Department of Political Science (GRAD)

The political science graduate program is small and very selective. Each year about 12 students enroll to pursue the doctor of philosophy in political science. However, the department also offers a master of arts in political science through the TransAtlantic Masters (TAM) program.

Admission

The general prerequisite for admission to graduate study is a bachelor of arts degree or equivalent. A student is not required to have an undergraduate major in political science but will normally be expected to have had at least nine semester hours of coursework in political science.

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is optional. Students may submit their GRE scores if they wish, but this is not a requirement. Applicants are encouraged to have their applications complete by December 1 and no later than posted deadlines. Applicants are also required to submit a writing sample, a statement of purpose, and 3 letters of recommendation.

The Center for European Studies

The Center for European Studies (CES), a Jean Monnet Center of Excellence and a U.S. Department of Education Title VI National Resource Center, advances understanding of the social, political, and economic events that shape contemporary Europe. The overarching mandate of the center is to enhance undergraduate and graduate instruction in contemporary European studies, to promote scholarship and training for students and faculty from all disciplines and professional schools, and to stimulate institutional and public awareness of Europe’s economic, cultural, and political importance on campus, in North Carolina, and across the nation. CES has close ties to the TransAtlantic Masters program, which offers an M.A. in political science and includes study at UNC and at one or more partner universities in Europe. For more information on TAM please visit the dedicated website. CES furthermore brings many European experts to campus, holds conferences and lecture series on events surrounding contemporary Europe, and offers Foreign Language Area Studies Fellowships to graduate students to support intensive language training.

Center for Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies

The Center for Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies (CSEEES) is an interdisciplinary center run jointly with a sister center at Duke University. In addition to offering an undergraduate major in Russian and East European studies, the center actively promotes graduate education and research in this area of the world.

As a U.S. Department of Education Title VI Center, CSEEES awards Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowships to a few graduate students each academic year and summer to help them acquire the language skills and area expertise necessary for advanced study and field research in this part of the world.

The Louis Harris Data Center

The national polling company Harris Interactive (formerly Louis Harris & Associates) has been surveying Americans' opinions on issues of national importance since the late 1950s. Harris surveys cover many topics, including national morale, the arts, energy policy, women's roles, political candidates, violence, health, and housing. The breadth and scope of the Harris surveys make them a rich source for secondary analysis by social scientists.

In 1965 Louis Harris agreed to make his data available for secondary analysis by researchers. Harris and the University of North Carolina jointly agreed to establish at Chapel Hill the Louis Harris Data Center as the national archive for all Harris data. Since 1965 more than 200 national, state, and community studies conducted by Harris Interactive have been deposited at the Harris Data Center for use by researchers at the University and elsewhere.

Programs

The focus of our graduate program is to train students for professional careers in political science, usually in academic institutions but also (and increasingly) in government agencies and non-governmental organizations. Our program emphasizes the acquisition of substantive knowledge, methodological skills, and communication tools that will allow the student to conduct cutting-edge research and to teach effectively.

We aim to train political scientists for competence in the discipline as a whole, as well as with expertise in specific subfields and topics. To this end, we offer our students small graduate classes on a wide array of substantive and methodological topics. Our graduate students also receive a great deal of individual attention from faculty members, with many opportunities for collaboration and co-authorship. Our students also gain substantial experience in teaching, both through teaching assistantships and the opportunity to teach one’s own course. This experience, coupled with the research training we offer, is essential for success in careers in university-level teaching and scholarly research. Ph.D. candidates who elect to work in nonacademic settings, including think tanks and government agencies, also find that our program’s combination of substantive training and methodological competency is invaluable.

We do not offer a terminal Masters degree. Students accepted to our PhD program spend their first two years completing M.A. requirements and immediately continue to the doctoral requirements.

At the M.A. level, the student is required, in addition to passing the course programs successfully, to write a thesis and to be examined orally on the major field of interest and in defense of the thesis.

At the doctoral level, preliminary examinations are both written and oral, in that order. Written examinations are given annually in September. The final part of the examination is an oral defense of the dissertation proposal. Successful completion of these examinations permits a student to become a doctoral candidate. Following completion of the dissertation, a final oral examination will be held, which is primarily a defense of the dissertation but may include such excursions into underlying theory and related fields as are germane to the dissertation.

Field and Course Requirements

The political science curriculum is designed to ensure that graduate students develop a professional competence in the discipline as a whole, as well as expertise in one major and one minor field. The courses in the department are grouped under the following broad categories: international relations, comparative politics, political theory, American politics, and methodology.

Ph.D. students are required to demonstrate competence in two fields of study and, by participating in the instructional program, to undergo training as teachers. A minimum of four courses and a comprehensive examination is required in the major field. Three courses are required in the minor field.

The Institute for the Study of the Americas and the Graduate Certificate

The Institute for the Study of the Americas and the Consortium in Latin American Studies at UNC–Chapel Hill and Duke University serve as a medium for interdisciplinary communication on Latin America, encouraging and stimulating instruction and research on the region. They provide funding for interdisciplinary working groups, visiting scholars, research workshops, and guest lectures, as well as support for graduate students through academic year and summer fellowships and research and conference travel grants. The program has been funded as a National Resource (Title VI) Center since 1991 by the U.S. Department of Education.

Although the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill does not grant an interdisciplinary postgraduate degree in Latin American studies, graduate students seeking to document their area expertise are encouraged to earn a certificate in Latin American studies in conjunction with any advanced degree in any University graduate program. The requirements for the certificate are

  1. A minimum of two semesters of residence
  2. Language competence in Spanish or Portuguese
  3. Four graduate courses on Latin American topics
  4. A thesis on a topic related to Latin America, and
  5. An oral defense of the thesis

 Graduate students interested in obtaining a certificate in Latin American studies should contact the director of the Institute for the Study of the Americas.

Following the faculty member's name is a section number that students should use when registering for independent studies, reading, research, and thesis and dissertation courses with that particular professor.

