Political Science
Chair
Professors
- G. Robert Boynton, John A.C. Conybeare, Vicki L. Hesli, Sara Mitchell, John S. Nelson, William M. Reisinger, Tom W. Rice, Wenfang Tang, Cameron Thies, Caroline Tolbert
Professors emeriti
- Joel D. Barkan, Alfonso J. Damico, Michael S. Lewis-Beck, Chong Lim Kim, Gerhard Loewenberg, Douglas K. Madsen
Associate professors
- Frederick J. Boehmke, Cary R. Covington, Douglas Dion, Timothy M. Hagle, Kelly M. Kadera, Brian H. Lai
Assistant professors
- Christian Jensen, Kyle Mattes, Tracy Osborn, Rene Rocha, Jae-Jae Spoon, Erica Townsend-Bell
Undergraduate degrees: B.A., B.S. in Political Science
Undergraduate nondegree program: Minor in Political Science
Graduate degrees: M.A., Ph.D. in Political Science
Web site: http://www.polisci.uiowa.edu
Back To TopUndergraduate Programs
- Major in political science (Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science)
- Minor in political science
Back To TopBachelor of Arts
The Bachelor of Arts with a major in political science requires a minimum of 120 s.h., including 33 s.h. of work for the major. Students must maintain a g.p.a. of at least 2.00 in all political science courses taken at The University of Iowa, and in all political science courses taken at other institutions and at the University combined. Students must complete the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences General Education Program.
Students must earn at least 12 s.h. of the 33 s.h. required for the major in political science courses at The University of Iowa. Credit earned in 030:029 First-Year Seminar and 030:191 Government Internship does not count toward the major, but grades in these courses become part of a student's grade-point average.
In planning course work, students should be guided by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences maximum hours rule: Students earning a B.A. or B.S. may apply a maximum of 50 s.h. earned in one department to the minimum 120 s.h. required for graduation, whether or not the course work is accepted toward requirements for the major; students who earn more than 50 s.h. from one department may use the additional semester hours to satisfy requirements for the major (if the department accepts them), and the grades they earn become part of their grade-point average; but they cannot apply the additional semester hours to the minimum 120 s.h. required for graduation.
The political science major for the Bachelor of Arts requires the following course work.
| 030:001 Introduction to American Politics | 3 s.h. |
Four of these:
| 030:020 Introduction to Politics | 3 s.h. | | 030:030 Introduction to Political Thought and Political Action | 3 s.h. | | 030:041 Introduction to the Politics of Russia and Eurasia | 3 s.h. | | 030:043 Introduction to Politics in the Muslim World | 3 s.h. | | 030:045 Introduction to Comparative Politics | 3 s.h. | | 030:050 Introduction to Political Behavior | 3 s.h. | | 030:060 Introduction to International Relations | 3 s.h. | | 030:061 Introduction to American Foreign Policy | 3 s.h. | | 030:070 Introduction to Political Communication | 3 s.h. |
| Political science courses numbered 100 or above (at least 12 s.h. must be taken in regularly scheduled classroom work) | 18 s.h. |
Courses 030:185 Honors Research Project, 030:186 Honors Senior Thesis, 030:190 Independent Study, 030:191 Government Internship, 030:193 Undergraduate Research Tutorial, and 030:194 Senior Research Project/Paper do not count toward the 12 s.h. taken in regularly scheduled classroom work.
For more detailed descriptions of the undergraduate programs in political science, see Guide to Undergraduate Study in Political Science, available in the department's office and on its web site.
Emphases in Political Science
Students may elect to complete one or two emphases while fulfilling the requirements for the major. If a student completes an emphasis and requests recognition from the department, the emphasis is indicated on the transcript at graduation.
Each emphasis consists of four courses. Emphases are available in American institutions, American political practice, business and politics, international relations, law and politics, identity politics, political communication, political economy, political processes, political theory, politics of democratization, politics of developing areas, and politics of industrial democracies. For lists of courses approved in each area, contact the Department of Political Science. For more information consult the Guide to Undergraduate Study in Political Science.
Back To TopBachelor of Science
The Bachelor of Science with a major in political science requires a minimum of 120 s.h., including 44 s.h. of work for the major (33 s.h. in political science courses and 11 s.h. of approved mathematics/statistics courses). Students must maintain a g.p.a. of at least 2.00 in all political science courses taken at The University of Iowa, and in all political science courses taken at other institutions and at the University combined. Students must complete the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences General Education Program.
Students must earn at least 12 s.h. of the 33 s.h. political science courses required for the major at The University of Iowa. Credit earned in 030:029 First-Year Seminar and 030:191 Government Internship does not count toward the major, but grades in these courses become part of a student's grade-point average.
In planning course work, students should be guided by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences maximum hours rule: Students earning a B.A. or B.S. may apply a maximum of 50 s.h. earned in one department to the minimum 120 s.h. required for graduation, whether or not the course work is accepted toward requirements for the major; students who earn more than 50 s.h. from one department may use the additional semester hours to satisfy requirements for the major (if the department accepts them), and the grades they earn become part of their grade-point average; but they cannot apply the additional semester hours to the minimum 120 s.h. required for graduation.
