Political Science (POSC)


POSC 2201  American Politics  (3 credits)  
Problems of organizing and using governmental power at the national level. The principles of the U.S. Constitution. The Presidency, Congress and the federal judiciary. Public opinion, elections, political parties and interest groups. Issues of public policy.
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: SSC Individuals & Communities  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Environmental Studies  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Summer Term, 2024 Spring Term, 2023 Fall Term, 2023 Summer Term  
POSC 2201H  Honors American Politics  (3 credits)  
Problems of organizing and using governmental power at the national level. The principles of the U.S. Constitution. The Presidency, Congress and the federal judiciary. Public opinion, elections, political parties and interest groups. Issues of public policy. As a Honors Program course, includes a more intensive research or project component.
Prerequisite: Admission to Marquette University Honors Program.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: SSC Individuals & Communities  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Environmental Studies  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Spring Term, 2023 Fall Term, 2023 Spring Term, 2022 Fall Term  
POSC 2401  Comparative Politics  (3 credits)  
Types of government, ranging from democratic to totalitarian. The parliamentary alternative to presidential democracy. Political modernization and revolution.
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: SSC Basic Needs & Justice  
Interdisciplinary Studies: International Affairs  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Spring Term, 2023 Fall Term, 2023 Summer Term, 2023 Spring Term  
POSC 2401H  Honors Comparative Politics  (3 credits)  
Types of government, ranging from democratic to totalitarian. The parliamentary alternative to presidential democracy. Political modernization and revolution. As a Honors Program course, includes a more intensive research or project component.
Prerequisite: Admission to Marquette University Honors Program.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: SSC Basic Needs & Justice  
Last four terms offered: 2021 Spring Term, 2019 Fall Term, 2018 Fall Term  
POSC 2601  International Politics  (3 credits)  
Patterns of interaction among nations and subnational and supranational entities. Cooperation and conflict. National interest, elements of power and war. Morality and human rights issues; economic, environmental, and resource issues in world politics. Recent developments and their impact.
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: SSC Crossing Boundaries  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Environmental Studies, International Affairs  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Spring Term, 2023 Fall Term, 2023 Spring Term, 2022 Fall Term  
POSC 2801  Justice and Power  (3 credits)  
Explores the difference between justice and power with special reference to the authority of a higher law or principle of right; selections from the works of Thucydides, Plato, Machiavelli and others are read.
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Ethics, Law and Society  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Spring Term, 2023 Fall Term, 2023 Spring Term, 2022 Fall Term  
POSC 2801H  Honors Justice and Power  (3 credits)  
Explores the difference between justice and power with special reference to the authority of a higher law or principle of right; selections from the works of Thucydides, Plato, Machiavelli and others are read. As a Honors Program course, includes a more intensive research or project component.
Prerequisite: Admission to Marquette University Honors Program.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Ethics, Law and Society  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Spring Term, 2023 Fall Term, 2023 Spring Term, 2022 Fall Term  
POSC 3101  Writing and Argumentation in Political Science  (3 credits)  
Focuses on argumentation and writing in political science. Different types of argument-based writing on a particular political science topic. Overview of the role of logic and credible evidence in the effectiveness of an argument. Attention is given to the process of writing, including iterative stages of a writing assignment.
Prerequisite: ENGL 1001; PHIL 1001; at least one 2000-level POSC, recommended.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: Writing Intensive  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Summer Term, 2024 Spring Term, 2023 Fall Term, 2023 Spring Term  
POSC 3202  Quantitative Data Analysis for Social Science  (3 credits)  
Understand, explain and perform social science research, focusing on quantitative data analysis. Learn the basic rules of scientific inquiry, approaches to statistical analysis and methods of research design. Learn the R software environment and practice techniques needed to conduct research. Read and understand the methodology of academic articles in the social sciences. Develop a crucial skill set for the modern job market, namely the ability to collect and analyze data in a sophisticated manner.
Prerequisite: POSC 2201, POSC 2201H, POSC 2401, POSC 2401H, POSC 2601, POSC 2601H, POSC 2801, or POSC 2801H; or Soph. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Spring Term, 2023 Fall Term  
POSC 3953  Undergraduate Seminar  (3 credits)  
Designed to initiate a selected group of qualified undergraduates in the techniques and discipline of scholarly research by concentrated work in a restricted field. Students pursue course reading in preparation of reports, while working under close supervision of a professor. Course intended primarily for Political Science majors, but other qualified students may apply. Specific subjects of seminars to be announced in the Schedule of Classes.
Prerequisite: Jr. stndg. and cons. of instr.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Last four terms offered: 2022 Fall Term, 2002 Spring Term, 1997 Spring Term, 1996 Spring Term  
POSC 4201  The United States Congress  (3 credits)  
Membership, legislative process, and internal distribution of power in the U.S. Congress. Congressional relationships with the presidency, executive bureaucracy, interest groups, and public.
Prerequisite: POSC 2201 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: SSC Individuals & Communities  
Last four terms offered: 2023 Spring Term, 2022 Fall Term, 2022 Spring Term, 2021 Fall Term  
POSC 4211  The American Presidency  (3 credits)  
The evolution and contemporary status of the American presidency. Presidential elections, policy-making, advisory systems, and relationships with Congress, the bureaucracy, and the courts. Problems and techniques of decision making.
Prerequisite: POSC 2201 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Last four terms offered: 2023 Fall Term, 2022 Spring Term, 2020 Spring Term, 2018 Spring Term  
POSC 4212  American Political Parties  (3 credits)  
Examines the nature and development of American political parties. Traces continuity and change in the American party system beginning in the early Republic, assessing the rise and fall of the Whigs, the dynamic between machine politics and progressive reform, and the shifts in party ideas and policy stances that inform contemporary political debates. The question of ideological change in American political parties is further explored by contemporary work on factions, polarization, and culture war. Assesses changes to the parties as organizations in the wake of reforms to the candidate selection process from an institutional perspective. Explores the question of how American political parties compare to their counterparts in other advanced industrial democracies.
