a thesis.

Paper Themes/Title	Semester	Credit Hours
A. Theories and Concepts in Demography
Demographic concepts and theories	I	3.0
Social and development theories for population studies	II	3.0
B. Demographic Techniques
Basic demographic techniques	I	3.0
Advanced demographic techniques	III	3.0
C. Dynamics of population and society
Population dynamics – global and local perspective	I	3.0
D. Population and Development
Migration, urbanization and entrepreneurship	I	3.0
Population health	II	3.0
Population ageing and social welfare	II	3.0
Contemporary population issues Part I: Sexual and reproductive health, rights and justice Part II: Political demography	II	3.0
Poverty, gender and social inclusion	III	3.0
Resources, population diversity and inequality Applied and business demography	III	3.0
E. Research in Population Studies
Research methodology in population studies	I	3.0
Applied statistics for population studies	II	3.0
Survey research design and implementation (practical paper)	III	3.0
Population and development planning Part I: Planning, monitoring and evaluation Part II: Population and climate change	IV	3.0
Survey data analysis, interpretation and dissemination (semi-practical paper)	IV	3.0
Academic writing (practical paper)	IV	3.0
F. Computer application in population research
Computer application for data management and documentation (semi-practical paper)	III	3.0
Computer application for statistical and geospatial analysis (semi-practical paper)	IV	3.0
G. Thesis	IV	6.0
Total		63.0

Note: Students will be trained in the following computer software (or equivalent software)

Documentation, calculation and graphics: MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
Data management: KOBO, Google Form, MS Form and CSPro
Demographic estimation: MORTPAK, DemProj etc.
Statistical package: Stata/SPSS/R/Python (any one on availability)
GIS Mapping and analysis: ArcGIS (or equivalent software on availability.

A detailed allocation of the 20 papers for each semester is provided below:

SEMESTER I: 5 courses x 3 credit hours = 15 CH

Paper	Code	Paper Title	CH
I	Pop 501	Demographic concepts and theories	3.0
II	Pop 502	Basic demographic techniques	3.0
III	Pop 503	Research methodology in population studies	3.0
IV	Pop 504	Population dynamics: global and local perspectives	3.0
V	Pop 505	Migration, urbanization and entrepreneurship	3.0
		Total	15.0

SEMESTER II: 5 courses x 3 credit hours = 15 CH

Paper	Code	Paper Title	CH
VI	Pop 551	Social and development theories for population studies	3.0
VII	Pop 552	Applied statistics for population studies	3.0
VIII	Pop 553	Population health	3.0
IX	Pop 554	Population aging and social welfare	3.0
X	Pop 555	Contemporary population issues Part I: Sexual and reproductive health, rights and justice Part II: Political demography	3.0
		Total	15.0

SEMESTER III: 5 courses x 3 credit hours = 15 CH

Paper	Code	Paper Title	CH
XI	Pop 601	Advanced demographic techniques	3.0
XII	Pop 602	Poverty, gender and social inclusion	3.0
XIII	Pop 603	Computer application for data management and documentation (semi-practical paper)	3.0
XIV	Pop 604	Survey research design and implementation (practical paper)	3.0
XV (Elective)	Pop 605-1 Pop 605-2	Resources, population diversity and inequality Applied business demography	3.0
		Total	15.0

SEMESTER IV: (4 courses x 3 credit hours) + Thesis (6 CH) = 18 CH

Paper	Code	Paper Title	CH
XVI	Pop 651	Population and development planning Part I: Planning, monitoring and evaluation Part II: Population and climate change	3.0
XVII	Pop 652	Computer application for statistical and geospatial analysis (semi-practical paper)	3.0
XVIII	Pop 653	Survey data analysis, interpretation and dissemination (semi-practical paper)	3.0
XIX	Pop 654	Academic writing (practical paper)	3.0
XX	Pop 655	Thesis	6.0
		Total	18.0
Grand Total 63 Credit Hours

Evaluation

The overall evaluation scheme for all the papers constitutes of an internal assessment worth 40 % (evaluated by the respective campus/college offering the MPS program) and an end-of-semester written invigilated exam (evaluated by a faculty appointed by the Head, Population Studies Subject Committee) worth 60 %. This evaluation scheme applies for all the 20 papers. For theory papers, the evaluation is straight forward. A detailed evaluation structure for the 14 theory papers is provided below:

Theory Papers: All papers except those mentioned below as semi-practical and practical papers.