The political science major for the Bachelor of Science requires the following course work.
| 030:001 Introduction to American Politics | 3 s.h. |
Four of these:
| 030:020 Introduction to Politics | 3 s.h. | | 030:030 Introduction to Political Thought and Political Action | 3 s.h. | | 030:041 Introduction to the Politics of Russia and Eurasia | 3 s.h. | | 030:043 Introduction to Politics in the Muslim World | 3 s.h. | | 030:045 Introduction to Comparative Politics | 3 s.h. | | 030:050 Introduction to Political Behavior | 3 s.h. | | 030:060 Introduction to International Relations | 3 s.h. | | 030:061 Introduction to American Foreign Policy | 3 s.h. | | 030:070 Introduction to Political Communication | 3 s.h. |
One of these:
| 030:185 Honors Research Project (for honors students) | 3 s.h. | | 030:193 Undergraduate Research Tutorial | 3 s.h. |
All of these:
| 030:100 Understanding Political Research | 3 s.h. | | Additional political science courses at the 100 level | 12 s.h. |
Students must complete at least 12 s.h. of 100-level courses, including 030:100 Understanding Political Research, in regularly scheduled classroom work. The 12 s.h. may not include 030:185 Honors Research Project, 030:186 Honors Senior Thesis, 030:190 Independent Study, 030:191 Government Internship, 030:193 Undergraduate Research Tutorial, and 030:194 Senior Research Project/Paper.
| One of the sets of three mathematics courses listed under "Approved Math/Statistics Courses" | 11 s.h. |
Recommended but not required:
| 030:194 Senior Research Project/Paper | 3 s.h. |
APPROVED MATH/STATISTICS COURSES
The following sets of mathematics/statistics courses are approved for the B.S. program. Other sets of courses may be used with written approval of the B.S. program advisor.
Set 1:
| 22M:017 Calculus and Matrix Algebra for Business (22M:025 or 22M:031 can be substituted) | 4 s.h. | | 22S:102 Introduction to Statistical Methods | 3 s.h. | | 22S:148 Intermediate Statistical Methods | 4 s.h. |
Set 2:
| 06E:071 Statistics for Strategy Problems | 3 s.h. | | 22M:017 Calculus and Matrix Algebra for Business | 4 s.h. | | 22S:008 Statistics for Business | 4 s.h. |
Set 3:
For more detailed descriptions of the undergraduate programs in political science, see Guide to Undergraduate Study in Political Science, available in the department's office and on its web site.
Emphases in Political Science
Students may elect to complete one or two emphases while fulfilling the requirements for the major. If a student completes an emphasis and requests recognition from the department, the emphasis is indicated on the transcript at graduation.
Each emphasis consists of four courses. Emphases are available in American institutions, American political practice, business and politics, international relations, law and politics, identity politics, political communication, political economy, political processes, political theory, politics of democratization, politics of developing areas, and politics of industrial democracies. For lists of courses approved in each area, contact the Department of Political Science. For more information consult the Guide to Undergraduate Study in Political Science.
Back To TopB.A. or B.S. with Teacher Licensure
Students interested in teaching at the elementary and/or secondary level must complete the College of Education's Teacher Education Program (TEP). Several courses in the College of Education and student teaching are required. Contact the Office of Education Services for details. The course 030:001 Introduction to American Politics is approved for teacher education requirements.
Back To TopFour-Year Graduation Plan
The following checkpoints list the minimum requirements students must complete by certain semesters in order to stay on the University's Four-Year Graduation Plan. (Courses in the major are those required to complete the major; they may be offered by departments other than the major department.)
Bachelor of Arts
Before the third semester begins: at least one-quarter of the semester hours required for graduation
Before the fifth semester begins: two courses in the major and at least one-half of the semester hours required for graduation
Before the seventh semester begins: six courses in the major and at least three-quarters of the semester hours required for graduation
Before the eighth semester begins: eight courses in the major
During the eighth semester: enrollment in all remaining course work in the major, all remaining General Education courses, and a sufficient number of semester hours to graduate
Bachelor of Science
Before the third semester begins: at least one-quarter of the semester hours required for graduation
Before the fifth semester begins: two courses in the major and at least one-half of the semester hours required for graduation
Before the seventh semester: eight courses in the major, including two of the three required mathematics/statistics courses and 030:100 Understanding Political Research, and at least three-quarters of the semester hours required for graduation
Before the eighth semester begins: 11 courses in the major, including 030:193 Undergraduate Research Tutorial
During the eighth semester: enrollment in all remaining course work in the major, all remaining General Education courses, and a sufficient number of semester hours to graduate
B.A. and B.S. with Honors
In addition to the checkpoints for the B.A. and B.S. degrees, honors candidates must complete 030:180 Honors Seminar on the Study of Politics before the seventh semester begins.
Back To TopHonors
The honors program in political science is open to students who have a g.p.a. of at least 3.33 in political science and who qualify for membership in the University of Iowa Honors Program, which requires a cumulative University of Iowa g.p.a. of at least 3.33 (contact the University of Iowa Honors Program for more information). To graduate with honors, students must maintain a g.p.a. of at least 3.50 in political science and a cumulative University of Iowa g.p.a. of at least 3.33. The program requires only 9 s.h. of 100-level honors course work with a grade of B or higher in each course, but students are encouraged to take 100-level honors seminars as often as possible. Students also are encouraged to take honors sections of introductory courses whenever available.
Honors students must complete 030:180 Honors Seminar on the Study of Politics, preferably as sophomores. They also must take at least one additional honors seminar (030:181 Honors Seminar on American Politics, 030:182 Honors Seminar on Political Theory, 030:183 Honors Seminar on Comparative Politics, or 030:184 Honors Seminar on International Politics). This requirement also may be met by taking a 300-level course, with the instructor's consent. The last 3 s.h. required for graduation with honors in political science may be earned by completing 030:185 Honors Research Project or 030:186 Honors Senior Thesis. For more information, see the Guide to Undergraduate Study in Political Science or contact the Department of Political Science honors advisor.