Professors

Navin Bapat (68), International Relations, Conflict Processes, Political Economy
Frank Baumgartner (72), Public Policy, Agenda Setting, Interest Groups, Lobbying
Mark Crescenzi (05), International Relations, Conflict Processes, Political Economy
Stephen Gent (08), International Relations, Conflict Processes
Jonathan Hartlyn (46), Comparative Politics, Latin American Politics
Marc Hetherington (21), American Politics, Political Behavior
Liesbet Hooghe (04), Comparative Politics, European Union, Western European Politics
Evelyne Huber (54), Comparative Politics, Political Economy, Latin American Politics
Gary Marks (18), Comparative Politics, Western European Politics
Kevin McGuire (60), American Politics, Judicial Politics
Jason Roberts (73), American Political Institutions, Congress
Graeme Robertson (07), Comparative Politics, Russian and Eurasian Politics
Timothy Ryan (61), American Political Behavior, Political Psychology
Donald Searing (30), Comparative Politics, Political Psychology
Jeff Spinner-Halev (11), History of Political Thought, Contemporary Political Theory, Democratic Theory
Sarah Treul Roberts (23), American Political Institutions, Congress
Isaac Unah (62), American Politics, Judicial Politics
Milada Vachudova (12), Comparative Politics, Western and Eastern European Politics

Associate Professors

Cameron Ballard-Rosa (19), International Relations, International Political Economy
Anna Bassi (41), Formal Theory, Experimental Methodology
Susan Bickford (58), History of Political Thought, Feminist Theory, Democratic Theory
Christopher Clark (16), American Politics, Race and Representation, State Politics
Lucy Martin (24), Comparative Politics, Political Economy, African Politics
Cecilia Martinez-Gallardo (69), Comparative Politics, Latin American Politics
Cara Nine (56), Political Theory, PPE (Philosophy, Politics & Economics) 
Santiago Olivella (25), Quantitative Methods, Comparative Politics
Simon Weschle (59), Comparative Politics - Europe

Assistant Professors

Ashley Anderson (63), Comparative Politics, Middle Eastern and North African Politics
Caitlin Andrews-Lee (40), Comparative Politics - Latin America
Mary Kroeger (39), American Politics, State Politics
Junghyun Lim (65), International Relations, International Political Economy
Tyler Pratt (67), International Relations, International Political Economy
Alexander Sahn (14), American Politics
Ye Wang (22), Quantitative Methods

Teaching Professor

Robert Jenkins (26), Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies

Teaching Associate Professors

Suzanne Globetti (15), American Politics
Matt Weidenfeld (27), Political Theory, American Politics

Teaching Assistant Professors

Nora Hanagan (59), Political Theory
Nicklaus Steiner (57), Comparative Politics

Postdoctoral Research Associates

Sasha de Vogel
Kaneesha Johnson

Professors Emeriti

Pamela Conover
Virginia Gray
Michele Hoyman
Michael Lienesch
Stuart Elaine Macdonald
Timothy McKeown
Michael MacKuen
Dick Richardson
Lars Schoultz
John Stephens
James Stimson
James White

POLI

Advanced Undergraduate and Graduate-level Courses

POLI 400.  Executive Politics.  3 Credits.  

This course explores how presidents select policy options, how they decide timing, what shapes their congressional support, and how they build successful coalitions.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, CI.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 401.  Political Economy I: The Domestic System.  3 Credits.  

Problems of the national government in managing capitalist development and economic growth; political constraints; patterns of conflict among domestic actors.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoPOLI 404.  Race, Immigration, and Urban Politics.  3 Credits.  

This course provides a survey of the literature on race, immigration, and urban politics in the contemporary United States. The goal is to understand the complex relationship between racial/ethnic identity and local political processes. Students explore topics such as police brutality, immigration, the education system, and coalition politics.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: HI-SERVICE.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, EE- Service Learning, US.  
Requisites: Prerequisite, POLI 100.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoPOLI 405.  Local Politics in the United States.  3 Credits.  

This course provides an overview of the politics of local governments in the United States. Topics covered include the economics and history of urban agglomerations, local governments' place in the American federal system, the role of race and immigration in how parties and coalitions govern, whether local governments are responsive to voters, and the role cities play in shaping housing, education, climate, and criminal justice policy.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FC-POWER, RESEARCH.
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 406.  State Governments: Laboratories of Democracy.  3 Credits.  

Advanced topics in state government and politics, including political behavior and processes, governmental institutions, public policies. Emphasis on how states serve as the laboratories of democracy in a federal system.

Rules & Requirements  
Requisites: Prerequisite, POLI 100 or 101.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 409.  Mock Constitutional Convention.  3 Credits.  

Students employ their understanding of political philosophy and practical politics to write a new constitution for the United States. Emphasis is on creative blending of theory and practice.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 410.  The Constitution of the United States.  3 Credits.  

A study of the fundamental principles of constitutional interpretation and practice in the United States by means of lectures, textbooks, and cases. Emphasis will be on the political context surrounding and the impact following Supreme Court decisions.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, NA.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 411.  Civil Liberties under the Constitution.  3 Credits.  

An analysis of the complex political problems created by the expansion of protection for individual liberties in the United States. Emphasis will be on contemporary problems with some supplemental historical background. Honors version available.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: HS, NA.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 412.  United States National Elections.  3 Credits.  

Course studies United States presidential and congressional elections. Emphasis on individual vote, changing party strengths, and the relation of outcomes to policy. Honors version available.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, NA.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoPOLI 414.  Election Administration in the United States.  3 Credits.  

This is a course about how we administer elections in the United States. The people, processes, and rules by which we administer elections in the United States are critically important to the exercise of free and fair elections that is a cornerstone of a democratic form of governance. A major component of this course is your work as an elections official in the Fall 2024 election. Must be a registered voter in Orange County, NC.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: HI-SERVICE.
Requisites: Prerequisite, POLI 100.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 416.  Constitutional Policies and the Judicial Process.  3 Credits.  

Analysis of the structure and functions of judicial systems emphasizing the organization, administration, and politics of judicial bureaucracies and roles of judges, juries, counsel, litigants, and interested groups in adjudication processes.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, NA.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: PWAD 416.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoPOLI 417.  Advanced Political Psychology.  3 Credits.  