Prerequisite: POSC or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Spring Term, 2021 Fall Term, 2019 Fall Term, 2017 Spring Term  
POSC 4213  Elections, Public Opinion and Participation  (3 credits)  
Covers explanations for political behavior at the individual, group, and national levels. Begins with an examination of public opinion and political attitudes, followed by questions about voter turnout, political participation, and theories of voter choice. Culminates in a unit exploring perspective on how to explain and interpret election outcomes.
Prerequisite: POSC 2201or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Last four terms offered: 2022 Fall Term, 2020 Fall Term, 2018 Fall Term, 2016 Fall Term  
POSC 4216  Public Policy Analysis  (3 credits)  
U.S. domestic policy with special attention to the politics of national policy in the areas of the economy, social welfare, and the environment. The stages of the policy process: agenda-building, formation, budgeting, implementation, and evaluation.
Prerequisite: POSC 2201 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Environmental Studies  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Spring Term, 2023 Fall Term, 2021 Fall Term, 2019 Spring Term  
POSC 4217  Research and Writing for Public Policy  (1-3 credits)  
Focus on research, writing and developing knowledge in public policy through the Les Aspin Program in Washington, D.C. Different types of policy-based writing and oral advocacy assignments on a particular topic. Overview of the role of logic and credible evidence in the effectiveness of an argument. Attention given to the process of writing, including iterative stages of a writing assignment.
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: Writing Intensive  
POSC 4219  Governing Data: The Politics and Policy of Official Statistics  (3 credits)  
Examines how and why governments collect data, the political and operational struggles that confront government statistical and policy research agencies. Explains and interprets the role of numbers and statistics in contemporary politics. Draws upon and synthesizes a wide range of perspectives from political science, economics, sociology, anthropology, history, science and technology studies, and law.
Prerequisite: POSC 2201 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
POSC 4221  Interest Group Politics  (3 credits)  
How groups are organized around particular economic interests and political preferences in order to influence policy-making institutions. The internal incentive structure of political organizations, including business, professional, trade union, and "public interest" groups. Functions of, and biases inherent in, the group process. Offered only at Les Aspin Center.
Prerequisite: POSC 2201 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: SSC Individuals & Communities  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Environmental Studies  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Spring Term, 2023 Fall Term, 2023 Spring Term, 2022 Fall Term  
POSC 4241  American Constitutional Law and Development  (3 credits)  
An examination of the historical development of American constitutional law and politics, including the areas of judicial review, separation of powers, federalism, the powers of Congress and the presidency, and the rise and decline of due process property rights. Explores the judiciary’s role in constructing constitutional law and how this role has been contested over time. Considers how political institutions and forces, in addition to the judiciary, have shaped American constitutionalism.
Prerequisite: POSC 2201 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Law and Society  
Last four terms offered: 2023 Fall Term, 2022 Fall Term, 2021 Fall Term, 2020 Fall Term  
POSC 4251  The Politics of Civil Rights and Liberties  (3 credits)  
An examination of civil rights and liberties policies in the United States, with an emphasis on the development of these policies over the course of American political history. Explores how the Supreme Court’s contribution to this development is connected with the broader historical and political context in which it sits. The Court does not play an exclusive role in this process. Expanding, contracting, or otherwise altering the meaning of a right or a liberty involves a range of political actors in a variety of venues. Coverage includes free speech, religious freedom, political participation, privacy, criminal procedures and the rights of minority groups and women.
Prerequisite: POSC 2201 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Gender and Sexualities Studies, Law and Society, Peace Studies  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Spring Term, 2023 Spring Term, 2022 Spring Term, 2021 Spring Term  
POSC 4276  Courts and Public Policy  (3 credits)  
An examination of the role and influence of courts in shaping American public policy, particularly from the 1950s to the present. Includes consideration of key institutional characteristics of the judiciary, the influence of law and politics on judicial decisionmaking, the interaction between the courts and other political branches, the reasons for the courts' emergence as battlegrounds in public policy problems.
Prerequisite: POSC 2201 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Law and Society  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Spring Term, 2018 Fall Term, 2015 Spring Term  
POSC 4281  Urban Public Policy  (3 credits)  
Explores the varied public policies affecting the health and wellbeing of cities and metropolitan areas, including housing, health and education. Topics include the social and economic benefits of urban regions, the causes and consequences of urban sprawl and residential segregation, and the challenges posed by growing inequalities within and between cities.
Prerequisite: POSC 2201 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Africana Studies, Peace Studies, Urban Affairs  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Spring Term, 2023 Spring Term, 2018 Fall Term, 2017 Spring Term  
POSC 4291  State and Local Politics  (3 credits)  
Examines sub-national governments in the United States, including a comparative study of political institutions, political cultures and public policies across state and local governments. Draws upon examples from Wisconsin and Milwaukee to better understand the role of state and local governments in the American federal system.
Prerequisite: POSC 2201 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Africana Studies, Urban Affairs  
Last four terms offered: 2023 Spring Term, 2017 Fall Term, 2015 Spring Term, 2013 Fall Term  
POSC 4299  Topics in American Politics  (3 credits)  
Lectures and discussion an area in American politics which, because of its topicality, is not the subject of a regular course. May be taken a maximum of three times.
Prerequisite: POSC 2201 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Spring Term, 2023 Fall Term, 2023 Spring Term  
POSC 4341  Politics of American Capitalism  (3 credits)  
Political economy of U.S. history. Individuals, firms, and business associations and their role in politics. Economic development and conflict as sources of political change.
Prerequisite: POSC 2201; or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Summer Term, 2021 Fall Term, 2019 Spring Term, 2017 Fall Term  
POSC 4351  Environmental Politics and Policy  (3 credits)  
Tackles the key political and policy debates surrounding the many dimensions of environmental issues, to include global human security to local pollution controls. Focuses on a core set of debates that frame intellectual and practical approaches to solving environmental challenges.