Back To TopMinor
The minor in political science requires a minimum of 15 s.h. in political science courses, including 12 s.h. in 100-level courses and 12 s.h. taken at The University of Iowa. Students must maintain a g.p.a. of at least 2.00 in the minor. Course work in the minor may not be taken pass/nonpass. Credit by exam is not accepted. Credit from 030:029 First-Year Seminar and 030:191 Government Internship does not count toward the minor. Credit earned through a University of Iowa Regents program is considered credit in residence.
Students may complete an area emphasis (see "Emphases in Political Science"); however, emphasis areas in the minor are not recorded on the transcript. Students may request a letter from the Department of Political Science noting the completion of an emphasis area in the minor.
Back To TopNational Honor Society
The department sponsors a chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha. Students who have a cumulative g.p.a. of at least 3.30, have attained junior standing, and have completed 15 s.h. of course work in political science are considered for membership. Contact the Department of Political Science honors advisor for more information.
Back To TopGraduate Programs
- Master of Arts in political science
- Doctor of Philosophy in political science
Graduate study in political science emphasizes the Doctor of Philosophy program, which is designed for students planning academic careers. The department usually offers the master's degree only as a preliminary step toward the Ph.D.
Back To TopMaster of Arts
The Master of Arts program in political science requires a minimum of 30 s.h. of graduate credit, with a g.p.a. of at least 3.25. No thesis is required. Each student's record is reviewed by a final examination committee, which may waive the final oral examination. If the evaluation committee convened at the end of the student's first year of courses finds that a student's work provides sufficient evidence of the research and writing skills ordinarily demonstrated in a master's thesis, it may recommend that the student be allowed to proceed with a doctoral program.
When a first-year evaluation committee finds the quality of a student's work inadequate for recommending continuation toward the Ph.D., the committee may recommend that the student be permitted to seek the nonthesis M.A. as a terminal degree.
Back To TopDoctor of Philosophy
The Doctor of Philosophy program in political science requires a minimum of 72 s.h. of graduate credit. The program is designed to prepare students for research, teaching, and scholarly endeavor in academic settings and private or governmental institutions. It produces graduates who are deeply committed to the study of politics, familiar with fundamental knowledge about political processes, well trained in methods and techniques for careful investigation of basic and applied research questions, and determined to make contributions to the discipline of political science and to society.
The department usually admits seven to ten Ph.D. students each year, so students work closely with faculty members, often collaborating on research and publication. Graduate students know one another and enjoy supportive, congenial working conditions.
Doctoral study usually lasts four to five years. The first-year curriculum for all students consists of core courses equally divided between substance and methodology. Emphasis is on basic research methods, including quantitative methods, that political scientists must understand thoroughly. Special attention is given to research design, collection of observations, and data analysis and interpretation.
The second and third years of study are spent in small seminars with focused, substantive topics. Papers written for these seminars might be submitted to journals or read at professional meetings. Students must take their qualifying examinations by the end of the third year. They take their comprehensive examination (oral defense of the dissertation proposal) by the middle of the first semester of their fourth year.
The fourth and fifth years are spent on dissertation research and writing. Students who do basic research and gather data abroad often require an additional year to complete the dissertation.
Six fields of study are available: American politics, comparative politics, international relations, political theory, formal theory, and for those who wish to go beyond the basic methodology training, research methods. Each student chooses three fields of study for qualifying examinations.
The Guide to Doctoral Study in Political Science, available from the Department of Political Science and on its web site, provides a comprehensive statement of departmental requirements.
Back To TopAdmission
Applicants must meet the admission requirements of the Graduate College; see the Manual of Rules and Regulations of the Graduate College or the Graduate College section of the Catalog.
Back To TopCourses
Back To TopFor Undergraduates
Courses numbered below 100 are introductory; those numbered 100 to 199 are advanced.
Courses 030:029 First-Year Seminar and 030:191 Government Internship do not count toward the major or minor in political science; 030:191 Government Internship is offered only satisfactory/fail.