Examines in greater depth issues in the field of political psychology, including conflict and conflict resolution, socialization, attitude formation, mass movements, leader-follower relationships, and psychobiography. Honors version available.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: RESEARCH.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, CI, QI.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 418.  Mass Media and American Politics.  3 Credits.  

Junior-senior standing required. Examination of the role, behavior, and influence of the mass media in American politics.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, NA.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 419.  Race and Politics in the Contemporary United States.  3 Credits.  

Restricted to juniors and seniors. Surveys the vast literature on race and politics in the contemporary United States and examines the complex relationship between racial and ethnic identity and political outcomes. It explores broad political science concepts in the context of racial and ethnic groups. Honors version available.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, US.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 420.  Legislative Politics.  3 Credits.  

Examines the politics of the United States Congress. Emphasis on representation, the legislative process, and policy making. Honors version available.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoPOLI 421.  Framing Public Policies.  3 Credits.  

This course will focus on the process by which policies get framed, or defined, in public discussions. Framing is focusing attention on some elements of a complex public problem rather than others. Readings combine psychological background with case histories of United States and comparative public policy changes over time.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: RESEARCH.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, CI, EE- Mentored Research.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 422.  Minority Representation in the American States.  3 Credits.  

This class explores the political representation of blacks, Latina/os, women, and gays and lesbians in the American states. How do these groups achieve descriptive and substantive representation? How does state context shape the political representation of these minorities? Students taking this course should have a strong interest in state politics.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, US.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoPOLI 424.  Legislative Procedure in Congress.  3 Credits.  

Examines legislative procedure in Congress. Requires active participation in a Model Congress.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: RESEARCH.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 428.  Sexuality, Race, and Gender: Identity and Political Representation.  3 Credits.  

Analyzing the impact of the descriptive representation of marginalized communities on public policy, legislation, and social change. Sexual orientation, identity, gender, ethnicity and race, and the intersectionality of these communities. We seek to understand the role that elected officials can have in driving change, affecting their colleagues and constituents.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, US.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 429.  Diversity and Politics.  3 Credits.  

Diversity is sometimes cited as a facilitator of political cooperation but more often it is considered a challenge for constructive civic engagement. This course engages the various ways in which different forms of diversity (e.g., racial, ethnic, religious, linguistic, national origin) and politics interact across a wide range of societies.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: GL.  
Requisites: Prerequisite, POLI 130.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 430.  Analysis of National Security Policy.  3 Credits.  

Course explores contemporary threats to national security, approaches to national security strategy, policy instruments, the role of military force, and the policy-making process.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, GL.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: PLCY 430, PWAD 430.  
POLI 431.  African Politics and Societies.  3 Credits.  

The problems of race, class, and ideology are explored in the countries south of the Zambezi River, along with the political and economic ties that bind these countries.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, BN, GL.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 432.  Tolerance in Liberal States.  3 Credits.  

This course will compare the theory and practice of tolerance in the United States and Europe, with particular attention to Great Britain and France.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: PH, CI, NA.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 433.  Politics of the European Union.  3 Credits.  

Examines the politics and political economy of institutional change and policy making in the European Union in comparative perspective. Honors version available.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, GL, NA.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: EURO 433.  
POLI 434.  Politics of Mexico.  3 Credits.  

This course provides a survey of 20th-century politics in Mexico, including the construction of the single-party regime under the PRI and the political and economic changes in the second half of the century that marked the end of the one-party regime and inaugurated a new era of political competition.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, BN.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoPOLI 435.  Democracy and Development in Latin America.  3 Credits.  

The analysis of central issues of democracy and development in Latin America. Honors version available.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: RESEARCH.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, BN, GL.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoPOLI 438.  Democracy and International Institutions in an Undivided Europe.  3 Credits.  

Explores the collapse of communist rule in 1989 and the reaction of international institutions to the challenges of democratization, economic transition, ethnic conflict, and European integration in an undivided Europe.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: RESEARCH.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, NA.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: EURO 438.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoPOLI 439.  Analyzing European Public Opinion.  3 Credits.  

The course introduces students to the theory and practice of studying European public opinion. The course is split into four parts. In the first part, we will discuss core concepts and important problems in the study of public opinion. In the second part, we will study tools and common data sets for the analysis of European public opinion. In the third part, we will examine several recent contributions on different aspects of European public opinion.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FC-QUANT.
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoPOLI 440.  How to Stay in Power When the People Want You Dead: The Politics of Authoritarian Survival.  3 Credits.  

Dictators do not rely on consent of the people to stay in power. But they do still face constraints and must perform a delicate balancing act to maintain enough support to stay in office and reap its rewards. This class seeks to understand when autocrats are successful and when they fail.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: RESEARCH.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, GL.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 441.  Israeli Politics and Society.  3 Credits.  

This course will explore Israeli society, Israeli politics, and the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: BN, GL.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoPOLI 442.  International Political Economy.  3 Credits.  

Theories of international political economy, major trends in international economic relations, selected contemporary policy issues.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FC-GLOBAL.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, GL.  
Requisites: Prerequisite, POLI 150.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: EURO 442.  
POLI 443.  American Foreign Policy: Formulation and Conduct.  3 Credits.  

The role of Congress, the press, public opinion, the president, the secretary and the Department of State, the military, and the intelligence community in making American foreign policy. Emphasizes the impact of the bureaucratic process on the content of foreign policy.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS.  
Requisites: Prerequisite, POLI 150; permission of the instructor for students lacking the prerequisite.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: PWAD 443.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoPOLI 444.  Terrorism and International Peace.  3 Credits.  

The U.S. 9/11 attack represents the defining terrorist attack to Americans, but in most of the world, terrorism has long been part of politics. We will examine what motivates individuals to consider violence, how individuals organize to protect their political interests, the types of tactics used by violent groups and the state's response, before concluding with a study of collapsed states, the international implications of political violence, and possibilities for conflict resolution.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: RESEARCH.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, GL.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: PWAD 444.  
POLI 447.  Immigrant Integration in Contemporary Western Europe.  3 Credits.  

