Course information contained within the Bulletin is accurate at the time of publication in July 2024 but is subject to change. For the most up-to-date course information, please refer to the Course Catalog.
POLS 8000. Topics in Research Design. 3 Credit Hours.
Students learn how to formulate and justify research questions, situate their research within the scholarly literature, select cases, and address problems related to making causal inferences. An important focus of the course is on the similarities and differences between quantitative and qualitative research designs and their respective strengths and weaknesses.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
POLS 8001. Political Statistics I. 3 Credit Hours.
Required of all M.A. and Ph.D. students. Introductory applied social statistics. Topics covered include descriptive measures, elementary probability theory, hypothesis testing, and correlation and regression analysis. This course explores inductive statistics including: probability and sampling, multivariate contingency tables, analysis of variance, correlation and regression analysis.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
POLS 8002. Qualitative Research Methods. 3 Credit Hours.
Required of all Ph.D. students. An examination of some of the major qualitative research approaches in political science -- case studies, comparative historical, institutional, community power studies, etc. The course aims to teach students the basic methods and reasoning procedures for doing advanced research in political science.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
Pre-requisites: Minimum grade of B in POLS 8001.
POLS 8003. Political Statistics II. 3 Credit Hours.
The course offers a thorough coverage of the basic linear regression model. Two-thirds of the class is devoted to the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) method with a focus on estimation, hypothesis testing, and diagnosing threats to statistical inference. Cross-sectional, time-series, and panel data applications are covered. The remainder of the class introduces students to Maximum Likelihood estimators that address limitations to the OLS model.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
Pre-requisites: POLS 8001.
POLS 8101. Government in American Society. 3 Credit Hours.
An introduction to key theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of the major areas in American politics.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
POLS 8102. American Presidency. 3 Credit Hours.
This course examines the state of Presidency research in political science. The American presidency is evaluated as an institution and as a position of political leadership.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
POLS 8103. Legislative Behavior. 3 Credit Hours.
Analysis and research on legislatures, legislators and the legislative process at national, state, and local levels. Focus on legislative decision-making.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
POLS 8105. Public Law. 3 Credit Hours.
A survey of the main political and legal factors affecting the development of the basic constitutional doctrines regarding judicial review, separation of powers, the presidency, foreign affairs, the basic delegated powers of Congress in the areas of regulation of commerce and taxation, and federalism.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
POLS 8106. Civil Rights and Liberties. 3 Credit Hours.
A critical overview and exploration of the evolution, and various aspects of U.S. anti-discrimination laws and policies using court decisions as well as political and legal theories.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
POLS 8107. Business Politics and Power. 3 Credit Hours.
Course examines the role of business in politics. Includes a review some of the most important theoretical approaches that dominate the study of business political activity and its impact on policy outcomes.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
POLS 8108. American Party System. 3 Credit Hours.
Examines political parties and party systems at the federal and state level, in both historical and contemporary contexts. What are political parties? Who forms them? This course focuses mostly on officeholders and activists to understand political parties in government and political parties as organizations.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
POLS 8109. Campaigns, Elections, and Media. 3 Credit Hours.
The role of elections in contemporary American society. Special attention to parties and mass media as managers of campaigns. Factors affecting the voting behavior of the mass public and the link voting provides between the public and policy formation. The role of elections in contemporary American society. Factors affecting the voting behavior of the mass public and the link voting provides between the public and policy formation. Special attention also will be paid to the roles of political parties and mass media.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
POLS 8112. Research in State Politics. 3 Credit Hours.
This course introduces graduate students to the research investigating politics and governance in the American states. Seminar discussions will focus on identifying the questions motivating state politics research, comparing different methodological approaches, and discovering what questions remain unanswered. We also will consider how findings from state politics research might extend to other institutional settings. The goal of the seminar is to stimulate students to conduct their own state politics research.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
POLS 8113. Politics of Race and Class in America. 3 Credit Hours.
Examines the intersection of race and class in American cities from theoretical and practical perspectives. Readings cover some of the major theories of race and urban poverty going from the "declining significance of race" proponents on the one hand to the "increasing significance of race" theorists on the other end of the spectrum. The course also examines how considerations of race and class have shaped key policy areas such as housing, education, and community development. Finally, the course examines the "new immigration" and its impact on class and race relations within urban areas.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
POLS 8114. Community Based Research. 3 Credit Hours.
Engages students in community based research projects that are identified and developed by community-based organizations to address a particular program or policy need that they have encountered. Students work closely with these organizations as they carry out the research. Field-based research is supported by weekly seminar meetings that combine instruction in research methods with substantive examination of community development issues. Students share their experiences from the field during the seminar meetings.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
POLS 8120. Topics in Public Policy. 3 Credit Hours.