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030:001 Introduction to American Politics | 3 s.h. | | Structure and processes; political institutions including Congress, presidency, Supreme Court, parties, interest groups, bureaucracy; discussion of framing and significance of the U.S. Constitution. GE: Social Sciences. | | |
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030:020 Introduction to Politics | 3 s.h. | | Introduction to selected processes, institutions, or behaviors central to the study of politics. | | |
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030:021 Lawyers in the American Political System | 3 s.h. | | Training and careers of lawyers; various roles they play in the American political system. Requirements: no prior enrollment in 030:119 with the subtitle Lawyers in the American Political System. | | |
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030:029 First-Year Seminar | 1 s.h. | | Small discussion class taught by a faculty member; topics chosen by instructor; may include outside activities (e.g., films, lectures, performances, readings, visits to research facilities). Requirements: first- or second-semester standing. | | |
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030:030 Introduction to Political Thought and Political Action | 3 s.h. | | Common problems, literature, analytic techniques. GE: Social Sciences; Values, Society, and Diversity. | | |
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030:041 Introduction to the Politics of Russia and Eurasia | 3 s.h. | | Political dynamics in postcommunist countries of east-central Europe and Eurasia; imperial legacies, ideology and practice of communist politics, patterns of democracy and authoritarianism. GE: International and Global Issues; Social Sciences. | | |
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030:043 Introduction to Politics in the Muslim World | 3 s.h. | | Processes of politics and government in pivotal countries of the Muslim World; political culture and historical legacies; links with economic development; ideologies; ruling elites and oppositional organizations; public policy(domestic and foreign); selected countries including Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkey, and Palestine. GE: International and Global Issues; Social Sciences. | | |
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030:045 Introduction to Comparative Politics | 3 s.h. | | Politics worldwide, including all regions and levels of development; wide-ranging themes, including democratization, sustainability, role of interest groups, authoritarian regimes, electoral systems, parties. Recommendations: closed to students who have taken 030:040 or 030:042. GE: International and Global Issues; Social Sciences. | | |
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030:050 Introduction to Political Behavior | 3 s.h. | | Patterns and basis of political behavior; emphasis on common elements across social, organizational, institutional settings. GE: Social Sciences. | | |
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030:060 Introduction to International Relations | 3 s.h. | | Theoretical introduction to contemporary international relations; emphasis on security and military affairs, international political economy, politics of global environmental problems. GE: International and Global Issues; Social Sciences. | | |
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030:061 Introduction to American Foreign Policy | 3 s.h. | | Foreign policies: goals, basic themes and general patterns, problems encountered by policy makers, means employed in dealing with other nations and international organizations, processes by which policies are formulated, factors that influence structure of policies. GE: International and Global Issues; Social Sciences. | | |
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030:070 Introduction to Political Communication | 3 s.h. | | Institutions, dynamics, issues of political communities considered as networks of communication; representative topics include political actors, ads, films, media, myths, news, publics, regulations, rhetorics, symbols. GE: Social Sciences. | | |
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030:100 Understanding Political Research | 3 s.h. | | Creating knowledgeable evaluators of current research in political science; interpretation of different quantitative techniques with examples from current political science research. | | |
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030:106 Research in Judicial Politics | 3 s.h. | | Applied research training in courts and judicial politics. Prerequisites: 030:116 or 030:153 or 030:158. | | |
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030:107 Women and Politics in the United States | 3 s.h. | | Involvement of women in the U.S. political system; topics include political theories about women's involvement in politics and government, women and constitutional law, public policies that affect women, women's participation in politics at the mass and elite levels. | | |
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030:108 Latino Politics and Immigration Policy | 3 s.h. | | United States immigration policy and the political consequences of Latino population growth; contrast of political experiences of Latinos with groups and the ideals of democratic political systems. | | |
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030:109 Election Reform | 3 s.h. | | Election reform (what's wrong and what can be done to fix it); overview of challenges facing American democracy in the 21st century (low voter turnout and civic engagement, polarized political parties to growing inequality); ways of addressing challenges, including movement towards participatory democracy (direct democracy), election reform and new government institutions for the 21st century, politics and society online, e-government; organization around promising reforms (some in place, some in experimental form, some far reaching) of legislatures, presidential elections, voting, and voter registration. Requirements: no prior enrollment in 030:119 with the subtitle of Election Reform. | | |
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030:111 Local Politics | 3 s.h. | | Models of city government, relation to state and federal governments; rights, liabilities of municipalities; city elections, campaigns, issues; role of pressure groups. | | |
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030:112 Minority Representation in American Politics | 3 s.h. | | Effects of voting rights legislation, election laws, interest groups, and institutional constraints on minority representation in American politics. | | |
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030:113 American State Politics | 3 s.h. | | Approaches to analysis of political behavior in American state governments; emphasis on cultures, parties, actors, processes, issues. | | |
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030:114 Racism and Politics in the U.S. | 3 s.h. | | Evolution of white racial attitudes over time; political experiences of African Americans contrasted with other groups and the ideals of democratic political systems; effect of race on political participation, partisan affiliation, vote choice, and policy preferences. | | |
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030:115 The Presidency | 3 s.h. | | Development, current status of the office, powers, functions of American presidency; recruitment, multiple roles of chief executive; party, congressional, administrative, judicial relationships. | | |
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030:116 American Constitutional Law and Politics | 3 s.h. | | Role of U.S. Supreme Court in American political system; emphasis on analysis of Supreme Court cases. | | |
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030:118 American Political Development | 3 s.h. | | Transformations in American political behavior and institutions over time. | | |
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030:119 Problems in American Politics | 3 s.h. | | Problems in studying American system; structures, functions, behavior. | | |
