Why Pursue a PhD in Applied Demography
Doctoral students have the opportunity to engage in advanced study and research in the field of Applied Demography as it applies to questions in such areas as public policy and administration, urban and regional planning, life sciences, medicine, business, and the social sciences. Students may also choose to take related courses at, or work with, contributing faculty members from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and the San Antonio regional campus of The University of Texas School of Public Health.
See What Our Students Say
When you choose UTSA, you join a community of talented scholars being taught by award-winning faculty. Alumna Mary Bollinger discusses some of the benefits she gained from pursuing a doctorate in applied demography.
Admission & Application Requirements
Applications are submitted through the UTSA Graduate Application. Please upload all required documents (listed below) on your UTSA Graduate Application. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure completion and submission of the application, a nonrefundable application fee, and all required supporting documents are on file with UTSA by the appropriate application deadline.
| Applied Demography (PhD) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Admission is only available for the Fall semester | ||
| Required Degree | Bachelor's Degree from an accredited college or university in the United States or have proof of equivalent training at a foreign institution. | |
| Minimum GPA | 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) Departments may consider GPA of last 60 semester credit hours | |
| Coursework | 18 credit hours in an area related to this graduate degree and at least 12 hours must be at the upper-division level. | |
| Transcripts* | Required from all institutions attended; international transcripts must be recorded/translated to English | |
| Credential Evaluation | Required if you have earned university-level credit from foreign institutions. Submit an evaluation of your transcripts from Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE) directly from the graduate admission application platform | |
| English Language Proficiency | 550 TOEFL Paper / 79 TOEFL Internet / 6.5 IELTS / Duolingo 100 | |
| Purpose Statement | Required | |
| Letters of Recommendation | 3 academic or professional reference(s) demonstrating your attributes for successful completion of this program (you will request these through the Graduate Admissions Application; let your recommenders know of your deadline to ensure submissions are on time). Professional references for this program are preferred. | |
| Writing Sample | Required | |
| *Unofficial transcripts will be taken into consideration for admissions; however, if admitted into the program, you must submit official transcripts to the University. | ||
Application Deadlines
Applicants are encouraged to have their admission file completed as early as possible. All applications, required documents and letters of recommendation, if applicable, must be submitted by 5:00 PM U.S. Central Time on the day of the deadline. Deadlines are subject to change.
| Applied Demography (PhD) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Timing on Admission Decision: Completed applications will be reviewed for admission on February 20 (first review) and May 15 (second review). Decisions will be made and sent to applicants within a few weeks after the review date. | |||
| Application Deadlines for: | Priority | International | Domestic |
| Fall 2025 | February 1 | April 1 | April 1 |
| Spring | Not Available | Not Available | Not Available |
| Summer | Not Available | Not Available | Not Available |
Career Options
Applied Demography students are trained to examine the effects of demographic factors on policy – both private and public. Graduates may pursue careers in:
- Higher education
- University-based medical centers
- Public-health related organizations and agencies
- Health science centers
- National and corporate settings
- Local, state and federal government
UTSA prepares you for future careers that are in demand. The possible careers below is data pulled by a third-party tool called Emsi, which pulls information from sources like the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau, online job postings, other government databases and more to give you regional and national career outlook related to this academic program.
While in a doctoral program, a student may earn a master’s degree provided the following conditions are satisfied:
- A student must be admitted to candidacy.
- A student is eligible to receive a master’s degree upon completion of University-wide requirements and any additional degree requirements specific to the program.
- The Doctoral Studies Committee, Department Chair, and the Graduate Associate Dean of the College must recommend students for the degree.
- The student must apply for graduation by the published deadline the semester prior to awarding the doctoral degree.
- All required coursework in the doctoral program at the time of admission to candidacy must have been taken within the previous six years.
- If the master’s degree requires a thesis, the degree cannot be awarded on the basis of the doctoral qualifying examination.
- Students will not be approved for an additional master’s degree in the same field in which an individual has previously received a master’s degree.
The Applied Demography PhD requires students to complete a minimum of 42 hours of organized coursework and a minimum of 12 hours of dissertation credits for a total of at least 54 hours beyond the master’s degree. The doctoral program has a base of core courses that will result in all students having a firm grounding in demography and related areas of statistics with students then choosing their area of specialization.
