BACHELOR OF SCIENCE HONOURS IN POPULATION SCIENCE AND APPLIED DEMOGRAPHY (HPSAD)

Module Code	Module Name	Description
HPSAD101	Introduction to Demography	The aim of the module is to produce an elementary policy and programme adviser and designer with an interdisciplinary expertise in population, human and industrial development expertise. The module will thus cover: The broad overview of demography as a discipline juxtaposed upon other scientific disciplines such as sociology, psychology, economics, geography, medicine, epidemiology, public health, history, law, mathematics, statistics, political science, agriculture and gender. The three components of population growth, fertility, mortality and migration, will then be covered to show how they produce populations as they contribute to their changes over time. Selected theories of fertility, mortality and migration. At the end of the module, students will be able to produce policies and programmes that incorporate the population component in the respective social and economic developmental departments both in government, NGOs and the private sector.
HPSAD102	Introduction to Statistics	At the end of this module students will be able to quantify developmental indices needed to inform innovation and industrialisation. Levels of measurement used in data bases for demographic analyses; Measures of central tendency and dispersion; Sample distributions and hypothesis testing, including the estimation of population parameters; Descriptive statistics such as frequency distributions, cross-tabulations and significance tests and the respective graphic and tabular presentations; An introduction to multivariate analysis. Through this module, students will be able to produce policy briefs and papers showing the relative position of Zimbabwean indices to global and regional indices thus guiding in policy and programme formulation and target setting.
HPSAD103	Fundamentals of Demographic Techniques	The overall aim of this module is to produce a graduate with skills for the production, cleaning and analysis of demographic data. The module will thus cover: The importance of quality of data; Possible sources of errors; will be covered, and students will learn to identify such errors; corrective methods of the errors; Ratios and rates; Population age structures; Basic measures of mortality, including their standardisation and decomposition. Utilizing the skills so acquired, the students will be able to produce demographic data sheets with standardized mortality rates thus highlighting the stage at which Zimbabwe is at in the demographic transition needed to spur development. Such sheets will give direction for policy formulation, programme formulation and target setting. Through this module, the graduate will be skilled to clean demographic data, calculate the basic demographic measures, construct population pyramids of different countries.
HPSAD104	Population and Development	The overall aim of this module gives students technical expertise for linking demography and industrial development. The module will thus cover: Contextualisation of demography in the development arena; Population and Development Debates; Fertility and development; Mortality and development; Migration and development; Carrying capacity; population pressure on resources; Population and Urbanisation; Population and labour force; Sustainability of development. This module will produce a graduate who will be able to produce policy briefs for policy makers and chief industrial executives for the mainstreaming of demographic factors in planning and implementation of programmes, and the production of goods and services.
FSBT100	Social & Behavioural Theory (Faulty Wide Module)	This interdisciplinary module introduces students to foundational concepts in the social and behavioural sciences, spanning Sociology, Social Work, Psychology, Demography, Political Science, Public Policy, and Lifelong Learning. It equips students with analytical tools, values, and competencies to study human behaviour and society through the lens of social and behavioural theory. Emphasis is placed on theorising as a practical activity, encouraging students to critically apply theory to issues affecting individuals, groups, communities, and societies. The module also serves as preparation for professional practice, fostering skills for engaging with policy, politics, economics, and knowledge production as emerging social scientists.
SDLSSB101	Student Development and Life Skills (University Wide Module)	This module equips learners with essential personal,social, and professional skills to thrive in academic and everyday life. It focuses on self-awareness, emotional intelligence, communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, and responsible decision-making. Students will also develop practical competencies such as time management, teamwork, leadership, and adaptability, preparing them to navigate challenges and opportunities in both personal growth and future careers.
IDSB101	Information & Digital Skills (University Wide Module)	The Information and Digital Skills module develop learners’ ability to find, assess, and use information effectively while building confidence with digital tools. It covers online research, data management, communication, and collaboration, emphasizing ethical and responsible practices. By completion, learners can critically engage with digital resources across academic, professional, and everyday settings.