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030:120 Public Administration and Bureaucratic Politics | 3 s.h. | | Administrative and organizational theory and behavior; techniques of management; relations between administration and other branches in federal and state governments; administrative politics. | | |
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030:121 Public Choice | 3 s.h. | | Introduction to some of the most important topics in public choice (i.e., How do we explain what the public "wants"? Can we determine group preferences and group choices even if individual incentives run contrary to society's needs?); study of public choice theory problems in political science--how we determine society's preference among candidates, public policies, or even types of government. | | |
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030:125 Interest Groups | 3 s.h. | | Theory, organization, structure of interest groups; how they influence Congress, executive branch, courts, elections. | | |
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030:126 American Public Policy | 3 s.h. | | Functions and policies of national government; emphasis on domestic policy making, impact of public policy. | | |
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030:127 Political Campaigning | 3 s.h. | | Current state of political campaigning at all levels of government; history of campaigning, role of money and campaign finance reform, television and negative advertising, Internet campaigning. | | |
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030:128 Direct Legislation | 3 s.h. | | Direct democracy--lawmaking by the citizenry without legislative action; origins, historical perspectives, usage across politics, regulations; consequences of direct democracy; concerns about equality of access, tyranny of majority; United States, other countries. | | |
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030:129 Policy Matters: Perspective on Contemporary Problems | 3 s.h. | | Public policy issues in scholarly perspective; UI experts provide background introduction to weekly issues; presentations of new policy initiatives, roundtable on policy options; panels representing local, state, and national options and experience involving policy practitioners, legislators, and advocates. Same as 016:115. | | |
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030:130 Consequences of War | 3 s.h. | | War's enduring effects: war's impact on individuals, including combatants and noncombatants; war's impact on states, including states' development, economic, political, and social effects; war's effects on the international system. | | |
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030:131 Global Justice | 3 s.h. | | Introduction to normative issues in international politics (i.e., Under what conditions are wars just? When is intervention justified? Do wealthier nations owe anything to those elsewhere who are in need?); theoretical works on global justice by Rawls, Kant, Pogge, Walzer, and others; normative theories analyzed against background of empirical examples, such as recent humanitarian interventions, contemporary wars, current trade regime, global environmental problems; seminar. Requirements: may not enroll if already taken the course as a subtitle under 030:169. | | |
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030:132 Modern Political Theory | 3 s.h. | | Major writers and intellectual trends in political thought from Renaissance and Reformation to 19th century. | | |
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030:133 Postmodern Political Theory | 3 s.h. | | Major writers and intellectual trends, from 19th century to World War II. | | |
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030:134 Problems of Democracy | 3 s.h. | | Theory and practice of democracy; democratic ideals and the institutions and practices necessary for those ideals to work in everyday politics--power, equality, majority rule, participation, trust, representation. | | |
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030:136 Strategy in Politics | 3 s.h. | | How to isolate the most important elements in strategic political behavior, build models to understand them, recognize common scenarios, devise institutional resolutions to the Prisoners' Dilemma and coordination problems. | | |
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030:137 Introduction to Political Economy | 3 s.h. | | Economic reasoning applied to political issues, including evolution of institutions, voting, leadership, interest groups, bargaining tactics, federalism, bureaucracy, fairness and compensation for wrongs, legitimacy of democracy, electoral cycles in economic policy. | | |
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030:138 Current Political Theory | 3 s.h. | | Thinkers or schools of thought, from World War II to present. | | |
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030:139 Political Issues | 3 s.h. | | Representative topics include democracy, revolution, justice, obligation, technology, authority. | | |
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030:140 Government and Politics of Europe | 3 s.h. | | Political institutions, processes of selected European countries. GE: International and Global Issues; Social Sciences. | | |
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030:141 Russian Politics | 3 s.h. | | Institutions and processes of governing this large world power; Russian political dynamics, including struggles to unify or diversify power; political responses to major economic, technical, and social challenges. Recommendations: 030:041. GE: International and Global Issues; Social Sciences. | | |
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030:142 European Integration | 3 s.h. | | Politics of the European Union; institutional characteristics and major political issues of the European Union, including popular and national responses to European integration. | | |
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030:143 Government and Politics of the Far East | 3 s.h. | | Functions, institutions of government in countries of Far East; focus on social, economic, historical environments. GE: International and Global Issues; Social Sciences. Same as 039:178. | | |
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030:144 Latin American Politics | 3 s.h. | | Governmental institutions, major interest groups; focus on area as a whole. GE: International and Global Issues; Social Sciences. | | |
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030:145 War in the Muslim World | 3 s.h. | | Foundations, evolutions, and outcomes of recent wars in the Middle East; primary focus on insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan, together with Arab-Israel conflict; post-World War I mandate system; Saddam Hussein era; Sunni-Shiite and Arab-Kurd cleavages; military activities of coalition forces; Soviet occupation; rise of the Taliban; Al Qa'ida alliance; Operation Enduring Freedom; collapse of law and order; shadow governments; safe havens in Pakistan; Zionism and colonization of Palestine; Palestine Mandate; institutions of governance; strategies and ideologies of Hezbollah and Hamas. Requirements: no prior enrollment in 030:149 with subtitle "War in the Muslim World." | | |
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030:146 Russian Foreign Policy | 3 s.h. | | External postures, policies and behaviors, what lies behind them; Russian perceptions of the world and national interest; internal political dynamics; military, economic, diplomatic capability; rival views of Russian foreign policy. | | |
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030:147 Parties and Elections Around the World | 3 s.h. | | Comparative approach and exploration of political parties and elections around the world; party formation and development, identification and voter behavior, competition and strategies; election outcomes; electoral systems and their consequences. Recommendations: 030:045. | | |
