American Politics

Our American Politics program is a broad-gauge program, with wide-coverage. Five major programs are the Program in Mass Political Behavior; the Program in Political Elites and Institutions; the Program in Judicial Politics; the Specialty in Race, Gender, and Ethnicity; and the Specialty in Political Parties and Interest Groups.

Graduate study in American Politics includes courses in a variety of substantive areas, including:

• Political Participation and Voting Behavior
• Public Opinion and Political Psychology
• Political Parties and Interest Groups
• Race, Gender, and Ethnicity
• State and Local Politics
• Executive and Bureaucratic Politics
• Judicial Politics
• Legislative Politics

Additionally, readings courses have been offered on such special topics as Southern Politics; Religion and Politics; and Hispanic Politics.

These majors are often complemented with minors in Political Methodology, Political Psychology, Formal Theory, Political Economy, Comparative Politics (emphasizing comparative political behavior), and International Relations (emphasizing American foreign policy).