LAICSBKI100	Language Acquisition And Intercultural Communication For Social And Behavioural Sciences - KISWAHILI	This is a Kiswahili module targeted for beginners with no prior knowledge of the language. There are no predetermined prerequisites required to undertake this module. Any beginner student who intends to learn and speak Kiswahili as a second or foreign language can benefit from this module. The course offers interactive skills which underlie elementary communication in view of developing learners’ skills in social interactions. The teaching philosophy adopted is based on communicative and competency-based approach to language teaching. Focus is on the competency which learners have to accomplish in the target language for them to be able to communicate naturally in business and other social settings. It is hoped that the module will equip Kiswahili students with listening, speaking, reading and writing skills through various learning activities such as role play, exercises and tests. Upon completion of this module, students will have basic language skills that will enable them to function in multilingual and multicultural contexts in the spirit of Education 5.0.
HPSAD105	Fertility	The aim of the module is to give students skills for analysing fertility, and incorporating it in projections for planning and programming purposes. Thus, the module will cover: Definition of fertility terms, Sources of fertility data, Levels, trends and patterns of fertility; Socio-economic, demographic and biologic determinants; Theories of Fertility; Application of theories to the Zimbabwe scenarios. Relationship between fertility and population composition, highlighting labour force vis-à-vis level of industrial development. The module will produce a student who will be able to produce demographic charts showing the various levels, trends and patterns of fertility from a global, regional and national perspective. In addition, the student will be able to design fertility policies and programmes which take into account various demographic and socio-economic determinants underlying fertility levels, trends and patterns globally, regionally and in Zimbabwe.
HPSAD106	Demographic Techniques	The aim of the module is to give students skills for population projections for the production of demographic indicators, supply and demand of human resources needed in the Zimbabwean economy. Thus, the module will cover: Estimation of basic measurements fertility; Migration measurements; Life table analysis and its application; Stable and stationery populations; and, Population projections and their applications. Through this module the graduate will be able to produce demographic data sheets on the measures of fertility, mortality and migration. The student will be able to project the demand for specific industrial and social goods and services which will be presented in data sheets for use in government and the private sector.
HPSAD201	Mortality	The module is designed such that students develop competency skills in analysing the impact of mortality on human and industrial development. The following will be covered by the module: Global patterns of mortality; mortality differentials; theories of mortality; infant and child mortality; maternal mortality; HIV and AIDS; Health intervention programmes and strategies for communities’ institutions including industry. Thus, the module will produce a demographer who will advise and design mortality policies, programmes and models aimed at reducing infant and child mortality, maternal mortality and adult mortality.
HPSAD202	Migration	The module is designed such that students will be able to model migration streams bearing in mind the factors underlying migration. The module introduces students to the following migration concepts: Definition of concepts; Social mobility, Geographic mobility and migration.General theories of migration and Models; The relationship between migration and other components of growth: Migration and health, Migration and fertility, Migration and Gender and Migration and rural development; Forced migration including pirating; Policies and programmes on migration and the Estimated the impact of migration on industrial development in the country. The module will produce a demographer who is able to design migration streams and models for Zimbabwe and also design the needed interventions for migration for maximal industrial human resource mobilization.
HPSAD203	Demography of Zimbabwe	The module is designed such that students will be able to apply theories in the estimation of the population of Zimbabwe. The module will cover the following: Use of census data for the estimation of demographic indices; Extrapolations backward projections for the estimation of the Zimbabwean data. Total population size, rates of population growth and the doubling times;Trends of components of population growth: mortality, fertility and migration levels, trends and patterns; Determinates of the levels and patterns of components of growth; Population policy and programmes. The module will produce a student who will be able to produce not only the demographic data sheets for the levels, trends and patterns of the components of population growth in Zimbabwe and the factors underlying such, but also a population policy which includes all the relevant population issues from a life cycle perspective.