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030:148 Government and Politics of China | 3 s.h. | | Political development of China; rise to power of Mao's communist party, attempts to transform Chinese society; the Cultural Revolution; tensions and achievements of the reform era; whether partnership or conflict will define the China-U.S. relationship in the coming decades. | | |
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030:149 Problems in Comparative Politics | 3 s.h. | | Structures, functions, behaviors of different political systems. | | |
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030:150 Public Policy Around the World | 3 s.h. | | Does the design of democratic institutions lead to poor or slow government response to crises (e.g., Hurricane Katrina, Gulf Oil Spill)? Does increased citizen participation in policy making help or hurt? How can citizens in democracies hold government accountable, especially when it is under pressure to adopt certain policies (e.g., economic stimulus packages, environmental or financial regulations, health care, taxation)? Implementation of laws in democracies, accountability of policy makers and consequences of controlling them, and so forth. | | |
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030:151 Political Leadership | 3 s.h. | | Foundations, effects of leadership in different political systems. | | |
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030:152 The Legislative Process | 3 s.h. | | Comparative legislative processes, behavior; focus on legislative systems analysis, legislative institutionalization, legislature and its environment, organizational constraints on legislative behavior, recruitment of legislators, web of legislative interactions, legislative voting behavior. | | |
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030:153 The Judicial Process | 3 s.h. | | Role of courts, lawyers, judges, interest groups in the American political system. | | |
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030:154 Political Psychology | 3 s.h. | | Political phenomena from psychological perspective; political behaviors of individuals, including decision making by elites and masses, evaluations of political candidates, mass mobilization, response to mass media; psychological concepts including stereotyping, social cognition, attitude, group identification. | | |
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030:155 International Courts: The Intersection of Law and Politics | 3 s.h. | | Introduction to important international courts including (Permanent) International Court of Justice, European Court of Justice, International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and International Criminal Court; the formation, design, and expansion of international courts from political and legal perspectives; states’ capabilities, regime type, and war; intersection of domestic and international law, emphasizing the major legal systems in the world (civil law, common law, Islamic law). | | |
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030:156 Ethnic and Religious Conflict in the Muslim World | 3 s.h. | | Ethnic and religious conflict in the Muslim world; cultural preservation and religious nationalism examined through case studies of ethnic and religious groups in countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq; conditions under which conflict becomes violent, protracted, and regionalized; strategies and ideologies employed by states and oppositional and/or insurgent groups; role of international actors in regional conflicts. | | |
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030:157 Voting Behavior and Elections | 3 s.h. | | Determinants of voting behavior; correlates of political participation, political apathy; political socialization processes; nature and functions of elections. | | |
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030:158 The Criminal Justice System | 3 s.h. | | Role of actors, institutions that constitute and participate in the American criminal justice system. | | |
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030:159 Authoritarian Politics | 3 s.h. | | Political dynamics in countries with authoritarian governing regimes; how those dynamics differ from their counterparts in democracies; how decisions are reached and get enforced; forms political struggles take; how interest groups pursue influence; ways individuals deal with the government; tension between regime control and societal progress. | | |
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030:160 Women and Politics in Global Perspective | 3 s.h. | | Women and politics in Europe and the global South; women's participation in political parties and social movements, women in the bureaucracy, women and the politics of intersectionality, feminism and the state, emergence of female gender identities. | | |
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030:161 International Organization and World Order | 3 s.h. | | How and why states have developed regularized patterns of interaction in the spheres of economics and security through international organizations and international regimes; regional integration processes, multilateralism. | | |
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030:162 American Foreign Policies | 3 s.h. | | Ends pursued, problems encountered, means employed by the United States in relations with other states and international organizations. | | |
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030:163 Chinese Foreign Policy | 3 s.h. | | Foreign policy of the People's Republic of China from its founding in 1949 to present; important events (China's entry into the Korean War, Sino-Soviet split in the 1960s, rapprochement between China and the United States in the 1970s, tensions with Taiwan in the 1990s, China's entry into the World Trade Organization); competing explanations for these turning points, theoretical approaches to the study of international relations. | | |
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030:164 Race in World Politics | 3 s.h. | | Fundamental questions about racial and ethnic politics; racial and ethnic identities and their intersection with other major social cleavages such as class, nationality, sexuality, religion, gender; concepts and use of race and ethnicity viewed through varied theoretical perspectives; contemporary events around the globe. | | |
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030:165 International Conflict | 3 s.h. | | International conflict as the primary ingredient of international politics; sources, causes, and effects of conflict, alliance structures, power distribution, geography, arms races, deterrence. | | |
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030:166 Global Communication and Politics | 3 s.h. | | How distance and language barriers in communication have fallen since 2000; how politics and the world are affected when such barriers to communication disappear. | | |
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030:167 Politics and the Multinational Enterprise | 3 s.h. | | Political factors affecting a firm's decision to go multinational; effects on home and host countries; political risk management; bargaining between states and corporations; regulation of multinationals by nation-states and international organizations; political implications of global mergers. | | |
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030:168 Politics of Terrorism | 3 s.h. | | Political motivations of terrorists; responses to terrorism, politics of prevention and preparation for terrorism; contemporary terrorist organizations, international responses to them. | | |
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030:169 Problems of International Politics | 3 s.h. | | Problems in studying international system, structures, functions, behavior. | | |
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030:170 The Politics of International Economics | 3 s.h. | | Political, historical dimensions; political aspects of trade, monetary systems, foreign investment, aid, dependency, global interdependence. | | |
