ISSUES IN THE TRAINING AND RECRUITMENT OF DEMOGRAPHERS.

The article focuses on the issues relating to the training and recruitment of demographers. Demographic training continues to be conducted principally in departments of sociology. Moreover, the lack of academic spotlighting for population still implies correlative academic limitations of an important nature. Undergraduate instruction in demography, if offered at all, typically remains confined to a general, non-technical course on population problems or simply population. The present limited position of demography in American universities seems to rest ideologically on the belief that the study of population is a narrow, empirical field-almost vocational in nature. Implicit in the suggested administrative expansion of demography is the rationale for more youthful training in the field. An undergraduate major in population seems to promise advantages that are worth attention especially on the part of rapidly expanding state universities. Finally, an expanded undergraduate program would be advantageous for the quality, breadth and execution of graduate work.