Course Study Areas
American Politics
Comparative Politics
International Relations
Political Economy
Political Methodology
Political Psychology
Political Theory
Variable Courses
American Politics Courses
7100
Foundations in American Politics
3 credit units
Introduction to central research areas and literature of the field of American politics.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 709
7120
Legislative Politics
3 credit units
Analysis of the functioning and policy product of American legislatures; intensive reviews of selected aspects of the legislative literature to be conducted.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 717
7125
Intergovernmental Relations
3 credit units
Intensive review of selected aspects of the literature on state and local politics in the United States.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 704
7140
Race and Ethnicity
3 credit units
Examination of presidential research and analysis of literature on selected aspects of the presidency.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 707.01 or 707.02
7160
Public Opinion
3 credit units
Intensive analysis of literature on selected topics in public opinion.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 703
7164
Political Behavior
3 credit units
Intensive examination of literature on selected topics in the area of participation and voting behavior in the United States.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 774
7175
Intersectionality and Identity Politics in the United States
3 credit units
This course is designed to examine the continued significance of race and ethnicity in American society with a focus on racial attitudes, identity, public opinion, and inter-group dynamics.
7190
The Policy Process
3 credit units
Consideration of the basic theories, concepts, and techniques used in policy analysis; the determinants of public policy; and the impact and evaluation of public policy.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 779
7193.01
American Politics
1-10 credit units
Individual studies in political science; student work is evaluated by papers and/or special examinations
Repeatable to a maximum of 36 cr hrs or 36 completions. This course is graded S/U.
8781
Research in American Politics
3 credit units
Development and execution of a research design on a selected topic in American politics; consultation on substantive and methodological problems offered by faculty.
Repeatable to a maximum of 12 cr hrs. This course is graded S/U.
Comparative Politics Courses
6194.03
Contemporary Comparative Political Problems
3 credit units
Contemporary political problems
Prereq: Repeatable to a maximum of 18 cr hrs or 6 completions
7193.02
Comparative Politics
1-10 credit units
Individual studies in political science; student work is evaluated by papers and/or special examinations.
Repeatable to a maximum of 36 cr hrs or 36 completions. This course is graded S/U.
7200
Basic Theories in the Study of Comparative Politics
3 credit units
Examination of such concepts and theories as structural-functional analysis, general systems theory, and sociocultural systems as determinants of government structure.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 726
7201
Theories of Comparative Politics II: Identities, Mobilization and Institutions
3 credit units
This course focuses on identities, mobilization, and institutions, broadly defined.
7205
Democratic Transitions
3 credit units
Theoretical examination of the dynamics of the transition from authoritarian to democratic regimes, with special attention to southern Europe and Latin America.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 744.
7206
Comparative Political Institutions
3 credit units
Study of state building process, regime types, and contemporary governmental institutions from a broad cross-national perspective.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 776
7212
Southern European Politics
3 credit units
A comprehensive overview of government and politics in Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 727.02
7220
The Politics of the Developing World
3 credit units
Theories, approaches, and methods in the analysis of political life in Asia, Africa, and Latin America; discussion of selected case and cross-national studies with theoretical importance.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 741
7230
Chinese Politics
3 credit units
A seminar for the purpose of reading advanced scholarly materials on contemporary Chinese politics.
Repeatable to a maximum of 9 cr hrs
7250
Comparative Political Parties and Interest Groups
3 credit units
Comparative analysis of the nature and role of political parties and interest groups in contemporary societies.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 7789 (789) in AEDEcon or BusMktg or Econ or EduPL or Geog or JCom or Psych or PubHlth or PubPolM or Social and Stat 778
7260
Authoritarian Politics
3 credit units
Familiarizes students with basic theoretical and empirical approaches to the study of authoritarian politics; introduces classic and cutting edge research.
7280
Comparative Political Economy
3 credit units
A graduate level course designed to survey contemporary theories on the interaction between economic policies, domestic institutions, the international economy, and their consequences on the macroeconomy.
Prereq: Not open to students with 1 completion for 7280 (735). Repeatable to a maximum of 6 cr hrs. Cross-listed in Econ 6745
7281
The Political Economy of Income Inequality, Volatility, and Mobility
3 credit units
Examines patterns, political and institutional foundations, and consequences of incomes equality, volatility, and mobility, plus dynamic aspects of income distributions.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 781
8782
Research in Comparative Politics
3 credit units
Research seminar on various topics in comparative politics
Prereq: Not open to students with 12 cr hrs for 826. Repeatable to a maximum of 12 cr hrs. This course is graded S/U.Our students are actively involved in a wide variety of activities on campus, in Columbus, and around the globe. Meet a few of our current students and see how opportunities in the Department of Political Science have shaped their time at Ohio State!