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030:171 Public Opinion | 3 s.h. | | Role in making public policy; formation, change of political attitudes and opinions; political ideology; measurement of public opinion; how opinion polls are conducted; experience with interviewing and conducting public opinion research. Same as 034:153. | | |
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030:172 France in the 21st Century | 3 s.h. | | French politics from the end of the 20th century to beginning of the 21st century; history of France’s Fifth Republic; institutional development; key events that influenced politics in France over the last 50 years; major issues that shape France today--citizenship, immigration, identity, France’s role in the European Union, electoral and institutional reform, rise of the extreme right, role of women in French society, how protest still affects French politics. | | |
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030:173 State Failure in the Developing World | 3 s.h. | | State failure in the developing world, including notable cases like Somalia and Zimbabwe; causes of state failure; potential policy interventions designed to address consequences of state failure. | | |
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030:174 Multimedia Politics | 3 s.h. | | How increasingly universal access to communication affects political campaigning and advocacy; the use of blogging, video, and developing communication media by citizens and candidates to talk politics. | | |
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030:175 Politics of Film | 3 s.h. | | Issues in the popular politics of aesthetics, communication, culture, and myth, explored through analysis of films. | | |
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030:176 Governance in the Middle East | 3 s.h. | | Institutions and social systems that are affected by political behavior; ways in which Islam, oil production, and international forces shape political evolution in the region; comparative political inquiry of the operation of government institutions in the context of specific historical legacies, economic structures, and population characteristics in Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia. | | |
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030:177 Globalization | 3 s.h. | | Introduction to multidisciplinary literature on political economy and culture of globalization; major topics of debate on globalization. | | |
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030:178 Causes, Consequences, and Management of Civil War | 3 s.h. | | Causes, duration, management, and consequences of civil war; factors that create more frequent, longer civil wars (e.g., greed, grievance, ethnic conflict, state capacity); conflict management strategies for ending civil wars and minimizing long-term negative consequences. | | |
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030:180 Honors Seminar on the Study of Politics | 3 s.h. | | Selected topics in philosophy, theory, and methods for the systematic study of politics; foundations of scientific inquiry, including processes of theory building, concept formation, and hypotheses testing; political research; challenges faced when conducting good political science; questions of research design, measurement accuracy, and sample selection; application of multivariate research process. Requirements: honors standing in political science. | | |
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030:181 Honors Seminar on American Politics | 3 s.h. | | Ideas, issues, methods in selected area. Requirements: junior or senior honors standing in political science. | | |
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030:182 Honors Seminar on Political Theory | 3 s.h. | | Intensive study of ideas, issues, methods in an area of political theory. Requirements: junior or senior honors standing in political science. | | |
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030:183 Honors Seminar on Comparative Politics | 3 s.h. | | Ideas, issues, methods in selected area. Requirements: junior or senior honors standing in political science. | | |
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030:184 Honors Seminar on International Politics | 3 s.h. | | Ideas, issues, methods in selected area. Requirements: junior or senior honors standing in political science. | | |
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030:185 Honors Research Project | 3 s.h. | | Special research assistance to political science faculty. Requirements: junior or senior honors standing in political science. | | |
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030:186 Honors Senior Thesis | 3 s.h. | | Supervised research and writing. Requirements: honors standing in political science and more than one semester before graduation. | | |
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030:190 Independent Study | arr. | | Supervised special projects. | | |
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030:191 Government Internship | 1-3 s.h. | | Undergraduate internships in state or national legislative office, executive agency, or with election campaign official. | | |
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030:192 Special Topics in Politics | 1-2 s.h. | | Presentations by distinguished lecturers on topics in the study of politics not covered in other courses. One or two weeks. | | |
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030:193 Undergraduate Research Tutorial | 3 s.h. | | Individual training in applied research. | | |
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030:194 Senior Research Project/Paper | 3 s.h. | | Supervised research and writing. Requirements: major in political science and more than one semester before graduation. | | |
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030:195 International Law | 3 s.h. | | Introduction to field of international law from a political and legal perspective; history and contemporary status of international law in several areas: human rights, humanitarian (law of war), environmental law, trade; structure and areas of international law; ask if international law is or can it be an effective tool of international cooperation from a political science perspective; structure of the basic documents of international law and organizations, key cases in the field from a legal perspective. Requirements: may not enroll if already taken the course as a subtitle under 030:169. | | |
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030:196 Democracy: Global Trends and Struggles | 3 s.h. | | Diverse contemporary understandings and practices of democracy; worldwide democratization trends; what political, economic, cultural, and transnational factors shape these trends; how, within countries, elites and citizens struggle to promote or retard democracy. | | |
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030:197 Politics of International Human Rights Law | 3 s.h. | | Interaction between politics and international human rights law; international law and organizations, human rights, ratification of human rights treaties; theories of international law and cooperation, exposure to tools of international relations (diplomacy, trade, aid, shaming, sanctions), the role that international and domestic civil society groups play in advocating for states to commit to human rights laws. | | |
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030:198 Regional Peace and Security | 3 s.h. | | Analysis of the causes of peace and conflict between countries in various regions of the world; theories of zones of peace, security communities, regional security complexes. | | |
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030:199 New Media and Politics | 3 s.h. | | Blogging, microblogging, and video production as tools of new media (anyone can twitter and reach a large audience); how these technologies work, how they are being used in current politics, what they portend for the future, and what tools are next. Requirements: no prior enrollment in 030:139 with the subtitle New Media and Politics. | | |
Back To TopFor Graduate Students
Courses numbered 200 to 299 are core courses; those numbered 300 and above are advanced.