Special topics course. Subject varies with instructor.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
POLS 8121. National Public Policy. 3 Credit Hours.
Focuses on the content or substance of contemporary U.S. public policy and developing agendas in several salient areas such as environmental protection, economic development, education, public assistance, drug abuse, and civil rights.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
POLS 8122. Urban Public Policy. 3 Credit Hours.
Explores key areas of urban public policy, such as housing, economic and community development, and education. Examines the political, social, institutional and cultural factors that shape the policy making context and ultimately the policies themselves. Interdisciplinary approach using readings from political science, sociology, economics, planning and social history. Covers major research conducted on policy areas and central debates surrounding them.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
POLS 8124. Public Opinion. 3 Credit Hours.
Survey of the broad field of public opinion research. Topics include: political sophistication, citizen competence, democratic responsiveness, political socialization, attitude formation, and the effects of mass media and political rhetoric.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
POLS 8125. Theories of Policy Making. 3 Credit Hours.
Considers various models of the policy process and policymaking, including those within group, systemic, rational, and institutional approaches. Empirical and normative perspectives are both addressed.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
POLS 8130. Topics in American Politics. 3 Credit Hours.
Special topics course. Subject varies with instructor.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
POLS 8201. Comparative Politics. 3 Credit Hours.
A survey of core theories, methodological approaches and central issues in the comparative study of political systems throughout the world. Issues include state, class, party systems and interest groups, dependency, democracy and autocracy, reform and revolution, ethnic/nationalist conflict, and policymaking in industrial welfare states.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
POLS 8202. Comparative Politics: Advanced Industrial Nations. 3 Credit Hours.
Comparative analysis of political systems in Western Europe. Topics covered include the development of political parties and interest group politics, political economy, the welfare state, democratization/market liberalization in Eastern Europe, and European integration (EU). NOTE: This course was previously titled "Comparative Politics: Western Europe." Be advised that students can receive credit only once for
POLS 8202.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
POLS 8203. Comparative Politics: Developing Nations. 3 Credit Hours.
What are the ideological, economic, and political processes that have created "First" and "Third" worlds? Is "underdevelopment" a consequence of the international system or are its sources home-grown? What are the connections between economic processes and political change? This course compares rational, structural, and cultural approaches to the study of development.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
POLS 8205. Russian and Eastern European Civilizations. 3 Credit Hours.
This course will familiarize students with the political development and transition to democracy in Russia and former republics of the Soviet Union.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
POLS 8212. Democratic Politics. 3 Credit Hours.
Free and fair elections are democracy's defining feature. This course examines the politics surrounding democratic politics, focusing on organizations, institutions, and behavior. In terms of organizations, the course pays close attention to the principle protagonists in democratic elections: political parties. We will explore the origins of political parties in general as well as the conditions giving rise to certain types of political parties. In terms of institutions, the course considers the institutions that shape the selection of political leaders in a democracy and the allocation of power across those elected officials. In particular, we will attend to electoral rules, legislative-executive relations, and the vertical allocation of authority, identifying how democracies decide on these institutions as well as exploring the varied and often far-reaching impact that these institutions have on a wide range of political and economic outcomes. Finally, in terms of behavior, we will explore how mass publics engage with democracy, largely through their participation in elections. Throughout, we will consider the experiences of both longstanding and new democracies, evaluating to what extent theories and ideas travel across contexts.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
POLS 8213. Political Economy of Development. 3 Credit Hours.
This graduate course exposes students to the major debates in the political economy of development on the origins and transformations of three key institutional fields: the state, market institutions, and the international economy. We read classic works in political economy on the philosophical underpinnings of the role of the state in development; and more recent works on the relationship between the state and market creation, evolution, and reform in the context of global integration. We also survey selected works on the political and economic development of the newly industrialized countries of East and Southeast Asia and Latin America; developing countries in South Asia and Africa; and post-Communism in China and Russia.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
POLS 8214. Political Economy of Identity in the Global Era. 3 Credit Hours.
This graduate course explores the conceptual and theoretical tools that have been brought to bear to investigate the role of identity and relationship between economics and identity in the context of globalization, particularly post-cold war developments. It exposes students to some of the major debates on conceptualizing and operationalizing the multidimensionality of identity; the context-specific issues that make identity an important factor to explore as both a cause and an effect in a globalizing economy; and existing research on what shapes identity and the impact of identity. We ask the following questions: Why study identity? How to study identity? What causes identity? How does identity matter? We encounter these questions via existing literature across subfields of political science, sociology, and history; different methodological lens; and substantive knowledge of empirical reality.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
POLS 8215. Middle East and Islamic Politics. 3 Credit Hours.