Immigrant integration has been one of the most intense political issues in Western Europe in recent decades. The extent to which these immigrants have successfully integrated is a hot topic of debate across Europe, and there is no consensus about the best way to promote integration. This course explores these debates. Honors version available.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, CI, NA.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 448.  The Politics of Multilevel Governance.  3 Credits.  

Political authority is changing around the world. Decision making has shifted down to state and local governments, such as Catalonia and Scotland, and up to international organizations such as the European Union and the World Health Organization. What does this mean for the future of the national state?

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, GL.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 449.  Beg, Borrow, or Steal: How Governments Get Money and Its Effects on Accountability.  3 Credits.  

This course explores the politics behind taxation, foreign aid, natural resources, and debt, focusing on how each affects accountability and state capacity. Topics include when governments tax; whether taxation causes democratization; the effects of foreign aid and oil money on corruption and conflict; and how government debt shapes domestic politics.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, GL.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 450.  Contemporary Inter-American Relations.  3 Credits.  

A comprehensive analysis of hemispheric international relations and foreign policies of individual Latin American nations. Honors version available.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, GL.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 451.  Race, Ethnicity, and Political Change in Comparative Perspective.  3 Credits.  

The course examines the interplay of race, ethnicity, political institutions, and political mobilization in modern state and nation-building. Through the use of broadly drawn international case studies, the politics of ethnicity and race is analyzed from the perspective of global processes of state building, colonialism and decolonization, and capitalist development as well from local development of ideology and political organizations.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, BN.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoPOLI 452.  Africa and International Conflict.  3 Credits.  

The purpose of this course is to examine Africa's conflicts using an historical examination and advances in international relations theory. We will examine European colonial intervention, the wars of independence, the Cold War, and the use of proxies, insurgencies, the African World War, the Sudanese War, and the "war of terrorism."

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: RESEARCH.
Making Connections Gen Ed: BN, GL.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: PWAD 452.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoPOLI 453.  When Countries Go Broke: Political Responses to Financial Crises.  3 Credits.  

What happens when countries go broke? This course considers the complex historical relation between revenue generation and the development of the nation-state, and details a variety of major crises facing governments today, including the political determinants of and responses to major recent financial crises.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: RESEARCH.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, GL.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 457.  International Conflict Processes.  3 Credits.  

Analysis of international conflict and the causal mechanisms that drive or prevent conflict. Emphasis is on the conditions and processes of conflict and cooperation between nations.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, GL.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: PWAD 457.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoPOLI 458.  International Conflict Management and Resolution.  3 Credits.  

Examines the management and resolution of international and civil wars. Honors version available.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: RESEARCH.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS.  
Requisites: Prerequisite, POLI 150.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: PWAD 458.  
POLI 459.  Trans-Atlantic Security.  3 Credits.  

The course explores the development of Euro-Atlantic security institutions (NATO, EU) and compares security policy in the United States and Europe. Cases include policy toward the Balkans, Afghanistan, Russia, and Ukraine. Includes review of concepts of security and selected international relations approaches to international organizations. Honors version available.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, GL.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: PWAD 459.  
POLI 469.  Conflict and Intervention in the Former Yugoslavia.  3 Credits.  

Focuses on ethnic and political conflicts in the former Yugoslavia and efforts by the international community to end conflict and promote peace and reconstruction. Honors version available.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, GL.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: PWAD 469.  
POLI 470.  Social and Political Philosophy.  3 Credits.  

An examination of the logic of social and political thought with an analysis of such concepts as society, state, power, authority, freedom, social and political obligation, law, rights. Honors version available.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: PH, NA.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 471.  Contemporary Political Thought.  3 Credits.  

Survey of the historical foundations, central tenets, and political consequences of prominent 20th-century political theories. Topics include contemporary liberalism and Marxism, fascism, theories of development, populism, feminism. Honors version available.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: PH, NA.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 472.  Problems of Modern Democratic Theory.  3 Credits.  

Major problem areas in democratic theory including definitions, presuppositions, and justifications of democracy, liberty, equality, minority rights, public interest, participation, dissent, and civil disobedience. Honors version available.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: PH, NA.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 473.  Politics and Literature.  3 Credits.  

Identifies and interprets political ideas using historical and contemporary literary sources. Examines literature as political practice.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: PH, NA.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoPOLI 475.  Environmental Political Theory.  3 Credits.  

This course brings the tools and techniques of political theory to bear on contemporary environmental challenges. Students will examine different conceptions of nature and of human-nature relations, investigate arguments about the moral and political status of nonhuman others, think about the role of individual responsibility in addressing climate change, and grapple with issues of inequality, environmental justice, and power.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FC-POWER or FC-VALUES.
Making Connections Gen Ed: PH.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 476.  The Political Theory of the American Founding.  3 Credits.  

A role-immersive simulation of the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Students employ their knowledge of the political theory and science of the founding period to become the Convention of 1787 and write a constitution.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: PH, CI, NA.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 477.  Advanced Feminist Political Theory.  3 Credits.  

Examines in greater depth and complexity current issues in feminist political theory. Topics: theories of subjectivity and solidarity, feminist poststructuralist and post-Marxist thinking, gender in the public sphere.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: PH, CI, NA.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: WGST 477.  
POLI 478.  The Politics, Philosophy, and Economics of Education.  3 Credits.  

The course explores the politics, philosophy, and economics of US education. We will cover topics such as the goals of education; education politics at the local, state, and federal levels; school finance; accountability; markets in education; the role of philanthropy; and student debt.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 488.  Game Theory.  3 Credits.  

Increasingly, political and social scientists are using game theory to analyze strategic interactions across different settings. This course aims to give students a deep technical understanding of the most relevant concepts of game theory and how these concepts have been applied to the study of political and economic phenomena.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, QI.  
Requisites: Prerequisite, POLI 287 or 288.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 490.  Advanced Special Topics in Political Science.  3 Credits.  