International Relations Courses
6194.04
Contemporary International Political Problems
3 credit units
Contemporary political problems.
Prereq: Repeatable to a maximum of 18 cr hrs or 6 completions
7193.03
International Relations
1-10 credit units
Individual studies in political science; student work is evaluated by papers and/or special examinations.
Repeatable to a maximum of 36 cr hrs or 36 completions. This class is graded S/U.
7300
Theories of International Relations
3 credit units
Examination of such basic concepts and theories as equilibrium models, balance of power, national interest, geopolitical configurations.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 745.
7310
Security Policy
3 credit units
Theories of conflict and war causation and an assessment of their durability in a new era of world politics.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 752
7312
Critical Security Studies
3 credit units
Introduces students to the Political Science subfield of Critical Security Studies (CSS).
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 8194.03 (Sp15, Critical Security).
7315
Conflict and Peace
3 credit units
Sources and types of social conflict with special attention to international violence; causes of war; their avoidance and control.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 751
7320
Foreign Policy Design
3 credit units
Problems of designing foreign policy, including organizational, contextual, economic, and public opinion constraints; how to create an information retrieval system to aid decision-making.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 756
7325
Comparative Foreign Policies
3 credit units
Examines comparatively the sources and classes of behavior of territorial actors in the international political system.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 757
7330
International Organization: Global Governance
3 credit units
Examination of global governance in such terms as changing political, legal, and normative contexts; security, economic, and environmental issues; state and non-state actors; and tools such as force, discipline, and law.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 760
7334
International Organization: Rationalist Approaches
3 credit units
Comprehensive view of international governmental, non-governmental, and business organizations; their roles in solving problems such as poverty, war, pollution; particular attention to the United Nations system.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 759
7336
International Order
3 credit units
Discussion of the leading books written on the subject of international order.
7340
Social Theories of International Relations
3 credit units
An examination of the main themes, debates, and social theories of world politics.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 748
7375
Quantitative Studies of International Security
3 credit units
Survey of quantitative empirical studies of war, civil war, militarized disputes, and conflict.
Prereq: 7553 (788). Not open to students with credit for 849
7380
Theories of International Political Economy
3 credit units
Contemporary literature in international political economy; its ties to classical schools of thought in international relations and political economy; points of contention between them.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 753
7381
Institutions and International Political Economy
3 credit units
Examines international political economy from the perspective institutions and institutionalist theories in political science, economics, and international relations.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 770
7783
Research Methods in International Relations
3 credit units
Examines a number of research techniques and approaches common in international politics such as content analysis, simulation, mathematical modeling, and factor analysis.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 747
8194.03
Contemporary Political Problems
3 credit units
Group studies to examine specific contemporary problems in international politics.
Prereq: Repeatable to a maximum of 21 cr hrs
8783
Research in International Politics
3 credit units
Research seminar on various topics in international politics.
Prereq: Not open to students with 12 cr hrs for 846. Repeatable to a maximum of 12 cr hrs. This course is graded S/U.
Political Economy Courses
7880
Field of Political Economy
3 credit units
The modern field of political economy; the interaction of markets and politics as well as the use of the tools of economics to explain social behavior.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 780 or Econ 6746 (780). Cross-listed in Econ.
Political Methodology Courses
7193.05
Political Methodology
1-10 credit units
Individual studies in political science; student work is evaluated by papers and/or special examinations.
Repeatable to a maximum of 36 cr hrs or 3 completions. This course is graded S/U.
7551
Quantitative Political Analysis I
3 credit units
Explication, interpretation, and application of techniques for quantitative analysis of political data; descriptive and inferential statistics, with emphasis on bi-variate analysis.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 685
7552
Quantitative Political Analysis II
3 credit units
Descriptive and inferential statistics with emphasis on multivariate analysis; additional topics offered as desired and possible: scaling, index construction, sampling, measuring reliability.
Prereq: 7551. Not open to students with credit for 686
7553
Quantitative Political Analysis III
3 credit units
A continuation of subjects begun in 755d2, including such topics as scaling, index construction, sampling, and measurement reliability.
Prereq: 7551 and 7552. Not open to students with credit for 786
7555
Causal Mechanisms
3 credit units
A survey of causal mechanisms in political science, including models of processes, equilibration, optimization, learning, integration, aggregation, evolution, complexity, and universal, contextual, and synthetic models.
7681
Formal Theories of Politics I
3 credit units
Major approaches used in modeling politics, including social choice, game theory, and probability models.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 680
7682
Formal Theories of Politics II
3 credit units
Introduction to various mathematical theories of political phenomena and the role of formal analysis in political science.
