Course Descriptions
The Department of Political Science offers several programs of study for graduate students:
- an M.A. in Political Science
- a Ph.D. in Political Science
- a Global Security Studies Graduate Certificate
POLS 500 – Thesis
1-15 Credit Hours
Grading Restriction: P/NP only.
Repeatability: May be repeated.
Credit Level Restriction: Graduate credit only.
Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level – graduate.
POLS 502 – Registration for Use of Facilities
1-15 Credit Hours
Required for the student not otherwise registered during any semester when student uses university facilities and/or faculty time before degree is completed.
Grading Restriction: Satisfactory/No Credit grading only.
Repeatability: May be repeated.
Credit Restriction: May not be used toward degree requirements.
Credit Level Restriction: Graduate credit only.
Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level – graduate.
POLS 510 – Scope and Methods in Political Science
3 Credit Hours
Procedures of analysis in political science.
POLS 511 – Research Design
3 Credit Hours
Methods for planning and executing research, from case studies to experimental designs: development of research questions and hypotheses; measurement issues; and validity of inferences.
POLS 512 – Quantitative Political Analysis
3 Credit Hours
Methods and techniques in quantitative political analysis: univariate and bivariate statistics.
POLS 513 – Quantitative Political Analysis
3 Credit Hours
Methods and techniques in quantitative political analysis: multivariate model building.
POLS 514 – Research Design and Methodology in Public Administration
3 Credit Hours
Basic assumptions and techniques of research in public administration; measurement, analysis, and reporting of data.
POLS 515 – Maximum Likelihood Methods
3 Credit Hours
Introduction to maximum likelihood estimation with applications to political science. Discrete choice analysis, censored and truncated variables, event history analysis, and sample selection models.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 513.
POLS 516 – Dynamic Models in Political Science
3 Credit Hours
Introduction to time series methods in political science. Discusses the problems that arise when regression methodologies are applied to time series and pooled time series data and their solutions.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 513.
POLS 518 – Bayesian Modeling in Political Science
3 Credit Hours
Introduction to Bayesian methods and Hierarchical Linear Models (HLM). How to build more sophisticated models using Bayesian methods, how to apply these methods to data analysis in political science research, and how to deal with hierarchical data in an empirical model. Simulation techniques and related statistical tools are introduced.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 513.
Credit Level Restriction: Graduate credit only.
Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level – graduate.
POLS 519 – Qualitative and Multi-Method Research
3 Credit Hours
The goal of this course is to familiarize political science graduate students with various non-statistical approaches used to conduct original research. Epistemologies of quantitative political science research, case studies, comparative case designs, historical analysis, field research, qualitative interviewing, documents as data, and ethnography.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 511 and 513.
POLS 530 – American Government and Politics
3 Credit Hours
Survey of literature, approaches to research and analysis, critical examination of major works, and overviews of research in various sub fields.
POLS 539 – State and Local Government and Politics
3 Credit Hours
Theoretical and empirical analysis of government, politics, policymaking and public administration at the state and local levels.
POLS 543 – Law, Regulation and Public Policy
3 Credit Hours
Policymaking by executive agencies through rulemaking, enforcement and adjudication; legislative, executive and judicial control of agency actions.
POLS 548 – Public Policy Process
3 Credit Hours
Theoretical, formal and empirical analysis of the roles, functions and decision-making processes of public policymakers, including legislative, executive and judicial actors.
POLS 549 – Environmental Policy
3 Credit Hours
Overview of contemporary environmental policy and its evolution. Examines the roles of values in the environmental arena. Provides a framework for policy analysis and analytical tools for selection and choosing among policy options.
POLS 550 – Public Administration
3 Credit Hours
Overview of public administration theory and function.
POLS 553 – Non-Profit Management
3 Credit Hours
An overview of the history, scope, and management of not-for-profit organizations.
POLS 554 – Sustainable Communities
3 Credit Hours
Development and implementation of sustainable development approaches and strategies for local communities.
POLS 556 – Policy Analysis
3 Credit Hours
Strategies and techniques for identification and analysis of public problems and policy solutions.
POLS 558 – The Politics of Administration
3 Credit Hours
Examination of public administration in context of American political system, policy making and political roles of public administrators and agencies.
POLS 560 – Public Financial Administration
3 Credit Hours
Principles and techniques of public finance at state and local levels: budget preparation, execution and audit, risk management, capital planning, major tax structures, economic forecasting, cash management, and debt administration.
POLS 562 – Public Management
3 Credit Hours
Interpersonal and leadership skills, techniques and methods for planning, decision making, and implementation of management strategies in public sector.
POLS 564 – Human Resource Management in Public Organizations
3 Credit Hours
Intensive analysis of contemporary issues, challenges, methods and strategies related to effective management of human resources in public sector.
POLS 566 – Public Service Ethics and Values
3 Credit Hours
Moral-ethical-value dilemmas confronting administrators in American political system.
POLS 569 – Internship in Public Administration
3–9 Credit Hours
Grading Restriction: Satisfactory/No Credit grading only.
Repeatability: May be repeated with consent of department. Maximum 9 hours.
Comment(s): Open to students participating in approved internship programs.
POLS 570 – Comparative Government and Politics
3 Credit Hours
Selected topics in modern governments.
POLS 571 – Foundations of Security Studies
3 Credit Hours
Analysis of decision making in security affairs. Topics covered include deterrence theory, crisis stability, nuclear strategy, and the political uses of military coercion.