A detailed examination of advanced special topics in political science. Honors version available.

Rules & Requirements  
Repeat Rules: May be repeated for credit; may be repeated in the same term for different topics; 12 total credits. 4 total completions.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 630.  Political Contestation in Europe.  3 Credits.  

Examines recent developments in the European integration process by exploring the potential for political contestation concerning European Union matters in national politics. Familiarizes students with the main theoretical approaches and the extensive empirical work dealing with the effects of European integration.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 631.  European Security: The Enlarging European Union and the Trans-Atlantic Relationship.  3 Credits.  

Permission of the instructor for undergraduates. Since the collapse of communism from 1989 to 1991, the European Union has faced a fundamentally different geopolitical neighborhood and an evolving relationship with the United States. We will explore how Europe has addressed new challenges to its security in its neighborhood and beyond.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 632.  The European Union as a Global Actor.  3 Credits.  

Permission of the instructor for undergraduates. This seminar introduces students to basic theoretical approaches to both international relations and the European Union by focusing on the European Union's external relations and foreign policies.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoPOLI 691H.  Honors Seminar in Research Design.  3 Credits.  

Required of all students in the honors program in political science.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: RESEARCH.
Making Connections Gen Ed: EE- Mentored Research.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoPOLI 692H.  Honors Thesis Research.  3 Credits.  

Required of all students in the honors program in political science.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: RESEARCH.
Making Connections Gen Ed: CI, EE- Mentored Research.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoPOLI 693H.  Honors Thesis Research.  3 Credits.  

Required of all students in the honors program in political science.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: RESEARCH.
Making Connections Gen Ed: EE- Mentored Research.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoPOLI 698.  Philosophy, Politics, and Economics: Capstone Course.  3 Credits.  

Permission of the department. This capstone course advances PHIL 384, focusing on such theoretical and philosophical issues as the analysis of rights or distributive justice and the institutional implications of moral forms.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FC-VALUES.
Requisites: Prerequisite, PHIL 384.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: PHIL 698, ECON 698.  

Graduate-level Courses

POLI 700.  Core Seminar on American Politics.  3 Credits.  

An overview of research on American politics that introduces students to a wide range of sustentative understandings and theoretical perspectives.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 701.  American Political Institutions.  3 Credits.  

Theory and practice of political institutions in the American context.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 703.  Congress and Theory Building.  3 Credits.  

This course examines diverse theoretical perspectives on national institutional change and stability, using as our institutional focus the United States Congress between 1789 and 1989.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 704.  American Presidency.  3 Credits.  

Survey of the substantial literature and research on the American Presidency.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 705.  Judicial Politics.  3 Credits.  

Survey of recent literature on the politics of judicial institutions and the behavior of judges, lawyers, litigants, and other actors in the judicial process, emphasizing relationships between judicial and other policy-making processes.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 708.  Seminar in Subnational Politics and Policy.  3 Credits.  

This course surveys the major topics and research programs in subnational American politics and policy, with special attention to the vertical and horizontal intergovernmental interactions inherent within federal political systems.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 710.  Political Parties.  3 Credits.  

Selected problems and issues in the study of American and comparative parties and party systems.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 711.  American Political Behavior.  3 Credits.  

Theoretical study of mass behavior (i.e., participation, voting, protest) in the American context.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 712.  Public Opinion.  3 Credits.  

A study of public opinion, its formation, expression, and impact on political systems and public policy.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 713.  Dynamics of Electoral Politics.  3 Credits.  

Change within mass electorates. Topics include issue and attitude change, political realignments, and models of electoral competition.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 714.  Political Socialization.  3 Credits.  

The learning process by which individuals acquire values, attitudes, and norms affecting their behavior in the political community, with emphasis on major agencies of socialization: family, schools, peer groups, and media.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 715.  Seminar on Political Psychology.  3 Credits.  

This course surveys and evaluates current and past research in political psychology. Topics may include: personality, attitudes and values, socialization, political reasoning, information processing, decision making, political identity, and political affect.

Rules & Requirements  
Requisites: Prerequisite, POLI 711.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 716.  Organized Interests in United States Politics.  3 Credits.  

The course examines the major theories and empirical research on how organized interests mobilize and maintain themselves, interact within populations, exercise influence through lobbying, and impact public policy. It includes the full range of interest organizations operating in American politics at any level and in all institutional venues.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 717.  Potential for Democratic Stability in Deeply Divided Societies.  3 Credits.  

The theory of power sharing tries to explain how stable democracy is possible in deeply divided societies.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 718.  Agenda-Setting.  3 Credits.  

This class will focus on theoretical and empirical approaches to the study of agenda-setting in both American and comparative settings. Begins in the 1950s through current literature, covering a wide range of methodological approaches. Assignments include participation in seminar discussion, short papers on readings, and substantial original research paper.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 720.  Managing Public Policy.  3 Credits.  

The role(s), function(s), and strategy of public administrators in the formulation, adoption, and implementation of public policies. Policy from the perspective of the policy maker; cases exploring the relationship of theories to actual policy processes. Spring.

Rules & Requirements  
Requisites: Prerequisites, POLI 700, 745, or PUBA 723.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 721.  Public Policy and Administration.  3 Credits.  

Alternative explanation of public policies and policy-making processes; introduction to policy analysis as a way to inform choices among policy options; policy implementation through administrative practices and procedures.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 723.  Approaches to Conflict Transformation: Theory and Practice of Peacebuilding Across Contexts.  3 Credits.  

In this course, students will learn about a variety of mechanisms for resolving or transforming conflict on interpersonal, community, state, and international levels. The pedagogy of this course will be both theoretical and practical. Through readings, assignments, and class discussion, we will wrestle with questions about the efficacy, significance, and ethical implications of various methods of conflict transformation; and we will learn some techniques of conflict resolution from experienced practitioners.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 724.  Organization Design.  3 Credits.  

Field theory, motivation, communication, and systems perspectives as theoretical bases for organization design.

Rules & Requirements  
Requisites: Prerequisite, POLI 700, or permission of the instructor.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 725.  Public Administration Analysis and Evaluation II.  3 Credits.  

