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Department of Political Science

Areas of Concentration and Course Requirements

Ph.D. students are required to take general examinations in two of the Department's five fields (American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Relations, Political Theory, and Public Law). In order to sit for the general examination in a field, students must meet the course requirements set forth by the Committee for that particular field.

The requirements for each field appear below. In addition, all doctoral candidates must take Nature of Political Inquiry -POLS 393, Research Design -POLS 396, Introduction to Quantitative Methods -POLS 395 and Research Seminar in Quantitative Methods -POLS 493.

 

American Politics

In preparing for the Ph.D. examinations, students in the field of American Politics should take the following courses or their equivalents:

    POLS 5381, Pro-Seminar in American Politics

     

    POLS5406, Seminar in the American Political System

     

    POLS 5407, Advanced Topics in American Political Institutions and Policy

     

    POLS 5408, Advanced Topics in American Political Behavior

     

    POLS 5409, Advanced Topics in American Race, Gender and Ethnic Politics


     

    Comparative Politics

    -Proseminar in Comparative Politics - POLS 335

    -At least two of the following area courses:

    Eastern and Central Europe - POLS 340

    Latin America - POLS 332

    Africa - POLS 339

    East Asia - POLS 330

    Middle East - POLS 329

    Western Europe - POLS 331

    Russia/former USSR - POLS 337

    Area course approved by the committee: POLS 397

    -At least two of the following topics courses:

    Comparative & Developmental Administration - POLS 368

    Politics of Transitions & Democratization - POLS 397

    Women in Political Development- POLS 397

    Comparative Social Movements - POLS 397

    Comparative Political Culture - POLS 397

    Comparative Parties & Electoral Systems - POLS 397

    Comparative Political Development - POLS 397

    A topics course approved by the field committee - POLS 397

    Tool Requirements: Students are strongly urged to meet the Graduate School's tool requirement through study of a foreign language relevant to their field of study. Depending on the thesis topic, additional quantitative work beyond the Department's quantitative methods tool requirements may also be required by the student's committee.

    Field Experience: Obtaining field experience, either in the course of dissertation research or during the period of graduate study - study abroad, internship, involvement in a research project is strongly encouraged.

     

    International Relations

    -Proseminar in International Relations - POLS 311

    -Foreign Policy Analysis - POLS 325

    -Two or More of the Following:

    Conflict and Cooperation - POLS 323

    International Organization - POLS 326

    International Political Economy - POLS 324

    -One or More of the Following

    American Diplomacy - POLS 313

    American Foreign Relations - POLS 349

    Politics and Security in the Middle East - POLS 329

    U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East  POLS 328

    International Politics of the Indian Ocean Region - POLS 397

    Foreign Policies of the Russian Federation and the Former Soviet Union - POLS 321

     

    Political Theory

    -Proseminar in Political Theory - POLS 304

    -At Least Three of the Following:

    Political Theory (may be repeated with change in course content) - POLS 301

    Seminar in American Thought and Ideology - POLS 307

    Special Topics (on a topic approved by the Political Theory Field Committee) - POLS 397

    Students are also encourage to take seminars from other topics related to the Political Theory field, which must be approved by the Field Committee. Also, students who have not, as undergraduates, taken an upper-division, year-long sequence in the history of political theory are strongly encouraged to enroll (for graduate credit) in POLS 201 and POLS 202.

     

     

    Public Law

    -Law and Society - POLS 352

    -Judicial Decision-making - POLS 353

    -At Least One of the Following:

    Constitutional Rights and Freedoms POLS 397

    Constitutional Interpretation - POLS 397

    -One or More of the Following

    Administrative Law - POLS 358

    Representations in Law - POLS 397

    Criminal Justice Administration - POLS 397

    Legal Theory/Jurisprudence - POLS 397