POLS 572 – The Politics of Development
3 Credit Hours
Selected topics dealing with political problems of less developed countries.
POLS 573 – War, Peace, and Grand Strategy
3 Credit Hours
An exploration of the military, economic, and social sources of great power competition in international politics.
POLS 574 – Area Seminar in Comparative Government and Politics
3 Credit Hours
Selected topics in area studies: African, Asia, Latin America, Middle East, Soviet Union and Eastern Europe or Western Europe.
Repeatability: May be repeated with consent of instructor and department. Maximum 9 hours.
POLS 579 – College Teaching in Political Science
1 Credit Hour
Pedagogical, technical, practical and ethical issues associated with teaching political science at the college level.
POLS 580 – International Politics
3 Credit Hours
Survey of literature and major aspects of international politics.
POLS 581 – Fundamentals of Planning
3 Credit Hours
History of planning, structure and development of urban areas, operations of contemporary planning, trends and issues.
POLS 591 – Foreign Study
1–15 Credit Hours
Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 15 hours.
POLS 592 – Off-Campus Study
1–15 Credit Hours
Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 15 hours.
POLS 593 – Independent Study
1–15 Credit Hours
Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 15 hours.
POLS 595 – Readings and Special Problems in Political Science
1–3 Credit Hours
Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 15 hours.
Registration Permission: Consent of instructor.
POLS 599 – Professional Development
1 Credit Hour
Discussion of issues pertaining to teaching, research, and service for political scientists in academic and applied settings.
POLS 600 – Doctoral Research and Dissertation
3–15 Credit Hours
Grading Restriction: P/NP only.
Repeatability: May be repeated.
Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level – graduate
POLS 610 – Special Topics in Empirical Theory and Methodology
3 Credit Hours
Advanced methods and procedures of analysis in political science.
Repeatability: May be repeated with consent of instructor and department. Maximum 9 hours.
Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level – graduate.
POLS 632 – Presidency
3 Credit Hours
Systematic examination of the structure, functions and powers of the American presidency as they have evolved from the founding to the present.
Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level – graduate.
POLS 633 – Congress
3 Credit Hours
Formal, empirical and theoretical approaches to and models of the institutional workings of Congress and the behavior of legislators.
Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level – graduate.
POLS 635 – Public Opinion and Political Socialization
3 Credit Hours
Explores the meaning and measurement of public opinion and contemporary research on the topic; including questions of rationality, tolerance, and party identification.
Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level – graduate.
POLS 636 – Campaigns, Elections, and Voting Behavior
3 Credit Hours
Surveys theory and research of American campaigns and elections, with an emphasis on presidential and congressional contests.
Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level – graduate.
POLS 637 – Political Parties and Interest Groups
3 Credit Hours
Theoretical and empirical examination of the structure, functions and operations of political parties and interest groups.
Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level – graduate.
POLS 639 – Special Topics in American Government and Politics
3 Credit Hours
Advanced study of selected topics.
Repeatability: May be repeated with consent of instructor and department. Maximum 9 hours.
Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level – graduate.
POLS 640 – Courts and Judicial Processes
3 Credit Hours
Examination of published research dealing with judicial behavior, judicial policymaking, and courts and political actors.
Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level – graduate.
POLS 654 – Contemporary Public Policies
3 Credit Hours
Problems in one or more public policy areas from political and administrative perspectives. Topics selected by instructor.
Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level – graduate.
POLS 660 – Contemporary Perspectives on Public Administration
3 Credit Hours
Development of theory in public administration: contemporary critiques and alternatives.
Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level – graduate.
POLS 668 – Special Topics in Public Administration
3 Credit Hours
Analysis of selected issues and problems in public administration.
Repeatability: May be repeated with consent of instructor and department. Maximum 9 hours.
Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level – graduate.
POLS 670 – Special Topics in Comparative Government and Politics
3 Credit Hours
Research into selected topics.
Repeatability: May be repeated with consent of instructor and department. Maximum 9 hours.
Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level – graduate.
POLS 673 – Comparative Political Economy: Advanced Industrial Countries
3 Credit Hours
Examines comparative political economy through research questions and scholarly works that focus on the advanced industrial countries.
Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level – graduate.
POLS 684 – International Law
3 Credit Hours
Provides the analytical tools necessary to evaluate the legality of events under international law. Presents the law relevant to politics, such as the use of force, human rights, war crimes, international courts, principles of jurisdiction, and air, space and sea law.
Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level – graduate.
POLS 685 – Conflict Processes
3 Credit Hours
Theoretical explanations for the causes and processes of war and international disputes or crises.
Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level – graduate.
POLS 686 – Arms Control, Deterrence and Nuclear Nonproliferation
3 Credit Hours
Challenges to U.S. and global security created by the existence of nuclear weapons and power.
Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level – graduate.
POLS 687 – International Political Economy
3 Credit Hours
Theoretical explanations for the relationship between the international economy, and, both international and domestic politics. Provide the analytical tools necessary to evaluate issues related to that relationship.
Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level – graduate.
POLS 688 – Special Topics in International Politics
3 Credit Hours
Selected issues and problems in international politics. Specific content determined by instructor.
Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level – graduate.
POLS 697 – Readings in Two Fields of Political Science
3 Credit Hours
Selected topics in two fields from among American Politics, Comparative Politics and International Relations.
Repeatability: May be repeated with consent of instructor and department. Maximum 9 hours.
Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level – graduate.