This course is a reading-intensive graduate seminar on the comparative politics of the Middle East, and the broader Islamic world including sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. It focuses upon the nature of both political regimes and mass societies in this diverse geographic crescent bound by Islamic heritage and identity, and engages the following lines of inquiry: first, the distribution of democracy versus dictatorship in Islamic countries; second, the rise of Islamic social movements in both peaceful and violent manifestations; third, the role of religion in shaping political institutions and behavior in these regions; and finally, transformative changes such as popular uprisings, economic breakthroughs, and gender equality. Assignments involve weekly response papers and a final research paper.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
POLS 8216. The State in Comparative Politics. 3 Credit Hours.
This course offers an in-depth assessment of the state. It begins with the definitional question, and explores different approaches to the state. We will then proceed to historical analysis of the rise of states in Europe and other world regions. The third component of the course explores the relationship between states and societies, focusing on cases from both Europe and other world regions. Finally, the course explores the extent of state weakness around the world, and explanations for variation in the strength and stability of states, closing with two recent broad attempts to rethink the state and our relationship to it. Readings range from theoretical social science to empirical work on a variety of specific cases, and from classics in the field to new work and non-academic accounts of particular countries and regions. The course will build toward the production of a significant research paper. Students are encouraged to use this paper to explore a set of issues relevant to their research interests. Prior completion of
POLS 8201 (Comparative Politics) is strongly recommended.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
POLS 8217. Democracy, Dictatorship, and Political Regimes. 3 Credit Hours.
This course is a reading-intensive graduate seminar on the comparative politics of democratization and authoritarianism. It focuses upon political regimes in historical and comparative perspective, and immerses students in empirical scholarship and theoretical analysis to engage four core concerns: first, the origins of democracy, dictatorship, and hybrid regime types around the world; second, the trajectory and stability of different regimes in the modern era; third, the domestic and international causes of regime transitions, including institutional, economic, and systemic forces; and fourth, the key concepts and methodological strategies used in this field. The course draws upon countries and cases from across the world, including both West and non-Western regions, and incorporates comparative political work utilizing a variety of methodologies, including qualitative, quantitative, and formal approaches. Assignments involve regular analytical writing and original scholarship, encompassing a series of response papers throughout the term culminating in a final research paper.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
POLS 8230. Topics in Comparative Politics. 3 Credit Hours.
Special topics course. Subject varies with instructor.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
POLS 8301. International Politics. 3 Credit Hours.
A graduate-level introduction to theories of international politics, ranging from classical realism and liberalism through contemporary neorealist, institutionalist, constructivist and other approaches. Core course in the area.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
POLS 8302. International Security. 3 Credit Hours.
Graduate-level introduction to the study of international security, addressing a range of approaches to topics such as the causes of war, the balance of power, alliances, economic statecraft and sanctions, humanitarian intervention and peacekeeping, and terrorism.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
POLS 8303. International Political Economy. 3 Credit Hours.
A graduate-level introduction to the history and theory of international political economy. Topics include: states and markets; power and wealth; economic statecraft; international economic organizations; economic development; and the nature of interstate conflict and cooperation in the global economic system.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
POLS 8304. International Organizations. 3 Credit Hours.
Advanced graduate seminar, which surveys the scholarly literature dealing with the role of international institutions and international organizations in world politics, and the prospects for global governance in various issue-areas.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
POLS 8305. US Foreign Policy. 3 Credit Hours.
Graduate level introduction to the history and theory of American foreign policy. The seminar is arranged in three sections: the first offers a series of approaches to explaining American foreign policy, the second a survey of the past two-plus centuries of American foreign policy-making, and the last, a number of topics in contemporary foreign policy.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
POLS 8306. Foreign Policy Analysis. 3 Credit Hours.
Graduate-level survey of foreign policy-making in comparative perspective. The course examines various theoretical accounts of the determinants of a state's foreign policy, including factors such as leadership, bureaucratic politics, perception and misperception, interest-group politics and public opinion, and survey the empirical literature on comparative public policy.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
POLS 8330. Topics in International Politics. 3 Credit Hours.
Special topics course. Subject varies with instructor.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
POLS 8401. Introduction to Political Theory. 3 Credit Hours.
Introduction to the major conceptual issues in politics-- power, authority, equality, liberty, democracy, justice- through the reading of both classics in political thought and contemporary political theory. The course will also consider methodological issues in the social sciences and key topics in the philosophy of science and the philosophy of social science.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
POLS 8403. Modern Political Philosophy. 3 Credit Hours.