Prerequisite: POSC 2201, POSC 2601 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Environmental Studies, Environmental Ethics, International Affairs, Peace Studies  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Spring Term, 2023 Spring Term, 2022 Spring Term, 2021 Spring Term  
POSC 4356  Technology, Politics and Policy  (3 credits)  
The origins and growth of the Internet. Legal and regulatory dilemmas posed by the Internet. The impact of the Internet on politics, society and economics.
Prerequisite: POSC 2201, POSC 2601 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Last four terms offered: 2019 Fall Term, 2018 Fall Term, 2016 Fall Term, 2013 Spring Term  
POSC 4361  Politics of Race, Ethnicity, and Gender  (3 credits)  
The role of African-Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanics, white ethnics, American Indians, and women in shaping American politics through elections, political parties, and public office. The nature and impact of political organizations representing these groups.
Prerequisite: POSC 2201 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Africana Studies, Gender and Sexualities Studies, Latinx Studies, Peace Studies  
Last four terms offered: 2018 Spring Term, 2015 Fall Term, 2008 Fall Term, 2007 Fall Term  
POSC 4366  Religion and Politics  (3 credits)  
Religion and politics in contemporary America. The historic patterns and current interactions of religious movements, denominations, and individuals involved in American politics. Specific attention given to the rationales used for religious involvement in politics, the types of political behavior employed, and the consequences of that behavior.
Prerequisite: POSC 2201 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Last four terms offered: 2012 Spring Term, 2003 Fall Term, 1995 Fall Term, 1993 Fall Term  
POSC 4371  Media and Politics in the U.S.  (3 credits)  
Explores role and power of media in American political systems; history and development of national press, including court interpretations of freedom of the press; quality and impact of political reporting, with emphasis on election coverage; and media's relationships with other political actors.
Prerequisite: POSC 2201 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: SSC Cgntn, Lang, Mmry/Intlgnc  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Spring Term, 2023 Spring Term, 2021 Spring Term, 2019 Spring Term  
POSC 4376  American National Security Policy  (3 credits)  
Defense policy processes in the United States; issues in defense decision-making, including the roles of the public, interest groups, Congress, the President, and executive agencies, with emphasis on the defense establishment; U.S. strategic doctrines since World War II; budgeting; civil-military relations.
Prerequisite: POSC 2201 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: International Affairs  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Spring Term, 2022 Fall Term, 2019 Spring Term, 2018 Spring Term  
POSC 4381  Politics of U.S. Health Care  (3 credits)  
Examines the American health care system, health care policies, and underlying politics. Provides an overview of the organization and financing of health care in the United States. Examines the impact of the political system, political parties and interest groups, and values on the health care system and health policies at national and state levels. Covers health care reform politics, including the Democrats’ 2010 Affordable Care Act and Republican reform alternatives. Also focuses on the social determinants of health and policies for vulnerable populations. Same as BISC 4381.
Prerequisite: Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Culture, Health and Illness  
Last four terms offered: 2023 Fall Term, 2022 Fall Term, 2021 Fall Term, 2020 Fall Term  
POSC 4406  Comparative Public Policy  (3 credits)  
Politics of public policies in democratic political systems, with special attention to North America, Western Europe and Japan. Alternative theoretical perspectives on the problem of social choice in democracies. Problems and policies in the areas of the economy, education, health, welfare and the environment.
Prerequisite: POSC 2401 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: International Affairs  
Last four terms offered: 2023 Fall Term, 2023 Spring Term, 2022 Spring Term, 2018 Fall Term  
POSC 4411  Politics, Economics, and Democracy  (3 credits)  
The relationship between capitalism and democracy. The impact of economic factors on politics. The political consequences of the organization and power of private business. The impact of democratic politics and political institutions on economic actors and performance in capitalist democracies.
Prerequisite: POSC 2401; or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Peace Studies  
Last four terms offered: 2020 Fall Term, 2019 Fall Term, 2018 Fall Term, 2017 Fall Term  
POSC 4416  Politics of Inequality  (3 credits)  
Examines the growth and cross-national differences in economic inequalities in the contemporary era, the impact of rising inequality on democracy and the socioeconomic and political causes of rising inequality. Special attention to how political forces, such as public opinion, electoral competition and the power of organized interests, shape the distribution of income and wealth and the equality of economic opportunity.
Prerequisite: POSC 2401; or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: International Affairs  
Last four terms offered: 2021 Fall Term, 2020 Spring Term, 2019 Spring Term  
POSC 4421  Democracy, Authoritarianism, and Totalitarianism  (3 credits)  
Three "ideal types" of political systems, and their manifestations in countries at different points in time. Topics include power, legitimacy, ruling elites, institution, and economics. Examination of political system change through coup, revolution, and peaceful transition.
Prerequisite: POSC 2401 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Last four terms offered: 2023 Fall Term, 2019 Spring Term, 2014 Spring Term, 2002 Spring Term  
POSC 4451  Comparative Judicial Politics  (3 credits)  
Provides a detailed introduction to the empirical and normative debates surrounding judicial power including origins of judicial review, courts as strategic actors and the development of stronger courts over time in American and comparative context. Focuses on the development of rule of law, and in particular, how the court as a governing institution interacts with legislative and executive powers. POSC 4241 recommended.
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
POSC 4461  Comparative Health Politics and Policy  (3 credits)  
Explores through comparative analysis the ways in which different nations address the goals of equitable access, affordability and quality in health care. Considers the similarities and differences in health policy challenges facing rich and developing nations. Employs comparative analysis of different models of health care provisions and financing, and examines the underlying politics of health care systems and policies in different countries.
