Demographic and Social Analysis

The DASA program is organized around the interdisciplinary field of demography and draws faculty and courses mainly from the Schools of Social Sciences and Social Ecology. Depending on the path of admission, a student who completes the program will earn one of the following degrees:

- M. A. in Social Sciences (Concentration in Demographic and Social Analysis)
- M. A. in Social Ecology (Concentration in Demographic and Social Analysis)

The nine-month Master of Arts curriculum is integrated with the introductory graduate courses in each of the two schools, and includes population theory, research design, descriptive and inferential statistics, and demographic methods. These core courses are complemented by a varying menu of population-relevant electives. The academic year culminates in either an oral exam (Social Sciences) or a thesis (Social Ecology).

At present, students may apply for direct admission into DASA only through Social Sciences. (The DASA degree in Social Ecology is presently an option only for students who have already been admitted to doctoral study. 

Whereas core courses remain the same year-in and year-out, elective offerings vary. The sample electives are compiled from past offerings by DASA faculty. Actual choices extend beyond this sample list. Also, students who have not completed an undergraduate statistics class with a grade of B or better have several ways to demonstrate required competence before enrolling in Grad Statistics II.

I. Sample Electives (Partial list from 12 departments)
Housing, Immigration Dynamics, Transportation planning, Epidemiology, Sampling Techniques, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Environmental Epidemiology, Demographics for Planning & Policy, Health Policy & Promotion, Survey Research Design, Global Urbanization, Educational Inequality, Demography of the Suburban Experience, Gender Inequality, California’s Population, Analysis of Social Network Data, Families & Households, Multivariate Analysis, Political Redistricting, Marketing.

Students may choose DASA-related electives (i.e., population issues or research methods, such as quantitative, survey, or other approved research methods courses) from the School of Social Ecology, School of Social Sciences, or the Paul Merage School of Business.

REQUIREMENTS
The M.A. requires 36 units of study and an oral exit examination. All students must complete 20 units of required courses which include one course in research design, one in demographic methods, one in populations, and two in statistics. In addition, students must complete 16 units of elective courses in population issues or research methods. No more than four units may be internship, independent study, directed readings, or thesis courses (to prepare for the oral examination). One or two electives may be upper-division undergraduate courses, with the remainder being graduate courses. All courses must be completed with a grade of B or better.

The M.A. in Social Sciences with a concentration in Demographic and Social Analysis may also be awarded to Ph.D. students who complete the necessary requirements.

M.A. IN SOCIAL ECOLOGY

At the graduate level, the emphasis in the School of Social Ecology is on the Ph.D. program, with the exception of the M.A. in Social Ecology with a concentration in Demographic and Social Analysis, the M.S. in Environmental Health Science and Policy, and the Master of Urban and Regional Planning. In very rare circumstances a student may be admitted directly to the M.A. degree program in Social Ecology. Students interested in this option only must call the Social Ecology Graduate Office at (949) 824-5917 before submitting their applications.

Master's degree students are assigned a faculty advisor with whom the student discusses an individual program of education. The program leading to the M.A. degree in Social Ecology requires a thesis and satisfactory completion of seven approved courses (28 units), including the Seminar in Social Ecology (Social Ecology 200), Research Methods (Social Ecology 201), and at least one additional approved course in statistics or methodology. Other courses should be selected with regard to the student's academic and career objectives, and must be approved by the faculty advisor. The seven required courses must include at least five graduate courses and must be exclusive of any directed study, independent study, or thesis courses (Social Ecology 298, 299, or 295). A grade of B or better must be achieved in all courses. Students are advanced to candidacy for the M.A. degree, and a thesis committee is appointed, after a review of their graduate work and thesis plans by a faculty committee.

M.A. IN SOCIAL ECOLOGY WITH A CONCENTRATION IN DEMOGRAPHIC AND SOCIAL ANALYSIS

The concentration in Demographic and Social Analysis offers the option of additional professional certification for doctoral students already admitted to the School of Social Ecology. Admission, core course, and thesis requirements are identical to those for the general M.A. in Social Ecology. In addition, students must complete 12 units of designated electives in population issues or research methods. Up to two upper-division undergraduate courses may be approved to fulfill the elective requirement.

Requirements

1. The UCI Graduate Studies application form including a 'Why DASA?' personal statement;
2. Transcripts for all college-level course work;
3. Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores earned within the last five years; 
4. Three letters of recommendation.
5. Applicants originating in countries where English is not the primary spoken language must, in addition, submit scores for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Finally, applicants may optionally submit a writing sample or other comparable evidence that demonstrates their potential for successful completion of the DASA program.

Scholarships

DASA awards a few very modest grants to recognize extraordinary qualifications on admission or exceptional achievement after enrollment. Subject to limited availability, DASA students may also apply for part-time Teaching Assistant positions.

Financial support for all master-level programs is generally limited, but this serves to underscore one real advantage of DASA's single-year program of intensive study -- an abbreviated period of investment.