Prereq: 7681. Not open to students with credit for 788
7683
Formal Theories of Politics III
3 credit units
Design and examination of research focusing on a problem in mathematical political science.
Repeatable to a maximum of 21 cr hrs
7702
Survey and Questionnaire Design
3 credit units
Theories of the survey research response process and their implications for question wording and question order effects.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 761
7780
Political Science Research Methods
3 credit units
Introduction to political science research with emphasis on survey and experimental designs, data generation techniques, data processing, and computer utilization.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 684
7785
Experimental Design
3 credit units
Experimental methods appropriate for research in political psychology.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 805
7788
Selected Topics in Political Methodology
3 credit units
An intensive examination of special topics in political methodology.
Repeatable to a maximum of 12 cr hrs
Political Psychology Courses
7700
Foundations in Political Psychology
3 credit units
Overview of the field of political psychology; causes, dynamics, and consequences of human thinking and action in politics.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 806
7720
Political Psychology and International Relations
3 credit units
A seminar introducing students to theories of international relations that employ psychological perspectives; cognitive world views and political identity, especially nationalism, receive special attention.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 761
Political Theory Courses
5411
Justice, Sin, and Virtue: Ancient & Medieval Political Thought
3 credit units
This course focuses on foundational texts in western political thought: from ancient Athens, republican and imperial Rome, the Christian middle ages, and the Italian Renaissance. These works deal with themes that remain central in modern political life, including social justice, political action and religious faith, and the struggle between civic virtue and self-interest.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 4411 (470), or 6411 (670).
5412
Life, Liberty, and Property: Early Modern Political Thought
3 credit units
Why do we have government? What are the proper limits of its authority? What should we do when its demands conflict with our moral or religious beliefs? These questions lie at the center of early modern political thought, and gave rise to the idea of the social contract.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 4412 (471) or 6412 (671).
5413
Democracy, Equality & Revolution: 19th Century Political Thought
3 credit units
This course examines some of the earliest and most influential attempts to wrestle with the practical implications of living in a world where people were not only considered equal in theory, but were becoming equal in fact. Topics of discussion will include the relationship between liberty and equality, individualism and conformity, alienation and exploitation, and morality and power.
Not open to students with credit for 6413 (672) or 4413 (472).
5414
Liberalism, Totalitarianism, and Empire: 20th Century Political Thought
3 credit units
The 20th century was a time of unprecedented transformations: world wars, genocide, the collapse of colonialism and the spread of capitalism. This course examines the political theories that contributed to these developments as well as efforts to understand these changes.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 4414 (473) or 6414 (673).
7193.04
Political Theory
1-10 credit units
Individual studies in political science; student work is evaluated by papers and/or special examinations.
Repeatable to a maximum of 36 cr hrs or 36 completions. This course is graded S/U.
7400
Fundamental Concepts in Political Theory
3 credit units
A graduate survey of the scope, concepts, and methods of political theory, examining important debates throughout political science through works of both canoical and contemporary thinkers.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 763
7410
Radical Cosmopolitanism
3 credit units
The notion of cosmopolitanism has enjoyed renewed interest among political and critical theorists. This course engages critically with Immanuel Kant's classic account and examines its roots and anthropological commitments seriously and puts it in dialogue with colonial and post-colonial intellectuals, including W. E. B. Du Bois who thought systematically about justice beyond the nation.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 7499 (Au 2015).
7499
Selected Topics in Political Theory
3 credit units
Intensive joint readings and discussions concentrating upon one of the major themes, problems, or movements in political theory; topic information available from instructor.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 766
8784
Research in Political Theory
3 credit units
Research seminar in political theory.
Prereq: Not open to students with 12 hrs credit for 866. Repeatable to a maximum of 12 cr hrs. This course is graded S/U.
Variable Courses
7000
Foundations of Political Science
3 credit units
Introductory study of diverse efforts to ground knowledge of politics, positivist, and post-positivist views of science, sources of formal rigor, and interpretation and evaluation.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 790
7095.01
Teaching Political Science
3 credit units
Examination of issues in teaching political science in colleges and universities, and preparation for teaching careers.
7888
Field Research Methods
3 credit units
This seminar introduces students to various field methods for developing and testing theories in political science.
7905
Political Institutions
3 credit units
This class is an entry-level graduate class into the study of political institutions. The class aims to provide an overview of the field and a foundation upon which students can begin to teach themselves additional works in this literature.
8000
Writing and Publishing in Political Science
3 credit units
Students work on a pre-existing draft of a paper and develop a polished piece of research suitable for journal submission.
8999
Dissertation Research in Political Science
1-12 credit units
Research for dissertation purposes only.
Prereq: Repeatable to a maximum of 96 cr hrs or 32 completions. This course is graded S/U.