Prerequisite: Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Culture, Health and Illness  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Spring Term, 2023 Spring Term, 2022 Spring Term, 2021 Spring Term  
POSC 4499  Topics in Comparative Politics  (3 credits)  
Lectures and discussion in an area in comparative politics which, because of its topicality, is not the subject of a regular course. May be taken a maximum of three times.
Prerequisite: POSC 2401 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
POSC 4501  European Politics  (3 credits)  
Nationalism and European identity; evolution of executive and legislative institutions; political parties; ongoing changes in the welfare state and state socialism; transformation of class structure; the challenge of post-industrial society. Includes both Eastern and Western Europe.
Prerequisite: POSC 2401 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: International Affairs  
Last four terms offered: 2023 Fall Term, 2022 Fall Term, 2021 Fall Term, 2020 Fall Term  
POSC 4511  Russian and Post-Soviet Politics  (3 credits)  
Developments in Russia and the other countries which emerge from the collapse of the Soviet Union. Brief coverage of tsarist and Soviet politics, with a particular emphasis on reasons for the USSR's collapse and Soviet legacies, followed by an overview of domestic and international politics in the region.
Prerequisite: POSC 2401 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: International Affairs  
Last four terms offered: 2023 Spring Term, 2022 Spring Term, 2019 Fall Term, 2018 Spring Term  
POSC 4521  Chinese Politics  (3 credits)  
Origins of the Chinese Revolution, political change and conflict in post-1949 China, and the contemporary political system and political developments.
Prerequisite: POSC 2401 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Asian Studies, International Affairs  
Last four terms offered: 2023 Fall Term, 2020 Spring Term, 2019 Spring Term, 2015 Fall Term  
POSC 4541  Latin American Politics  (3 credits)  
Government and politics in major Latin American countries. The politics of social change and development, seizures of power and rule by the military and human rights.
Prerequisite: POSC 2401 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: International Affairs, Latin American Studies  
Last four terms offered: 2023 Spring Term, 2021 Fall Term, 2020 Fall Term, 2018 Fall Term  
POSC 4601  International Law  (3 credits)  
Introduces students to the theoretical frameworks, empirical cases, and cutting-edge debates in the field of international law. Focuses on different theoretical perspectives for understanding international law. Examines the general principles of international law, including actors of international law, the creation and interpretation of international law, and the relationship between international law and domestic law. Explores several specialized areas of international law, such as human rights, environment, international criminal justice, trade, and the use of force.
Prerequisite: POSC 2601 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: International Affairs, Law and Society, Peace Studies  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Spring Term, 2023 Fall Term, 2023 Spring Term, 2022 Fall Term  
POSC 4611  International Organizations  (3 credits)  
Introduces students to the theoretical frameworks, empirical cases, and cutting-edge debates in the field of international organizations. Focuses on different theoretical perspectives for understanding international organizations. Examines the effects of international organizations in world politics, such as the role of international organizations in fostering interstate cooperation, the power of international organizations in shaping state interests and identities, the pathologies of international organizations as global bureaucracies, and the interactions between international organizations and other non-state actors like nongovernmental organizations.
Prerequisite: POSC 2601 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: International Affairs, Peace Studies  
Last four terms offered: 2022 Fall Term, 2021 Spring Term, 2019 Fall Term, 2018 Spring Term  
POSC 4621  Politics of the World Economy  (3 credits)  
Political and economic dynamics of the world economy; historical and theoretical roots; international trade and monetary relations and the impact of hegemony, interdependence, regimes, and domestic politics; trade, debt, multinational corporations, and the dynamics of dependency and development; communism, capitalism, and change.
Prerequisite: ECON 1104 and POSC 2601 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: International Affairs, Peace Studies  
Last four terms offered: 2023 Spring Term, 2022 Spring Term, 2021 Spring Term, 2020 Spring Term  
POSC 4631  World Conflict and Security  (3 credits)  
Classical and contemporary theories of war and peace; just and unjust wars; principles of strategic analysis, arms control, and security policy-making; the proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. The international trade in arms; nationalism, ethnic conflict, and wars of secession.
Prerequisite: POSC 2601 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: International Affairs, Arab and Muslim American Studies, Peace Studies  
Last four terms offered: 2023 Fall Term, 2023 Spring Term, 2022 Spring Term, 2020 Fall Term  
POSC 4633  Human Security  (3 credits)  
What is human security? What happens when we label a social, economic or political problem a ‘human security’ issue? Notions of security now include a broader range of concerns, from the structural violence of poverty to the impact of crime, migration, disease epidemics and climate change. Traces the normative, political and intellectual history of this policy lens, and examines its real world implications across several key issue areas.
Prerequisite: POSC 2601 or Jr. Stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: International Affairs, Latin American Studies  
Last four terms offered: 2023 Fall Term, 2022 Fall Term, 2020 Fall Term, 2019 Spring Term  
POSC 4635  Cyber Security  (3 credits)  
Studies the impact of cyber security on international relations. Considers the history of and potential for using computer networks to conduct espionage, attack digital and physical infrastructure, undermine information integrity and commit other crimes. Considers how cyber threats redistribute power in the international system and change the rules by which the international system operates. Considers policy issues such as balancing security concerns with rights such as freedom of speech and privacy.
Prerequisite: POSC 2601 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: International Affairs  
Last four terms offered: 2020 Fall Term  
POSC 4636  Terrorism  (3 credits)  
Why do militant groups employ terrorist methods? What forces or pressures drive militant leaders to employ such controversial forms of violence in pursuit of their aims? Study what terrorists do, and why they do it, and formulate answers to these questions. Develop and apply alternative theories or lenses through which militant groups can be analyzed. Examine case studies of diverse domestic and foreign militant groups.
