Course Study Areas

American Politics

Comparative Politics

International Relations

Political Methodology

Political Theory

Additional Areas of Study

Political Psychology

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.

• 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.

• 7125 Intergovernmental Relations

3 credit units
Intensive review of selected aspects of the literature on state and local politics in the United States.

• 7140 Race and Ethnicity

3 credit units
Examination of presidential research and analysis of literature on selected aspects of the presidency.

• 7160 Public Opinion

3 credit units
Intensive analysis of literature on selected topics in public opinion.

• 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.

• 7193.01 American Politics - Independent Study

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

• 7193.02 Comparative Politics - Independent Study

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.

• 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.

• 7206 Comparative Political Institutions

3 credit units
Study of state building process, regime types, and contemporary governmental institutions from a broad cross-national perspective.

• 7212 Southern European Politics

3 credit units
A comprehensive overview of government and politics in Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain.

• 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.

• 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.
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.

• 8782 Research in Comparative Politics

3 credit units
Research seminar on various topics in comparative politics
Repeatable to a maximum of 12 cr hrs. This course is graded S/U.

International Relations Courses

• 7193.03 International Relations - Independent Study

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.

• 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.

• 7312 Critical Security Studies

3 credit units
Introduces students to the Political Science subfield of Critical Security Studies (CSS).

• 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.

• 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.

• 7325 Comparative Foreign Policies

3 credit units
Examines comparatively the sources and classes of behavior of territorial actors in the international political system.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 7375 Quantitative Studies of International Security

3 credit units
Survey of quantitative empirical studies of war, civil war, militarized disputes, and conflict.

• 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.

• 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.

• 8783 Research in International Politics

3 credit units
Research seminar on various topics in international politics.
Repeatable to a maximum of 12 cr hrs. This course is graded S/U.

Political Methodology Courses

• 7193.05 Political Methodology - Independent Study

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.

• 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.

• 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. 

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 7785 Experimental Design

3 credit units
Experimental methods appropriate for research in political psychology.

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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 7193.04 Political Theory - Independent Study

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 canonical and contemporary thinkers.

• 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.

• 8784 Research in Political Theory

3 credit units
Research seminar in political theory.
Repeatable to a maximum of 12 cr hrs. This course is graded S/U.