Te Ngira: Institute for Population research is based in the University Waikato's Division of Arts, Law, Psychology and Social Sciences. It is Aotearoa's sole national institute of demographic and population-focused research, and the only such unit to generate and coordinate New Zealand research in population studies.
Te Ngira also convenes a Population Studies major within the Bachelor of Social Sciences, as well as several postgraduate programmes in Population Studies and Demography. Te Ngira hosts a significant number of PhD students in Population Studies and related social science disciplines.
Contact our advisors
- Te Ngira Undergraduate Advisor: Dr. Yara Jarallah (yara.jarallah@waikato.ac.nz)
- Te Ngira Postgraduate Advisor: Professor Tahu Kukutai (tahu.kukutai@waikato.ac.nz)
Undergraduate options
Learn about Population Studies through Te Ngira, National Institute for Population Research at Waikato and gain a solid, research-led understanding of the population issues facing developed and developing countries, with a particular emphasis on the South Pacific.
Population problems are among the most serious challenges we face for the 21st century. Population issues have implications for the environment, employment, families, health, urbanisation, migration, security in old age and refugee movements. It is vital that research develops integrated approaches to these issues, and policy makers and planners pay serious attention to population trends, their causes and effects.
At Waikato, our Population Studies programme takes a particular look at trends in New Zealand and the broader South Pacific region. You will learn about, and be involved in, research into Māori demography, population health, family structures and formation, fertility, the labour force and employment relating to New Zealand, as well as work in India, Africa, Europe, the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific. You will become familiar with themes such as mortality, social policy, fertility, migration, families and households, labour force and income, and will understand the contrasting population problems faced by developing and developed countries.
The institute's researchers internationally and locally recognised. Your study will provide unique insights into how population studies research is being used to shape New Zealand's future, an understanding you can carry with you into careers in the health, finance, environmental and social science sectors.
Queries regarding undergraduate study in Population Studies can be addressed to the Te Ngira Undergraduate Advisor, Dr. Yara Jarallah (yara.jarallah@waikato.ac.nz)
Population Studies is available in the following qualifications:
Postgraduate options
Population issues are among the most serious challenges that humanity faces in the 21st century. Population Studies and Demography at Waikato addresses contrasting issues among developed and developing countries, how governments are handling slowing population growth, and how others are dealing with legal and illegal migration and skill shortages. You'll explore how such issues impact on a country's environmental, economic and social patterns.
At Waikato we provide an integrated and interdisciplinary approach to population studies with our graduate programme in Population Studies and Demography. You'll learn about advanced, empirical analysis of population structure and trends.
You'll explore the importance of population research and the need for attention to population trends, their causes and their implications on the environment, employment, work and family, health, population distribution, urbanisation, migration patterns, old age security and refugee movements.
This subject is of relevance to students from a wide range of backgrounds, such as sociology, economics, geography, political science and public policy, and provides opportunities to engage in individual directed studies and research for a masters or higher degree on a population-related subject.
Population Studies and Demography is offered by Te Ngira the National Institute for Population Studies, a research institute based in the School of Social Sciences. Te Ngira is the only national unit in New Zealand that generates and coordinates research in population studies.
Queries regarding postgraduate study in Population Studies and Demography can be addressed to the Te Ngira Postgraduate Advisor, Tahu Kukutai (tahu.kukutai@waikato.ac.nz).