Prerequisite: POSC 2601 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: International Affairs, Peace Studies  
Last four terms offered: 2023 Fall Term, 2022 Fall Term, 2021 Spring Term, 2019 Fall Term  
POSC 4641  Politics of the Illicit Global Economy  (3 credits)  
Political and economic dynamics of the illicit dimension of the global economy; historical and theoretical roots; state efforts to control illicit flows of goods and services including drug trafficking, arms smuggling, illegal migration, traffic in women and children, money laundering; exploration of transnational organized crime as a challenge to state power.
Prerequisite: POSC 2601 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Peace Studies  
Last four terms offered: 2019 Fall Term, 2018 Spring Term, 2016 Spring Term, 2014 Fall Term  
POSC 4642  Politics of Drug Control  (3 credits)  
Explores origins and evolution of national and global drug control policies and practice, with emphasis on impact of power and inequality in shaping patterns of criminalization and enforcement and more recent efforts at policy reform. Places modern U.S. War on Drugs in context by tracing patterns in developed and developing countries and as deliberated and implemented through international organizations. Students identify and analyze key concepts, theories and substantive materials on drug control; the political, economic, historical and social contexts shaping drug use, trafficking and control policies, and patterns of national, international and global responses.
Prerequisite: POSC 2601 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Last four terms offered: 2023 Spring Term  
POSC 4643  Human Trafficking  (3 credits)  
Patterns of human trafficking, and local, national, international and global responses. Traces the historical, political, economic and social drivers of human trafficking and anti-trafficking efforts. Explores the transatlantic slave trade, white slave trade, comfort women and modern-day challenges of sex, labor and organ trafficking.
Prerequisite: POSC 2601 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Gender and Sexualities Studies, International Affairs  
Last four terms offered: 2022 Fall Term, 2020 Fall Term, 2018 Fall Term  
POSC 4646  Politics of Migration  (3 credits)  
Juxtaposes transnational life-worlds of migrants against a state-centered perspective of international boundaries and citizenship. Examines the lived experience of migrant journeys within their larger political context and explores what these narratives of mobility can teach us about the politics of migration around the globe. Topics include explanations of the resilience of unauthorized migration; impact of securitization of migration on the lives of migrants and citizens; and decisions on who belongs on which side of the border, how and why.
Prerequisite: POSC 2601 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: SSC Crossing Boundaries  
Interdisciplinary Studies: International Affairs, Latin American Studies, Peace Studies  
Last four terms offered: 2021 Spring Term, 2019 Fall Term  
POSC 4651  The Politics of Human Rights  (3 credits)  
Introduces students to the theoretical frameworks, empirical cases, policy instruments and cutting-edge debates in the field of human rights. Examines different theoretical perspectives for understanding human rights, the philosophical foundations and historical origins of human rights, various mechanisms and actors for promoting and protecting human rights, the trajectory and effectiveness of humanitarian intervention and various forms of transitional justice.
Prerequisite: POSC 2601 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: International Affairs, Peace Studies  
Last four terms offered: 2015 Spring Term, 2013 Fall Term  
POSC 4653  Politics of Torture  (3 credits)  
Focuses on the phenomenon of torture in modern societies. Examines the American post-9/11 torture program and torture in the Chicago Police Department, along with several cases of torture by militaries and police around the world. Explores when, why and by whom torture is used, what domestic and international laws say about it, whether legal and non-legal mechanisms for combatting torture are effective, and when, if ever, its use can be morally justified. Draws on a diverse range of materials, including internal government documents, domestic and international legal texts, television and film and research from across the social sciences.
Prerequisite: POSC 2601 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: International Affairs  
Last four terms offered: 2020 Fall Term  
POSC 4661  The Political Economy of Development  (3 credits)  
Introduces interaction between politics and economics in developing countries by examining political and economic development (and underdevelopment) through the lenses of the principal theoretical debates and substantive issues. Areas of inquiry include the general theories that underpin the study of the processes of economic and political reform, the roles of international and domestic institutions, and the influence of private interests including business, labor and civil society organizations. Substantive issues include poverty, conflict, human rights, foreign aid, investment and the environment.
Prerequisite: ECON 1104 and either POSC 2601 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: SSC Basic Needs & Justice  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Environmental Studies, International Affairs, Latin American Studies, Peace Studies  
Last four terms offered: 2021 Spring Term, 2020 Spring Term, 2019 Spring Term, 2018 Fall Term  
POSC 4699  Topics in International Politics  (3 credits)  
Lectures and discussion in an area in international politics which, because of its topicality, is not the subject of a regular course. May be taken a maximum of three times.
Prerequisite: POSC 2601 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Spring Term  
POSC 4701  United States Foreign Policy  (3 credits)  
Objectives of American foreign policy. Problems facing the United States in its relations with other countries. Trade, aid, propaganda and alliances as instruments of foreign policy.
Prerequisite: POSC 2601 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: International Affairs  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Spring Term, 2018 Summer Term, 2017 Spring Term, 2015 Fall Term  
POSC 4731  International Politics of Asia  (3 credits)  
Principal patterns and problems of international politics in Asia, including international political economy, development and security issues, and the impact of global trends. Regional focus varies with instructor.
Prerequisite: POSC 2401 or POSC 2601 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Asian Studies, International Affairs  
Last four terms offered: 2018 Fall Term, 2017 Spring Term, 2014 Spring Term, 2009 Spring Term  
POSC 4801  Citizens, Beasts, or Gods?  (3 credits)  
Evaluates the comparative congeniality to mankind of pre-political 'states of nature,' political citizenship, and the life of philosophy; selections from the works of Rousseau, Nietzsche, Chesterton and Aristotle are read.
Prerequisite: POSC 2801 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Last four terms offered: 2012 Fall Term, 2010 Fall Term, 2009 Fall Term, 2008 Fall Term  
POSC 4811  The Best Constitution  (3 credits)  
Examines the relationship between constitutional design and human flourishing; selections from the works of Plato and others are read.