Second course in a two-course sequence introducing students to applied research design, data collection, data management, data analysis, and analytical reporting to allow students to conduct original research, be informed consumers of other research, and ultimately improve public program planning and evaluation decisions.

Rules & Requirements  
Requisites: Prerequisite, PUBA 719.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: PUBA 720.  
POLI 726.  Intergovernmental Relations.  3 Credits.  

Conflict and cooperation among governmental officials representing national, state, and local governments in the United States; changing roles of governments and new mechanisms for intergovernmental collaboration.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 727.  Framing.  3 Credits.  

This class will focus on the theoretical and empirical studies of individual and collective framing. Readings will be from journalism, sociology, psychology, and political science and will include both US-based and comparative studies. Assignments include participation in seminar discussion, short papers on readings, and substantial original research paper.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 728.  Policy Workshop.  3 Credits.  

Application of theories and techniques of policy analysis and planning to current public problems for actual clients. Focus on design and execution of policy research, and interpretation and presentation of results.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 729.  The Psychology of Collective Politics.  3 Credits.  

Explores the psychological underpinnings of collective politics from the perspective of both individuals and groups. Political behaviors examined include deliberation, protest, nationalism, and intergroup conflict.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 730.  Comparative Political Research and Analysis.  3 Credits.  

The seminar introduces the beginning graduate student to the central issues and major developments in the field of comparative government and politics.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 731.  The Politics of Development and Change.  3 Credits.  

The theories, concepts, and mechanisms of political change, with particular attention to processes of development and modernization in the new nations of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 732.  Political Economy of Multilevel Government.  3 Credits.  

The vertical distribution of governmental authority is changing around the world. Decision making, resources, and power are shifting downward (to state and local governments) and upward (to supra-national bodies like the European Union, other regional or international organizations). This course examines theories and empirical studies that explore the causes and consequences of these trends.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 733.  European Institutions and Integration.  3 Credits.  

This seminar introduces students to key concepts and developments of European integration and critically assesses the evolution of the European Union.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 734.  Comparative Political Behavior.  3 Credits.  

Political behavior of the public in cross-national or non-American settings. Political culture, belief systems, participation, protest, revolution, voting behavior, civic behavior, socialization, and media.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 735.  Comparative Bureaucracy.  3 Credits.  

A cross-national examination of functions, career patterns, role behavior, and relationships of bureaucratic elites within the context of national political systems. Research on particular countries is emphasized.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 736.  Political Transitions and Democratization in Comparative Perspective.  3 Credits.  

Examination of contrasting theoretical approaches to understanding democracy. Comparative study of Africa, Eastern Europe, and Latin America elucidates challenges and opportunities that affect possibilities for democratization and consolidation.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 737.  Psychology of Elite Decision Making.  3 Credits.  

Political thinking of politicians and civil servants in domestic and foreign policy. Perception, cognition, learning, attitude change and persuasion, aging, motivation, emotions, and personality.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 738.  Power and Morality in Politics.  3 Credits.  

Motives of power and morality in rational choice theories and theories of power sharing. Empirical findings and normative evaluations.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 739.  Communist Political Systems.  3 Credits.  

An examination of the political evolution and process in societies governed by communist parties.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 740.  Issues in Latin American Politics.  3 Credits.  

Explores the central issues of Latin American politics and analyzes major theoretical debates.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 741.  Latin American Politics: Research and Analysis.  3 Credits.  

Reviews major works and theoretical perspectives in the literature, assesses contemporary political science research on Latin America, and examines problems of field research.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 742.  Political Economy of Latin American Development.  3 Credits.  

Examines effects of state, regime-type, and political processes on agricultural and industrial policy in Latin America. Also considers the informal economy, international debt, and relationship between policy and politicization.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 743.  Seminar on United States - Latin American Relations.  3 Credits.  

Analysis of the central conceptual concerns and major theoretical approaches to the study of inter-American relations, with a focus on United States foreign policy toward the region.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 744.  African Politics: Challenges of Democratization and Development.  3 Credits.  

Study of the politics of development in contemporary Africa, with emphasis on changing state society relations, the roles of peasants and women in politics, and prospects for democratization.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 745.  Varieties of Democratic Capitalism in Europe and North America.  3 Credits.  

This course will examine the development of different types of welfare states in Europe and North America.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 746.  Identities and Transitions.  3 Credits.  

Capstone course for the REEES concentration in the Global Studies MA program. Interdisciplinary course focusing on the variety of problems encountered by the societies of East European countries and successor states of the former Soviet Union in their transition from communism to democracy.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: GLBL 730.  
POLI 747.  Diversity and Politics.  3 Credits.  

Diversity is sometimes cited as a facilitator of political cooperation but more often it is considered a challenge for constructive civic engagement. This course engages the ways in which different forms of diversity (e.g., racial, ethnic, religious, linguistic, gender, national-origin, sexuality) and politics interact across a wide range of societies.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 750.  Theories of International Relations I.  3 Credits.  

Introduction to the central issues and major theoretical developments in the field of international relations, focusing on system structure, political and security issues, and decision making.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 751.  Theories of International Relations II.  3 Credits.  

Introduction to the central issues and major theoretical developments in the field of international relations, focusing on the politics of international economic relations, law and organization, and fundamental system change.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 752.  International Organization.  3 Credits.  

Theories and approaches to the study of international organizations and regimes, plus selected noneconomic case studies.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 753.  International Conflict and Cooperation.  3 Credits.  

An examination of international conflict and cooperative processes in the context of the evolution of the international system.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 754.  Formal Models of International Relations.  3 Credits.  

An examination of research that uses formal models to analyze decision making in international relations, with a focus on non-cooperative game theory.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 756.  Politics of the International Economy.  3 Credits.  

Positive theories of political choice in trade, monetary relations, foreign investment, and regional integration.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 757.  Political Economy of the Nation State in the World System.  3 Credits.  

Analysis of the interaction between the external sector of the economy and domestic politics in weak capitalist states.

