The United Nations, the Government of India and Sir Dorabji Tata Trust jointly established the International Institute of Population Studies (IIPM) in 1956 to serve as a regional centre for teaching, training and research in the area of population studies in the ESCAP region. It was declared a deemed university in August 1985 and is now an autonomous institution under the administrative control of the Union ministry of health and family welfare. It also provides consultancy to the government, non-governmental organisations and academic institutions.

The alumni of IIPS occupy key positions in the field of population and health studies in governments of various countries, universities and research institutes as well as in reputed national and international organisations.

The masters course in population science is designed to make students self- sufficient in the basics of population science, computer applications, data collection and analyses, preparing a report, taking part in group discussions and presenting seminars. Students receive hands-on training in packages such as MORTPACK and SPECTRUM, statistical packages such as SPSS and STATA, and mapping software such as GIS. During the course, they undergo field training in data collection methods and visit government, non-government and research organisations in different parts of India to get acquainted with their work in the field of population and health. The institute also offers a diploma, an MPhil and a PhD in the subject.

The form can either be obtained by post or downloaded from the institute’s website (www.iipsindia.org). Completed forms and copies of transcripts (attested by a gazetted officer) should be submitted along with a demand draft for Rs 200 — favouring The Director, International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai and payable at Mumbai — to IIPS, Govandi Station Road, Deonar, Mumbai-400088.

Eligibility

Applicants should hold a masters degree in economics, sociology, psychology, anthropology, geography, social work, population studies, maths or statistics.

Entrance exam

The institute selects students through a written admission test held in June or July, followed by a personal interview. Final selection is on the basis of marks obtained in the qualifying exam, admission test and personal interview. Shortlisted candidates have to appear for the interview in Mumbai.

Pattern of exam

The objective-type written test has questions on English, general knowledge and a few questions on simple maths.

How to prepare

To prepare for the section on English, you could go through General English by A.N. Kapoor and Objective General English by R.S. Agarwal. Practise comprehension from the passages given in the GMAT guides published by Barron and Princeton.

The book on India issued by the Union ministry of information and broadcasting is a useful reference book for the general knowledge section as it has up-to-date information on various development programmes and data on different sectors of the country. The Manorama or Pearson GK guide is also a must.

To tackle the maths section, learn the fundamentals from Maths by Hall and Knight. Practise objective-type questions from Competition Master or CSR.