Prerequisite: POSC 2801 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Last four terms offered: 2020 Fall Term, 2018 Fall Term, 2018 Spring Term, 2017 Spring Term  
POSC 4821  Democracy and Its Problems  (3 credits)  
Diagnoses the instability of popular governments in antiquity and considers the remedy provided by the American constitutional republic; selections from the works of Thucydides, Publius, Tocqueville and others.
Prerequisite: POSC 2801 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Last four terms offered: 2023 Fall Term, 2022 Fall Term, 2022 Spring Term, 2021 Spring Term  
POSC 4861  The Political Philosophy of Capitalism  (3 credits)  
Is capitalist society just or unjust? Does capitalism promote or inhibit the realization of freedom? Does capitalism promote or inhibit the pursuit of human excellence? Authors such as Rousseau, Adam Smith, Marx, Weber.
Prerequisite: POSC 2801; or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Last four terms offered: 2017 Fall Term, 2016 Fall Term, 2013 Spring Term, 2011 Fall Term  
POSC 4871  Politics and Literature  (3 credits)  
Study of the central questions of political philosophy through the lens of literature, with special focus on how literature approaches the questions of the best regime and the best type of human life.
Prerequisite: POSC 2801 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Last four terms offered: 2023 Spring Term, 2021 Fall Term, 2019 Fall Term, 2018 Spring Term  
POSC 4899  Topics in Political Theory  (3 credits)  
Lectures and discussion in an area in political theory which, because of its topicality, is not the subject of a regular course. May be taken a maximum of three times.
Prerequisite: POSC 2801 or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Spring Term, 2023 Fall Term  
POSC 4931  Topics in Political Science  (2-3 credits)  
Lectures and discussion in a broad area which, because of its topicality, is not the subject of a regular course. May be taken a maximum of three times.
Prerequisite: Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Summer Term, 2024 Spring Term, 2023 Summer Term, 2022 Fall Term  
POSC 4985  Professional Reflection and Discernment Seminar  (1 credits)  
Reflect upon the internship experience and engage in vocational discernment. Examine social and political issues and consider how they can contribute to creating social systems and public policies that contribute to human flourishing and the common good. Connect with guest speakers working in Washington, D.C. in a variety of fields. Must be taken concurrently with POSC 4986. May be taken concurrently with an independent study involving completion of additional research and a paper.
Prerequisite: Admission to the Les Aspin program in Washington D.C.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
POSC 4986  Professional Experience in Washington, D.C.  (3 credits)  
Practical learning experience through the Les Aspin Program in Washington, D.C. Evaluation requires participation in an internship and a weekly professional development seminar with reflections on the internship experience. Must be taken concurrently with POSC 4985. S/U grade assessment.
Prerequisite: Admitted to the Les Aspin Center for Government program.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: Engage Social Systms & Values 2  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Summer Term, 2024 Spring Term, 2023 Fall Term, 2023 Summer Term  
POSC 4987  Internships as Field Experience  (3 credits)  
For students who are completing or have just completed an internship. Through readings, discussions, and assignments, students develop analytical skills and acquire thematic knowledge complementary to the practical experiences of the internship. Specific topics vary by semester, depending on the class composition.
Prerequisite: POSC 2201 or 2401 or 2061; or Jr. stndg.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Last four terms offered: 2023 Fall Term, 2022 Fall Term, 2021 Fall Term, 2021 Summer Term  
POSC 4995  Independent Study in Political Science  (1-3 credits)  
Faculty-supervised, independent study/research of a specific area or topic in Political Science.
Prerequisite: Jr. stndg., cons. of instr., and cons. of dept. ch.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Summer Term, 2024 Spring Term, 2023 Spring Term, 2022 Fall Term  
POSC 4999  Senior Thesis  (3 credits)  
Preparation of a thesis by approved students under the direction of an adviser.
Prerequisite: Sr. stndg., POSC 4995, which may be taken concurrently, and cons. of dept. ch. Three semester hours of POSC 4995 are required.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Last four terms offered: 2020 Fall Term, 2013 Spring Term, 2010 Summer Term, 2009 Fall Term  
POSC 5191  The Logic of Social Inquiry: The Kennedy Assassination  (3 credits)  
The question of who killed President John F. Kennedy, and whether there was a conspiracy. The physical evidence; eyewitness testimony; Lee Harvey Oswald, Jack Ruby, and suspected conspirators. The logic of social inquiry, and how we can approach "conspiracy" as a hypothesis to be tested.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2014 Fall Term, 2014 Summer Term, 2013 Fall Term, 2012 Fall Term  
POSC 5193  Environmental Politics and Policy  (3 credits)  
Tackles the key political and policy debates surrounding the many dimensions of environmental issues, to include global human security to local pollution controls. Focuses on a core set of debates that frame intellectual and practical approaches to solving environmental challenges.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2015 Spring Term  
POSC 5195  Politics of the Internet  (3 credits)  
The origins and growth of the Internet. Legal and regulatory dilemmas posed by the Internet. The impact of the Internet on politics, society and economics.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2018 Fall Term, 2013 Spring Term, 2012 Spring Term, 2010 Spring Term  
POSC 5201  The United States Congress  (3 credits)  
Membership, legislative process, and internal distribution of power in the U.S. Congress. Congressional relationships with the presidency, executive bureaucracy, interest groups, and public.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2014 Fall Term, 2011 Fall Term, 2010 Spring Term, 2009 Fall Term  
POSC 5211  The American Presidency  (3 credits)  
The evolution and contemporary status of the American presidency. Presidential elections, policy-making, advisory systems, and relationships with Congress, the bureaucracy, and the courts. Problems and techniques of decision-making.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2020 Spring Term, 2015 Fall Term, 2015 Spring Term, 2013 Fall Term  
POSC 5212  American Political Parties  (3 credits)  
Examines the nature and development of American political parties. Traces continuity and change in the American party system beginning in the early Republic, assessing the rise and fall of the Whigs, the dynamic between machine politics and progressive reform, and the shifts in party ideas and policy stances that inform contemporary political debates. The question of ideological change in American political parties is further explored by contemporary work on factions, polarization, and culture war. Assesses changes to the parties as organizations in the wake of reforms to the candidate selection process from an institutional perspective. Explores the question of how American political parties compare to their counterparts in other advanced industrial democracies.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2021 Fall Term, 2017 Spring Term, 2016 Spring Term, 2015 Summer Term  
POSC 5213  Elections, Parties, and Political Opinion  (3 credits)  
The development, functions, and membership of political parties in the United States. The opinions Americans hold on various issues, and how these opinions are influenced by institutions, including the family, schools, and the media. Why Americans vote as they do, including the effect of political parties and issues. Voter apathy and alienation and their sources.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2022 Fall Term, 2020 Fall Term, 2018 Fall Term, 2016 Summer Term  
POSC 5216  Public Policy Analysis  (3 credits)  
U.S. domestic policy with special attention to the politics of national policy in the areas of the economy, social welfare, and the environment. The stages of the policy process: agenda-building, formation, budgeting, implementation, and evaluation.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2019 Spring Term, 2018 Spring Term, 2014 Spring Term, 2013 Spring Term  
POSC 5219  Governing Data: The Politics and Policy of Official Statistics  (3 credits)  
Examines how and why governments collect data, the political and operational struggles that confront government statistical and policy research agencies. Explains and interprets the role of numbers and statistics in contemporary politics. Draws upon and synthesizes a wide range of perspectives from political science, economics, sociology, anthropology, history, science and technology studies, and law.
