The Master in Population Sciences and Development is an interdisciplinary program which studies the relationship between population and development. It includes related disciplines such as anthropology, demography, economics, political science, sociology and history. It prepares students for a professional career in the fields of demography and development and for research on both developped and developing countries.  

Thanks to the wide range of focuses (two professional and one research) and options (seven in all), students can choose between different fields and gain specialization both in the subject (demography or development) or the geographical area (the main regions of the world) as well as in the methods (qualitative or quantitative) and professional objectives (action or research). Students will acquire strongly valued skills (for further details, please visit the Department website at http://www.sped.ucl.ac.be).

The Master in Population Sciences and Development comprises :
- core subjects (60 credits)
- three focuses (30 credits each)
- a research focus
- a professional focus in demography
- a professional focus in development
- seven options (30 credits each), five of which are related to professional focuses and two to research focuses.

In addition to the core subjects (60 credits), students must choose one of three focuses (30 credits) and one of the options relevant to their chosen focus (30 credits) to make up a course of 120 credits.

Regardless of the focuses and options that are chosen, the programme for this Master must total a minimum of 120 credits, spread over two years of study. This corresponds to 60 credits per year.

Doctoral programmes:

With this Master, students can apply for a doctorate in Social Science (Demography or Development, Population, Environment). PhD students register in the Doctoral School in Development Studies (comprising 7 Francophone Belgian universities) and in the Doctoral School in Social Science (which includes demography among other subjects)

It is possible to participate in an internship programm abroad or to take a selection of subjects or a complete optional subject (maximum of 30 credits) in a foreign university which offers an equivalent Master, conditional on the agreement of the  academic coordinator and a formal agreement with the relevant university. similarly, foreign students may join the Master’s programme, particularly for the options. Exchange programmes such as Erasmus and Erasmus Mundi are available with other European universities such as the Universities of Paris 1 and Paris 10, the University of Geneva, the Graduate Institute of International and Development studies (IUED) in Geneva or the Institute of Socio-Economic Development Studies (IEDES -Paris 1). They also involve Latin American universities (such as the Catholic University of Peru or University of Paraïba in Brazil), the University of Montreal and universities from the Arab world (such as Cairo University or Saint Joseph University in Beirut). Exchange programs overseas normally take place in the first or second semester of the second year.

Finally, the optional subject Gender is an part of the European Master in Gender and Development organized in partnership with the University of Geneva, the University of Paris 7, the Institute of Social Studies (ISS) at the Hague and the  Royal Tropical Institute in Amsterdam.

Some courses may be given in English or in Spanish.