This course will be devoted to in-depth analyses of some of the formative works of modern political theory and practice that have helped to shape not only modern politics but modern cultural and psychological sensibility as well. The primary theorists that we will be analyzing are Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud, as well as some contemporary political philosophers. Texts and authors covered in this seminar will go beyond the materials covered in the Core Seminar in Political Theory.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
POLS 8404. Contemporary Political Theory. 3 Credit Hours.
Examines the rise of modern social theory (Hegel, Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Freud) as a response to the emergence of increasingly rationalized, class-stratified and bureaucratized industrial societies. Issues addressed include the relationship of the individual to society; the relationship between socio-economic and political power; the difficulty of establishing moral meaning in increasingly bureaucratic and routinized societies. The course will also examine post-modern theorists (e.g. Foucault, Derrida, Lyotard) who contend that modern social theory's anachronistic hypothesis of rational, industrial societies cannot adequately explain post-modern, commodified societies increasingly "decentered" by differences of culture, race, and gender. NOTE: This course was previously titled "19th and 20th Century Political and Social Thought." Students can receive credit only one time for
POLS 8404.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
POLS 8405. Theories of Democracy. 3 Credit Hours.
Considers the defenses, criticisms, and varieties of democracy in both the American and worldwide settings. Examines the relationship between liberalism and democracy, as well as communitarian, conservative and radical critiques of liberal pluralism. Questions explored include: Can minority rights be guaranteed in a majoritarian democratic system? What are the cultural and socioeconomic prerequisites for a democratic society? Does the distribution of power in America today conform to the norms of a democratic society? NOTE: This course was previously titled "Contemporary Theories of Democracy." Please be advised that students will receive credit only once for
POLS 8405.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
POLS 8430. Problems in Political Philosophy. 3 Credit Hours.
An examination of some central themes and issues in political philosophy conducted through the study of one or more major works of political philosophy.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
POLS 8440. Special Topics in Political Philosophy. 3 Credit Hours.
Special topics course. Subject varies with instructor.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
POLS 8601. Teaching Methods. 1 Credit Hour.
Required of all M.A. and Ph.D. students wishing to be considered for financial aid. This course is to be offered once each year. No student will be awarded financial assistance for a second year without having successfully completed this course. This course is conducted on a Pass-Fail basis.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
POLS 9083. Directed Study and Research I. 1 to 3 Credit Hour.
Fall credit for special study/research with a professor outside of a regularly scheduled course. A letter grade of A, B, C, or F is awarded. A student may register for this course only with the advance approval of the pertinent faculty member and the Graduate Chair.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
POLS 9183. Directed Study and Research II. 1 to 3 Credit Hour.
Spring credit for special study/research with a professor outside of a regularly scheduled course. A letter grade of A, B, C, or F is awarded. A student may register for this course only with the advance approval of the pertinent faculty member and the Graduate Chair.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
POLS 9283. Directed Study and Research III. 1 to 3 Credit Hour.
First summer session credit for special study/research with a professor outside of a regularly scheduled course. A letter grade of A, B, C, or F is awarded. A student may register for this course only with the advance approval of the pertinent faculty member and the Graduate Chair.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
POLS 9994. Preliminary Examination Preparation. 1 to 6 Credit Hour.
The purpose of such credit is to assure continuous enrollment as required by the University while one is preparing for M.A. or Ph.D. comprehensive or Preliminary examinations. A grade of "R" is awarded the student by the Graduate Chair or other faculty designated by the Chair of the Department. The semester in which the Preliminary exams are passed, a grade other than "R" is awarded.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
POLS 9998. Pre-Dissertation Research. 1 to 6 Credit Hour.
Three credits are required in the initial semester following the Preliminary Examinations while the Ph.D. student prepares the dissertation prospectus through a reading course with their primary dissertation supervisor. During subsequent semesters, if not yet advanced to candidacy, students continue to enroll in the 1-credit option in order to assure continuous enrollment as required by the university. Students must participate in the seminar until they execute a completed dissertation proposal. A grade of "R" is awarded until the student passes the prospectus defense. At the semester of passing the prospectus, the grade of "Pass" will be awarded to only that semester's 9998.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
POLS 9999. Dissertation Research. 1 to 6 Credit Hour.
Dissertation Research credit maintains the continuous enrollment as required by the University after a student has passed the PhD comprehensive exam and prospectus defense. This is the minimum credit required each semester after the proposal defense and while the student is researching and writing the dissertation. A minimum of 2 s.h. of
POLS 9999 must be completed before defending the PhD dissertation.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Student Attribute Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Student Attributes: Dissertation Writing Student.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