Evaluation Structure	Evaluator	Marks (%)
Participation and interaction – classroom	Campus	5.0
Project work I (1 or 2): essay writing; synopsis of readings; literature review; home assignment; working paper; project paper; report	Campus	7.5
Project work II (1 or 2): practical exercises – workshop/seminar; field study; methodological and data analysis; project paper; field report	Campus	7.5
Internal assessment (2 invigilated class exam/s aimed to familiarize students with the final exam and kept as record in the respective campus)	Campus	20.0
Final exam (invigilated semester-end final written exam)	Subject committee	60.0
Total		100.0

The same 40:60 ratio mentioned above for the theory papers also applies for the three semi-practical papers but with a few revisions. Forty percent constitutes of an internal evaluation (evaluated by the respective campus), 40% constitutes of a practical exam (external examiner[1] appointed by the Head, Population Studies Subject Committee) and 20 % constitutes of an end-of-semester written invigilated exam (evaluated by a faculty appointed by the Head, Population Studies Subject Committee). Details regarding the evaluation structure for the 3 semi-practical papers is provided below:

Semi-Practical Papers:

Pop.603 – Computer application for data management and documentation;

Pop.652 – Computer application for statistical and geospatial analysis; and

Pop.653 – Survey data analysis, interpretation and dissemination

Evaluation Structure	Evaluator	Marks (%)
Participation and interaction – classroom	Campus	5.0
Project work I (1 or 2): essay writing; synopsis of readings; literature review; home assignment; working paper; project paper; report	Campus	7.5
Project work II (1 or 2): practical exercises – workshop/seminar; field study; methodological and data analysis; project paper; field report	Campus	7.5
Internal assessment (2 invigilated class exam/s aimed to familiarize students with the final exam and kept as record in the respective campus)	Campus	20.0
Practical invigilated examination conducted by an external evaluator nominated by Head, Population Studies Subject Committee teaching the respective semi-practical paper at one of the campus/colleges offering MPS program	Subject committee	40.0
Final exam (invigilated semester-end final written exam)	Subject committee	20.0
Total		100.0

[1] In-service TU faculty teaching the respective semi-practical/practical paper at one of the campus/college offering MPS program.

The same 40:60 ratio mentioned above also applies for the 2 practical papers. Students need not sit for an end-of-semester written invigilated exam for the practical papers. However, it is mandatory that students participate in field visits and are actively involved in various stages involved in the practical papers. As in the theory and semi-practical papers, 40% marks is evaluated by the respective campus and the remaining 60% is evaluated by the subject committee. A detailed evaluation structure for the practical papers is provided below:

Practical Papers:

Pop.604 – Survey research design and implementation; and

Pop.654 – Academic writing

Evaluation Structure	Evaluator	Marks (%)
Participation and interaction	Campus	10
Proposal	Campus	10
Field survey	Campus	20
Data management/analysis	Subject committee	20
Documentation	Subject committee	20
Viva-Voce	Subject committee	20
Total		100

A Master’s thesis also follows the same 40/60 modality mentioned above. An overall outline of the evaluation scheme to follow for a thesis is provided below:

Thesis:

Evaluation Structure	Evaluator	Marks (%)
Proposal	Campus	20
Field survey	Campus	20
Data management/analysis	Subject committee	20
Documentation	Subject committee	20
Viva-Voce	Subject committee	20
Total		100