Rules & Requirements  
Requisites: Prerequisite, ECON 460 or 465; permission of the instructor for students lacking the prerequisite.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 758.  Theories of Foreign Policy.  3 Credits.  

This course is an introduction to the field of foreign policy analysis. Its primary goal is to expose students to the theories and methods of foreign policy research and analysis.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 759.  Research in Cooperation and Conflict Processes.  3 Credits.  

Advanced doctoral-level course. Builds off POLI 750 to explore current lines of research on conflict and cooperation. Each student will develop potential research projects and one expanded research project. The project should be suitable for subsequent development into a thesis and/or publication. Course focuses on research and the research process.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 763.  Divided Societies.  3 Credits.  

When a society is deeply divided along racial, ethnic, religious or linguistic lines, this classical model brings the risk that the majoritarian segment of society always stays in power.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 768.  Feminist Political Theory.  3 Credits.  

A survey of feminist approaches to politics and political inquiry.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: WGST 768.  
POLI 771.  Modern Political Theory.  3 Credits.  

An introduction to modern political thought, its major thinkers and issues.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 773.  Major Issues in Political Theory.  3 Credits.  

An introduction to the major issues of political theory, with emphasis on the major thinkers in the history of Western political thought.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 774.  Classical Political Theory.  3 Credits.  

An introduction to ancient and medieval political thought, its major thinkers and issues.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 775.  American Political Theory.  3 Credits.  

Survey of issues and problems in American political thought, with analysis of major thinkers and selected topics and emphasis on the role of family, society, and economy in political theory.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 776.  Recent and Contemporary Political Theory.  3 Credits.  

An introduction to recent and contemporary political thought, its major thinkers and issues. Emphasis on Continental thought.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 777.  Major Figures in Political Theory.  3 Credits.  

An in-depth study of the primary and secondary literature on one or two major figures in the history of political thought (e.g., Plato, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Marx).

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 778.  The Formal Theory of Institutions.  3 Credits.  

This course is a comprehensive introduction to the burgeoning literature on the formal theory of institutions.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 780.  Scope and Methods of Political Research.  2 Credits.  

Permission of the instructor. A discussion of the theory and process of political analysis, including philosophy of science, research design, the methods of drawing causal inferences, and of generating data.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 782.  Logic of Political Inquiry.  3 Credits.  

A critical examination of models of political inquiry. Empirical (naturalist), interpretive, and critical metatheories are considered in terms of each model's ontological, epistemological, and practical/political consequences and presuppositions.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 783.  Probability and Statistics.  4 Credits.  

Introduction to probability theory and basic principles of statistical inference, including estimation and tests of hypotheses; basic programming in R.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 784.  Regression Models.  4 Credits.  

Introduction to linear and nonlinear regression models for continuous and categorical data. Topics include ordinary least squares estimation, maximum likelihood estimation, casual inference for observational studies, graphical model interpretation techniques, and data analysis in R.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 786.  Time Series Analysis of Political Data.  3 Credits.  

Discusses the problems that arise when regression methodologies are applied to time series and pooled time series data.

Rules & Requirements  
Requisites: Prerequisite, POLI 784; permission of the instructor for students lacking the prerequisite.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 787.  Advanced Topics in Political Data Science.  3 Credits.  

Survey of important contemporary trends in advanced data analysis. Likely topics include multilevel models, measurement models, machine learning, modeling dependence, and advanced computation in R.

Rules & Requirements  
Requisites: Prerequisites, POLI 783 and 784.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 788.  Statistics and Data Analysis for Political Science and Policy Research.  3 Credits.  

This course focuses on the application of statistical analysis to quantitative data in order to study theoretically and substantively interesting questions about politics and policy.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 789.  Game Theory.  3 Credits.  

This class provides graduate students with an introduction to game theoretic modeling, focusing on noncooperative game theory. Topics covered include normal form games, extensive-form games, and games of incomplete information.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 790.  Positive Political Theory.  3 Credits.  

This seminar surveys applications of rational choice models across the subfields of political science. It also considers critiques of national choice approaches and alternative theoretical approaches to modeling human behavior.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 791.  Game Theory II.  3 Credits.  

This course is designed for students who desire greater proficiency in the more advanced topics. The course focuses on games of incomplete information that are widely used in political science like signaling and cheap-talk games and on topics that are starting to play a prominent role like principal agents models.

Rules & Requirements  
Requisites: Prerequisite, POLI 789.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 792.  Research Seminar in Political Communication.  3 Credits.  

Participants consider the scientific literature and conduct innovative research. Topics focus on different media institutions' structure, political actors' communication strategies, and the ways that citizens engage with social, print, and electronic media. The aim is to better understand political news, public opinion, and the character of electoral democracy.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 799.  TAM Internship Credit.  3 Credits.  

POLI 799 includes both an internship and an academic component. The student intern is required to work at least 8 hours per week, for a minimum of 100 hours, at the internship agency. In addition to the hours worked, the student must, under the supervision of the faculty supervisor, write a research paper or complete a comparable project, and keep a journal of internship activities.

Rules & Requirements  
Requisites: Prerequisite, one semester of coursework in TAM.  
Repeat Rules: May be repeated for credit. 6 total credits. 2 total completions.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 801.  Judicial Behavior Research.  3 Credits.  
Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 803.  Seminar on Application of Political Behavior Research to Public Problems.  3 Credits.  

Exploration and examination of the ways in which political behavior research can be applied to understanding and ameliorating public problems.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 811.  Seminar in Political Sociology.  3 Credits.  

The relationships between social structure and political decisions. Regimes and social structure; bureaucracies, political associations, and professions; science and politics; closed and open politics; political movements and change.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: SOCI 811.  
POLI 813.  Comparative Welfare States.  3 Credits.  

This course examines the development, achievements, present crisis, and future of welfare states in advanced industrial democracies.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: SOCI 813.  
POLI 816.  Influential Works in Democracy.  3 Credits.  

The course covers the major traditions of democratic theory from ancient Greece to the present, ethnographies on political organization, and 19th- and 20th-century observations on democracy.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: SOCI 816.  
POLI 830.  European Politics.  3 Credits.  