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030:200 Introduction to Political Analysis | 4 s.h. | | Conceptual problems of political analysis; empirical research strategies, philosophy of science. Requirements: M.A. or Ph.D. standing in political science. | | |
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030:201 Introductory Methodology | 3-4 s.h. | | Introduction to quantitative techniques in political science; set theory, probability distributions, estimation, testing; emphasis on acquiring mathematical skills for more advanced quantitative work in political science. Requirements: M.A. or Ph.D. standing in political science. | | |
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030:205 Introduction to Formal Models in Political Science | 4 s.h. | | Use of formal mathematical models; current modeling techniques, applications in American politics, comparative politics, international politics. Requirements: M.A. or Ph.D. standing in political science. | | |
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030:210 American Politics | 4 s.h. | | Major literature of American politics, emphasis on comparative, systemic, behavioral studies. Requirements: M.A. or Ph.D. standing in political science. | | |
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030:230 Political Theory | 4 s.h. | | Methods of political theory, epistemological and moral foundations of political inquiry; terms of political discourse (e.g., power, legitimacy, equality, ideological foundations of politics); schools of thought and current controversies in political theory. Requirements: M.A. or Ph.D. standing in political science. | | |
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030:240 Comparative Politics | 4 s.h. | | Current approaches, analysis of systems; emphasis on conceptual, methodological issues. Requirements: M.A. or Ph.D. standing in political science. | | |
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030:242 Crossing Borders Seminar | 2-3 s.h. | | Repeatable. Same as 008:231, 009:262, 013:262, 016:247, 01H:247, 035:273, 044:286, 048:247, 113:247, 129:231, 160:247, 181:247. | | |
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030:243 Crossing Borders Proseminar | arr. | | Same as 013:260, 016:244, 01H:330, 035:271, 044:287, 048:244, 113:248. | | |
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030:260 International Politics | 4 s.h. | | Approaches to study of international politics. Requirements: M.A. or Ph.D. standing in political science. | | |
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030:301 Intermediate Methodology | 4 s.h. | | Techniques of data analysis; statistical models and their relationship to hypotheses tested. Requirements: doctoral standing in political science and one semester of intermediate statistics. | | |
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030:302 Writing Political Science | 4 s.h. | | Practice in planning and completing political inquiries, with emphasis on writing for scholarly publication; experience refining one's prior research projects for submission to disciplinary journals, and drafting dissertation proposals. Requirements: doctoral standing in political science. | | |
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030:303 Advanced Methodology | 4 s.h. | | Introduction to regression techniques for limited dependent and qualitative variables in political science; logit, probit, multinomial logit and probit, ordered logit and probit, event history models, event count models; emphasis on understanding how and when to apply these models. | | |
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030:304 Experimental Methods | 4 s.h. | | Methods, techniques used in political science experiments. | | |
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030:306 Topics in Methodology | 4 s.h. | | Application of advanced statistical techniques in political science; limited dependent variable regression techniques, simulation methods, missing data techniques, history/rare event analysis and maximum likelihood, and topics tailored to students' research; focus on learning how and when to apply these techniques. Repeatable. | | |
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030:307 Qualitative Methods | 4 s.h. | | Introduction to qualitative methods in political science research; interviewing, ethnographic research, process tracing, comparative historical analysis, content and discourse analysis, fuzzy set theory. | | |
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030:310 Modeling American Politics | 4 s.h. | | Exploration of how well formal models explain the real world and how the fit between models and world can be improved. | | |
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030:315 The Presidency | 4 s.h. | | American chief executive: history, recruitment, behavior, roles, responsibilities, powers, relationships with other institutions. | | |
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030:319 Problems in American Politics | 4 s.h. | | Problems in study of American political system; structures, functions, behavior. Repeatable. | | |
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030:339 Problems in Political Theory | 4 s.h. | | Prescriptive and explanatory political theory. Repeatable. | | |
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030:342 Religion, Ethnicity, and Politics | 4 s.h. | | Theories and empirical work on the relationships between religions and politics; issues of law and political behavior, development of theoretical models in study of ethnicity and nationalism; religious and national identities in modern society, opportunity structures and resource mobilization in context of religious and national movements. | | |
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030:344 European Union | 4 s.h. | | Politics of the European Union; institutional characteristics and major political issues of the European Union, including popular and national responses to European integration. | | |
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030:345 The State | 4 s.h. | | Apparatus of government; major theoretical and empirical work of the state, drawn from comparative politics; state building, bureaucracy, "developmental" and "predatory" states, state-society relationships, failed states. | | |
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030:346 Comparative Parties and Elections | 4 s.h. | | Introduction to important questions and puzzles in the study of political parties; party formation and development, the role of parties in society, how parties are organized, party systems, electoral systems, party strategy and behavior, development of new parties, whether parties are still relevant, regeneration of communist parties in post-communist regimes, ethnic parties, failure of party consolidation. | | |
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030:349 Problems of Comparative Politics | 4 s.h. | | Problems in study of comparative political systems; structures, functions, behavior. Repeatable. | | |
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030:352 Legislative Behavior | 4 s.h. | | Institutions, processes, behavior in the United States, Europe, or developing countries. Repeatable. | | |
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030:353 Political Psychology | 4 s.h. | | Political phenomena from a psychological perspective; decision making by elites and masses, evaluations of political candidates, mass mobilization, response to mass media; psychological theories used to explain these behaviors, including stereotyping, social cognition, attitude, group identification, attribution. | | |
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030:357 Public Opinion and Electoral Behavior | 4 s.h. | | Political attitudes and beliefs in mass publics; voting behavior; how electoral systems function. | | |
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030:361 Foreign Policy | 4 s.h. | | Foreign policy making and international behavior in relation to theories, findings from selected countries. | | |
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030:362 International Conflict and Cooperation | 4 s.h. | | Recent theoretical and empirical debates in international relations literature; emphasis on formal and quantitative research. | | |
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030:363 Dynamic Models of International Politics | 2-4 s.h. | | Overview of several dynamic modeling techniques used to study international relations; modeling assumptions, the kinds of information models can provide, evaluation of models. | | |
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030:367 Theories of International Political Economy | 1-4 s.h. | | Theories focusing on international system, the state, bureaucracies, interest groups, international organizations, bargaining processes, distributive norms. | | |
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030:368 International Systems and Global Governance | 4 s.h. | | Literature of international systems and international organization; major schools of thought in international relations theory, their utility in explaining evolution of the international system and recent developments in international organization and global governance. | | |
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030:369 Problems in International Politics | 4 s.h. | | Issues of international politics, emphasis on problems of theoretical analysis. Repeatable. | | |
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030:390 Readings Tutorial | arr. | | Independent study. Repeatable. | | |
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030:393 Research Tutorial | arr. | | Individual training in applied research. Repeatable. | | |
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030:398 Ph.D. Dissertation | arr. | | Repeatable. | | |
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