Level of Study: Graduate  
POSC 5221  Interest Group Politics  (3 credits)  
How groups are organized around particular economic interests and political preferences in order to influence policy-making institutions. The internal incentive structure of political organizations, including business, professional, trade union, and "public interest" groups. Functions of, and biases inherent in, the group process. Offered only at Les Aspin Center.
Level of Study: Graduate  
POSC 5241  American Constitutional Law and Development  (3 credits)  
An examination of the historical development of American constitutional law and politics, including the areas of judicial review, separation of powers, federalism, the powers of Congress and the presidency, and the rise and decline of due process property rights. Explores the judiciary’s role in constructing constitutional law and how this role has been contested over time. Considers how political institutions and forces, in addition to the judiciary, have shaped American constitutionalism.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2022 Fall Term, 2021 Fall Term, 2020 Fall Term, 2017 Fall Term  
POSC 5251  The Politics of Civil Rights and Liberties  (3 credits)  
An examination of civil rights and liberties policies in the United States, with an emphasis on the development of these policies over the course of American political history. Explores how the Supreme Court’s contribution to this development is connected with the broader historical and political context in which it sits. The Court does not play an exclusive role in this process. Expanding, contracting, or otherwise altering the meaning of a right or a liberty involves a range of political actors in a variety of venues. Coverage includes free speech, religious freedom, political participation, privacy, criminal procedures and the rights of minority groups and women.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2023 Spring Term, 2022 Spring Term, 2021 Spring Term, 2015 Spring Term  
POSC 5276  Courts and Public Policy  (3 credits)  
An examination of the role and influence of courts in shaping American public policy, particularly from the 1950s to the present. Includes consideration of key institutional characteristics of the judiciary, the influence of law and politics on judicial decisionmaking, the interaction between the courts and other political branches, the reasons for the courts' emergence as battlegrounds in public policy problems.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2018 Fall Term, 2015 Spring Term  
POSC 5281  Urban Public Policy  (3 credits)  
Explores the varied public policies affecting the health and wellbeing of cities and metropolitan areas, including housing, health and education. Topics include the social and economic benefits of urban regions, the causes and consequences of urban sprawl and residential segregation, and the challenges posed by growing inequalities within and between cities.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2023 Spring Term, 2014 Spring Term, 2012 Spring Term  
POSC 5291  State and Local Politics  (3 credits)  
Examines sub-national governments in the United States, including a comparative study of political institutions, political cultures and public policies across state and local governments. Draws upon examples from Wisconsin and Milwaukee to better understand the role of state and local governments in the American federal system.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2015 Spring Term, 2013 Fall Term, 2012 Fall Term, 2011 Fall Term  
POSC 5299  Topics in American Politics  (3 credits)  
Lectures and discussion an area in American politics which, because of its topicality, is not the subject of a regular course. May be taken a maximum of three times.