Active participation of students in a research project on career motives and ethical principles in European countries.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 831.  Comparative European Societies.  3 Credits.  

Examination of commonalities and differences of European societies and of the tensions and difficulties attending the European integration process.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 846.  Seminar in International Communication.  3 Credits.  

Reading and research in selected topics. Focus in recent years has included global news flow, communication and social change, communication in the collapse of communism, Western dominance in international communication, global culture, and the influence of technology.

Rules & Requirements  
Requisites: Prerequisite, MEJO 446; permission of the instructor for students lacking the prerequisite.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: MEJO 846.  
POLI 850.  Theories of International Politics.  3 Credits.  

Topics relating to the development of theory in the realm of international politics.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 851.  Seminar in International Relations.  3 Credits.  

Special topics in international relations, such as alliances, bargaining, decision making, economic interdependence, and international human rights.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 852.  U.S.-E.U. Lecture Series.  1 Credits.  

One credit course designed to enhance students' understanding of transatlantic studies through lectures from and discussion with experts in the field. Topics will focus on European Union and/or United States foreign and domestic politics as well as on contemporary transatlantic relations.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 853.  Political Economy of International Money and Finance.  3 Credits.  

Investigates the linkages between politics and economics in various realms of global finance, including exchange rates, sovereign debt, and foreign direct investment. Consider efforts to govern global finance, as well as the intersections between domestic politics and the international economy. Classical works and recent research in this area.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 860.  Data Collection Methods.  3 Credits.  

Reviews alternative data collection techniques used in surveys, concentrating on the impact these techniques have on the quality of survey data. Topics covered include errors associated with nonresponse, interviewing, and data processing.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: SOCI 760, PLAN 730.  
POLI 861.  Questionnaire Design.  3 Credits.  

Examines the stages of questionnaire design including developmental interviewing, question writing, question evaluation, pretesting, questionnaire ordering, and formatting. Reviews the literature on questionnaire construction. Provides hands-on experience in developing questionnaires.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: SOCI 761, PLAN 731.  
POLI 862.  Practicum on Experiments in Political Science.  3 Credits.  

A practicum on conducting experiments in Political Science.

Rules & Requirements  
Repeat Rules: May be repeated for credit.   
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 870.  Seminar in Political Theory.  3 Credits.  

Special topics in political theory such as Marxism and Socialism, Democratic theory, contemporary political thought, or related topics.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 880.  Design and Analysis of Experiments and Surveys.  3 Credits.  

Introduction to the use of experimental and survey research methods in political science. Topics include: factorial designs, repeated measures design, ANOVA, sampling theory, survey errors and costs, and questionnaire design.

Rules & Requirements  
Requisites: Prerequisites, POLI 780 and 783.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 881.  Teaching Political Science.  1.5 Credits.  

This course is designed to train graduate students to serve as teaching assistants. It will focus on how to teach at UNC and how to run a good section. Topics covered will include rules and regulations, resources available through student services, emergency procedures, classroom management, how to stimulate discussion and keep up participation, and how to develop supplementary syllabi.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 882.  Fall Friday Lecture Series on Trans-Atlantic Topics.  1 Credits.  

This course is designed to enhance students' understanding of trans-Atlantic studies through lectures from and discussion with experts in the field.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 883.  Introduction to Bayesian Modeling for Political & Social Research.  3 Credits.  

Introduction to Bayesian modeling and data analysis. The course focuses on basic Bayesian and MCMC theory, as well as applications in the context of common regression and measurement models, including multilevel (generalized) linear models, mixture models, item-response theory models and models for text classification. Basic knowledge of mathematical statistics is desirable, and working knowledge of both the R programming language and the maximum likelihood estimation framework is required.

Rules & Requirements  
Requisites: Prerequisite, POLI 784.  
Repeat Rules: May be repeated for credit. 3 total credits. 2 total completions.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 884.  Introduction to Machine Learning.  3 Credits.  

A seminar-style course providing an introduction to the main concepts and models of machine learning. Prior completion of POLI 883 is recommended.

Rules & Requirements  
Requisites: Prerequisites, POLI 783, 784, and 787.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 885.  Behavioral Economics and Experiments.  3 Credits.  

The purpose of this course is to provide students with an introduction to behavioral decision research and its applications. Behavioral decision research is intensely interdisciplinary, employing concepts and tools from economics, statistics, and other disciplines, as well as the core discipline of psychology. BDR has had an impact on the fields of medicine, law, military science, environmental sciences, and public policy.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 888.  Applying Data Analysis to Transatlantic Studies.  3 Credits.  

This course is designed to get students to expand multivariate data analysis skills and to think critically about the presentation of information in professional settings and the media. A key goal is to give participants the confidence to critically evaluate whether the presentation of data is professionally sound. Another central goal is to expand skills in multivariate analysis by engaging in a semester-long research project that culminates in a publication quality paper.

Rules & Requirements  
Requisites: Prerequisite, POLI 788.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 890.  Directed Readings in Political Science.  1-21 Credits.  

Permission of the department. Directed readings in a special field under the direction of a member of the graduate faculty.

Rules & Requirements  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 891.  Special Topics in Political Science.  1-3 Credits.  

Permission of the instructor. Seminar in selected areas of political science. Topics vary from year to year. May be repeated for credit.

Rules & Requirements  
Repeat Rules: May be repeated for credit; may be repeated in the same term for different topics.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
POLI 993.  Master's Research and Thesis.  3 Credits.  
Rules & Requirements  
Repeat Rules: May be repeated for credit.   
POLI 994.  Doctoral Research and Dissertation.  3 Credits.  
Rules & Requirements  
Repeat Rules: May be repeated for credit.   

Department of Political Science

Visit Program Website

Chair

Mark Crescenzi

crescenzi@unc.edu

Director of Graduate Studies

Evelyne Huber

ehuber@email.unc.edu

Graduate Coordinator

Kalisha-Lourdy Lazare

kalishal@unc.edu