Population Studies is a highly applied discipline, in demand with employers and also well suited to postgraduate study or research. Population Studies equips students for job opportunities in a broad range of fields, such as policy analysis/advice in central or local government, marketing research, banking and commerce, health, education and general research/advisory/analyst positions. Its multidisciplinary nature makes it an ideal major to combine with other majors.

Successful completion of the course will equip students with a sound knowledge of Population Studies as a discipline. This will include basic demographic concepts and methods, as well as those drawn from Sociology, Geography and Economics which are central to Population Studies. Students should be able to apply these concepts and methods to real world scenarios and questions, demonstrating skills which are relevant in the job market. The course provides an essential foundation for students wishing to take further study or complete a major in Population Studies.

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the exciting multidisciplinary field of Population Studies. Students will gain a sound understanding of the demographic foundations of Population Studies, and explore some of the rich theories and methods drawn from related fields such as economics, geography, sociology and anthropology. This course includes local, national and global content to ensure that students understand both the population dynamics of Aotearoa New Zealand – including the distinctive nature of indigenous Māori demography and the broader international context.

The paper has five modules.

●Module 1 introduces students to Population Studies as a discipline, as well as a central concept, The Demographic
Transition.
●Module 2 explores the underlying building blocks of population change: fertility, family formation, mortality and migration.
●Module 3 explores different forms of migration and the impacts that immigration has had on New Zealand’s population growth
and composition.
●Module 4 covers the applications and implications of population research with a particular focus on the policy implications of
population composition. We also examine why and how populations are projected into the future.
●Module 5 introduces students to the relationship between Population Studies and other core contributing disciplines, and are
encouraged to develop a critical lens about how populations are studied and represented.

A new module will be made available in Moodle fortnightly and includes self-paced lectures (uploaded weekly) and course readings.
Each module is accompanied by a quiz devoted to related concepts, indices, theories, and analytical techniques.

Optional textbook:

Weeks JR. 2015. Population. An Introduction to Concepts and Issues, Twelfth Edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.

(10th and 11th Editions are suitable).

There are copies of the 2015 edition as well as earlier editions in the University of Waikato library. The e-book can be purchased from Cengage online for $74.95 - https://cengage.co.nz/product/title/population-an-introduction-to-concepts-and-is/isbn/9781305094505

Additional Resources: available on Moodle

There will be assigned readings for each lecture available on Moodle – ensure that you do the readings before the lecture. Throughout the course, supplementary items (e.g. related to emerging issues) will be provided as issues arise. Students are encouraged to keep an eye on the mass media generally for relevant, topical material. Use should also be made of the internet to keep abreast of major debates in the area of population and development: websites for the United Nations, the International Labour Organisation, and the World Bank are particularly useful. Statistics New Zealand and the Australian Bureau of Statistics websites are also valuable sources of freely available demographic data.