September 01, 2025 | News | Anniversary

20th Anniversary of the European Doctoral School of Demography

MPIDR welcomes its 21st cohort of students

The European Doctoral School of Demography (EDSD) opened its doors on September 1, 2005, with Vladimir Canudas-Romo delivering the first lecture of the Basic Mathematics course. This week, a new group of 18 EDSD students and one guest will begin their classes at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR).

The first group picture of the first EDSD cohort was taken at this exact spot in 2005. The 21st EDSD cohort starts classes on September 1, 2025, at the MPIDR. © MPIDR/Schulz

The European Doctoral School of Demography (EDSD) is an eleven-month program co-sponsored by the MPIDR. It is offered every year and aims to provide students with a high-level education in demography to prepare them for doctoral studies. This year, the program is turning 20!

Students have diverse academic backgrounds, including in demography, mathematics, statistics, public health, economics, sociology, geography, biology, data science, computer science, and history. During the preparatory courses at MPIDR, which last eight weeks, students will acquire the basic skills needed for demographic research. Then, they will move to the French National Institute for Demographic Studies (INED) at Campus Condorcet in Aubervilliers, Paris, France, where the EDSD core courses will be held until summer 2026.

There, students will develop a strong foundation in the causes and consequences of demographic change, population data, statistical and mathematical demography, modeling, simulation, and forecasting. Instruction is provided by leading international experts in the fields of study covered. Since the school emphasizes teaching demographic methods and preparing students for careers in demography, each course exposes students to visiting lecturers who discuss their areas of expertise. By the end of the program, EDSD participants will have developed an extensive network of contacts with established researchers throughout Europe.

Twenty years of providing high-level education in demography

"The European Doctoral School of Demography is an original and fantastic creation—an altruistic collaboration between leading research centers and academic units in demography to train students, bring demographers together, and strengthen demography as a discipline in Europe. All of this has been carried out with a strong commitment to excellence and solidarity. Long live the EDSD!”, said Prof. Albert Esteve, Director of the Centre d'Estudis Demogràfics – CED and Rector of the EDSD.

The EDSD operates under the auspices of the European Association for Population Studies (EAPS). In 2003, the EAPS established a Committee on Education, consisting of Frans Willekens, Graziella Caselli, Janina Jozwiak, Laurent Toulemon, and James Vaupel. This committee organized a new program at the European level in 2005 – the EDSD.

The program currently receives support from 17 leading European institutions in the field of demography, including universities and research institutes. These institutions collaborate to provide lecturers and administrative staff, host the school, cover related costs, and offer fellowships and mentors to advise students on their doctoral research and plans.

"For me, the EDSD was more than just an academic program. It connected me to the European job market. Over the course of eleven months, I had the opportunity to meet the best demographers in Europe and strengthen my skills. Young scientists should apply to the EDSD because it provides not only high-quality training but also a strong professional network that supports long-term career growth," said Marília Nepomuceno (EDSD cohort 2014-2015), research scientist and training chair at MPIDR.

"EDSD equipped me with essential demographic tools and concepts that I’ve pursued throughout my career since finishing the program. Similarly, the network of friends and researchers that I was able to build through EDSD has been very rewarding. Young scientists interested in demography and population studies should consider EDSD as a program that will strengthen their technical skills and analysis to study important social demographic issues," explained José Manuel Aburto (EDSD cohort 2015-16), Associate Professor in Demography at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).

"On September 1st MPIDR opens its doors for the 21st time for the preparatory courses of the new cohort of students of the European Doctoral School for Demography EDSD. The founding fathers of the School, among which the MPIDR was one of the key members, could only have hoped for the success that it has had in the past 20 years. It was, and still is, a voluntary agreement between the major European Demographic Institutes to have this one-year demographic PhD training program. Its effect on European academic demography has been immense. Every year the School produces 15 to 20 PhD-candidates with a solid background in mathematical demography, theory, policies. By now, more than 300 EDSD alumni fill the ranks of PhD students, postdocs, assistant- associate and even full professors of our institutes. They form a close network across national boundaries, doing excellent research, inspired by the training background of the EDSD. "I sincerely thank the MPIDR for their continuing support of the School throughout the years, and wish they will continue to benefit from it by absorbing new cohorts of talented staff with an EDSD background. In the upcoming conference of the EAPS in Bologna 2026 we will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the School. I hope many will join us in the event", said Prof. Leo van Wissen, Chair, Scientific Advisory Board EDSD.

Applications for the 2026 cohort will open in February 2026.

Further information on the EDSD program can be found here