HPSAD204	Demographic Data Processing and Management	The aim of module will be to give students skills for the collection and analysis of data for various purposes in social and industrial development. The module will cover the following concepts: Sources of demographic data: census, surveys, vital registration; secondary data; correction methods of data, Application in semester paper. The module will thus produce a graduate who will be able to collect, process and analyse socio-demographic data for the different government departments, the NGO community and the private sector.
HPSAD205	Qualitative Research Methods	Through this module, students will be able to undertake research which will enhance the understanding of peoples’ choices of the industries and services they choose to or not to develop, their perceptions, experiences, norms and values underlying their choices. The module will cover: Definition of concepts; Principles of qualitative research; writing a research proposal; ethical issues in research qualitative research designs; Qualitative research methods; Instrument Design; Field Entry; Data collection, management, entry and cleaning. Data analysis and report writing. The module will produce a demographer who will be able to write a research proposal, design qualitative data collection tools, collect qualitative data and analyse the data collected and present the findings.
HPSAD206	Quantitative Research Methods	At the end of this module students will be able to estimate the magnitude of demand for socio-economic services which are crucial in human and industrial development. Quantitative research designs: Experimental designs; Quasi-experimental; Non-experimental designs: Survey Design; Instruments; field entry, Data collection Interviewing process; data cleaning and analysis; report writing; article writing. The module will produce a graduate who will be able to write a research proposal, design quantitative data collection tools, collect quantitative data and analyse the data collected and present the findings.
SDLSSB201	Student Development and Life Skills (University Wide Module)	This module equips learners with essential personal, social, and professional skills to thrive in academic and everyday life. It focuses on self-awareness, emotional intelligence, communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, and responsible decision-making. Students will also develop practical competencies such as time management, teamwork, leadership, and adaptability, preparing them to navigate challenges and opportunities in both personal growth and future careers.
CCLSSB201	Critical Consciousness & Life Skills (University Wide Module)	Develops students’ awareness of social, cultural and personal issues while fostering essential life skills for decision-making, problem-solving and responsible citizenship.
RISSB202	Research and Innovation Skills (Faculty Wide Module)	This module equips learners with the essential knowledge, tools, and practices required to conduct effective research and foster innovation in academic, professional, and entrepreneurial settings. It emphasizes critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, and the application of systematic research methods to generate new ideas and solutions.
SSRM201	Social Science Research Methods (Faculty Wide Module)	This module engages with the emergence of Social Science Research Methods and their need to deal with unique experiences, meanings making processes and interpretations of people and thus of society. At the end of the module students should be able to conduct qualitative research to inform policies and development initiatives.
LAICSBFR200	Language Acquisition And Intercultural Communication For Social And Behavioural Sciences -FRENCH	The aim of this programme is to train students to be able to understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases aimed at the satisfaction of basic needs of a concrete type. By the end of the course the student should be able to introduce him/herself in detail and others and ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, people he/she knows and things he/she has. The student should also be able to interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help. It recognizes the linguistic competency of a basic user, considered as a social actor. The learner can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring the most common polite phrases and exchanges of information.
EPECPSB301	Entrepreneurship, Professional Ethics Communication and Philosophy (University Wide Module)	The module capacitates students with skills to organically grow enterprises through cultivating employees that are creative and innovative. These skills and knowledge are the corner stone of enterprise growth as they remove dependence on the owners to all in the organisation. Through the module organisational rejuvenation and sustainable competitiveness hence growth is guaranteed.
HPSAD380	Industrial Attachment	Industrial attachment is a means of integrating knowledge with practice skills. The main objective of practical fieldwork is to provide the student with an opportunity to engage actively in actual professional tasks whichcomplement as well as reinforce classroom learning in preparation. Students are expected to apply the theories, concepts and methods of Population Science and Applied Demography that they learn in the classroom to address issues/problems at the individual, group, community and policy levels. Students will be afforded hands-on experience on demographic processes which include the design of instruments, collection of data, analysis and report writing, in addition to writing policy briefs and intervention programmes within a varied spectrum of situations.
