On July 13, 2009, the New York State Education Department approved CUNY’s application for an Advanced Certificate Program in Demography, the first of its kind to be offered in New York City. Students enrolled in any CUNY doctoral program will now have the opportunity to expand and incorporate demographic studies into their current discipline.

Says Certificate Program Coordinator and Director of the CUNY Institute for Demographic Research (CIDR) Professor Neil G. Bennett, “The program will provide doctoral students with the tools to understand deeply, and conduct rigorous analyses of, population structure and processes.” Three core courses are required: an introduction to the discipline and its subfields, followed by two courses in the methods of demographic analysis. In addition, certificate candidates must take six credits worth of electives, which will be a combination of three- and one-credit courses.

Upon completion of the program, students will be able to examine the causes and consequences of change in population-related phenomena—including family formation, fertility and reproductive health, disease, aging and mortality, urbanization, immigration, and racial and ethnic composition—and determine how such changes shape social, economic, and political processes. The Certificate Program will offer fellowships in demography and, along with CIDR, which was established in 2007, connections with CIDR affiliates. For further information on the Certificate, please contact Professor Neil G. Bennett at neil.bennett@baruch.cuny.edu.

Three New Master’s Degrees
The New York State Education Department has approved the registration for M.A. degrees in three subprograms in psychology: developmental, environmental, and social-personality. These degrees are available only to students pursuing the doctoral degree in those subprograms.