SDLSSB301	Student Development Life Skills	The module introduces students to the use of information technologies and their application in academic research. The module is offered over a period of 4 years under the Faculty of Engineering and Communication
HPSAD401	Mixed Methods and Applications	The aim of this module is to equip students with the knowledge and ability to utilize mixed methods designs. The module will thus cover: Different scenarios for triangulation and their sequencing. The module will produce a student who will be able to write a proposal which has a study design which combines qualitative and quantitative research approaches; Collection of data, analysis and article writing from such data. The course will produce a student who is able to produce a triangulated research proposal and undertake triangulated research while producing triangulated research findings.
HPSAD402	Introduction to Monitoring and Evaluation	By the end of the course, students should be able to: Define monitoring and evaluation concepts; Identify the purpose of evaluation; methodological aspects and practical procedures of M&E; Develop various evaluation designs; Apply qualitative and quantitative research methods for project planning, monitoring, and evaluation activities. Students will be able to develop logical frameworks or log frames for monitoring and evaluation purposes using data collected in the Mixed Methods course and other existing secondary data.
HPSAD403	Population Rights, Policies and Programmes in Zimbabwe	At the end of this module, students will be able to identify the inconsistences, and the complementarities in the Zimbabwean acts. Thus, the module will cover: Zimbabwean Acts related to population issues: Legal Age of majority Act; Marriage Laws/Acts; National Population Policy; The National AIDS Policy; Reproductive Health Policy; National Youth Policy; National Gender Policy, Gender Based Violence Strategy; ZNFPC Service delivery Policy; Universal Declaration of Human Rights; The Patients Charter; The Labour Act; The Administration of Estates Act; Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission, The Criminal Law, The Interpretation Act, The Domestic Violence Act, Sexual Offences Act; Policy to promote Equal Access to Pension Benefits. Through this module, graduates will produce papers on the respective Acts and policies of Zimbabwe highlighting the gaps, inconsistences and weaknesses. They will also produce manuals which can be used for the education of the general public for their utilisation of the respective instruments for the enhancement of industrialisation and development.
HSWS414	Rural and Urban Development	The module is designed to examine the dynamics of development in both rural and urban settings, focusing on the unique challenges and opportunities each environment presents. It explores the key concepts of sustainable development, community engagement, and resource management, analysing how social, economic, and environmental factors influence growth and equity. The module highlights the interplay between rural and urban areas, including migration patterns, infrastructure development, and the provision of services. It equips students with real-world issues, such as poverty alleviation, housing, and access to healthcare, while assessing the effectiveness of various development strategies and policies.
HSWS418	Gerontology	The module offers a comprehensive study of the aging process and the social, psychological, and biological factors that influence the lives of older adults. It explores key concepts related to gerontological theory, the impact of societal attitudes towards aging, and the challenges faced by the elderly, including health issues, social isolation, and economic security. The module equips students with policies and programs designed to support older adults, examining topics such as long-term care, ageism, and intergenerational relationships. Ultimately, this module prepares students to promote dignity, well-being, and quality of life for older adults, fostering a deeper understanding of the complexities associated with aging in contemporary society.
SDLSSB401	Student Development and Life Skills (University Wide Module)	This module equips learners with essential personal, social, and professional skills to thrive in academic and everyday life. It focuses on self-awareness, emotional intelligence, communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, and responsible decision-making. Students will also develop practical competencies such as time management, teamwork, leadership, and adaptability, preparing them to navigate challenges and opportunities in both personal growth and future careers.
HPSAD470	Research Project	The project is aimed at getting students to apply all research skills that they acquired over the duration of the degree programme to a topic covering a topical issue in the country. Thus, the project is meant to give each student an opportunity to identify a topic of her/his choice, write a proposal, develop a study design and tools, collect and manage data, analyse and present the findings, discuss findings in the context of contemporary literature and theories and provide meaningful recommendations from the study. At the end of the project the students will be able to design research projects, collect and analyse data, undertake professional writing which includes journal articles and policy briefs, policies and programmes that enhance innovation and industrialisation.