Level of Study: Graduate  
POSC 5341  Politics of American Capitalism  (3 credits)  
Political economy of U.S. history. Individuals, firms, and business associations and their role in politics. Economic development and conflict as sources of political change.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Summer Term, 2015 Fall Term, 2014 Fall Term, 2012 Fall Term  
POSC 5351  Environmental Politics and Policy  (3 credits)  
Tackles the key political and policy debates surrounding the many dimensions of environmental issues, to include global human security to local pollution controls. Focuses on a core set of debates that frame intellectual and practical approaches to solving environmental challenges.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2022 Spring Term, 2021 Spring Term, 2020 Spring Term  
POSC 5356  Technology, Politics and Policy  (3 credits)  
The origins and growth of the Internet. Legal and regulatory dilemmas posed by the Internet. The impact of the Internet on politics, society and economics.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2019 Fall Term  
POSC 5361  Politics of Race, Ethnicity, and Gender  (3 credits)  
The role of African-Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanics, white ethnics, American Indians, and women in shaping American politics through elections, political parties, and public office. The nature and impact of political organizations representing these groups.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2015 Fall Term, 2010 Spring Term  
POSC 5366  Religion and Politics  (3 credits)  
Religion and politics in contemporary America. The historic patterns and current interactions of religious movements, denominations, and individuals involved in American politics. Specific attention given to the rationales used for religious involvement in politics, the types of political behavior employed, and the consequences of that behavior.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2012 Spring Term  
POSC 5371  Media and Politics in the U.S.  (3 credits)  
Explores role and power of media in American political systems; history and development of national press, including court interpretations of freedom of the press; quality and impact of political reporting, with emphasis on election coverage; and media's relationships with other political actors.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2019 Spring Term, 2017 Spring Term, 2015 Spring Term, 2013 Fall Term  
POSC 5376  American National Security Policy  (3 credits)  
Defense policy processes in the United States; issues in defense decision-making, including the roles of the public, interest groups, Congress, the President, and executive agencies, with emphasis on the defense establishment; U.S. strategic doctrines since World War II; budgeting; civil-military relations.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2019 Spring Term, 2015 Spring Term, 2013 Fall Term, 2013 Spring Term  
POSC 5381  Politics of U.S. Health Care  (3 credits)  
Examines the American health care system, health care policies, and underlying politics. Provides an overview of the organization and financing of health care in the United States. Examines the impact of the political system, political parties and interest groups, and values on the health care system and health policies at national and state levels. Covers health care reform politics, including the Democrats’ 2010 Affordable Care Act and Republican reform alternatives. Also focuses on the social determinants of health and policies for vulnerable populations.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2017 Fall Term, 2016 Fall Term, 2015 Fall Term, 2014 Fall Term  
POSC 5406  Comparative Public Policy  (3 credits)  
Politics of public policies in democratic political systems, with special attention to North America, Western Europe and Japan. Alternative theoretical perspectives on the problem of social choice in democracies. Problems and policies in the areas of the economy, education, health, welfare and the environment.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2018 Fall Term, 2017 Fall Term, 2016 Fall Term, 2015 Fall Term  
POSC 5411  Politics, Economics, and Democracy  (3 credits)  
The relationship between capitalism and democracy. The impact of economic factors on politics. The political consequences of the organization and power of private business. The impact of democratic politics and political institutions on economic actors and performance in capitalist democracies.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2016 Spring Term, 2015 Spring Term, 2014 Spring Term, 2013 Spring Term  
POSC 5416  Politics of Inequality  (3 credits)  
Examines the growth and cross-national differences in economic inequalities in the contemporary era, the impact of rising inequality on democracy and the socioeconomic and political causes of rising inequality. Special attention to how political forces, such as public opinion, electoral competition and the power of organized interests, shape the distribution of income and wealth and the equality of economic opportunity.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2019 Spring Term  
POSC 5421  Democracy, Authoritarianism, and Totalitarianism  (3 credits)  
Three "ideal types" of political systems, and their manifestations in countries at different points in time. Topics include: power, legitimacy, ruling elites, institution, and economics. Examination of political system change through coup, revolution, and peaceful transition.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2014 Spring Term  
POSC 5451  Comparative Judicial Politics  (3 credits)  
Provides a detailed introduction to the empirical and normative debates surrounding judicial power including origins of judicial review, courts as strategic actors and the development of stronger courts over time in American and comparative context. Focuses on the development of rule of law, and in particular, how the court as a governing institution interacts with legislative and executive powers. POSC 4241 or equiv. recommended.
Level of Study: Graduate  
POSC 5461  Comparative Health Politics and Policy  (3 credits)  
Explores through comparative analysis the ways in which different nations address the goals of equitable access, affordability and quality in health care. Considers the similarities and differences in health policy challenges facing rich and developing nations. Employs comparative analysis of different models of health care provisions and financing, and examines the underlying politics of health care systems and policies in different countries.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2022 Spring Term  
POSC 5499  Topics in Comparative Politics  (3 credits)  
Lectures and discussion in an area in comparative politics which, because of its topicality, is not the subject of a regular course. May be taken a maximum of three times.
Level of Study: Graduate  
POSC 5501  European Politics  (3 credits)  
Nationalism and European identity; evolution of executive and legislative institutions; political parties; ongoing changes in the welfare state and state socialism; transformation of class structure; the challenge of post-industrial society. Includes both Eastern and Western Europe.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2021 Fall Term, 2014 Fall Term, 2011 Spring Term, 2010 Spring Term  
POSC 5511  Russian and Post-Soviet Politics  (3 credits)  
Developments in Russia and the other countries which emerge from the collapse of the Soviet Union. Brief coverage of tsarist and Soviet politics, with a particular emphasis on reasons for the USSR's collapse and Soviet legacies, followed by an overview of domestic and international politics in the region.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2023 Spring Term, 2022 Spring Term, 2019 Fall Term, 2018 Spring Term  
POSC 5521  Chinese Politics  (3 credits)  
Origins of the Chinese Revolution, political change and conflict in post-1949 China, and the contemporary political system and political developments.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2021 Spring Term, 2019 Spring Term, 2015 Fall Term, 2013 Fall Term  
POSC 5541  Latin American Politics  (3 credits)  
Government and politics in major Latin American countries. The politics of social change and development, seizures of power and rule by the military and human rights.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2018 Fall Term, 2017 Spring Term, 2016 Spring Term, 2015 Spring Term  
POSC 5551  Politics of the Indian Subcontinent  (3 credits)  
The British in India; the Indian nationalist movement and the Hindu-Muslim struggle; political systems in India and Pakistan; the creation of Bangladesh; linguistic, economic, and social issues in South Asia.
Level of Study: Graduate  
POSC 5601  International Law  (3 credits)  
Introduces students to the theoretical frameworks, empirical cases, and cutting-edge debates in the field of international law. Focuses on different theoretical perspectives for understanding international law. Examines the general principles of international law, including actors of international law, the creation and interpretation of international law, and the relationship between international law and domestic law. Explores several specialized areas of international law, such as human rights, environment, international criminal justice, trade, and the use of force.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2017 Fall Term, 2016 Fall Term, 2015 Fall Term, 2015 Spring Term  
POSC 5611  International Organizations  (3 credits)  
Introduces students to the theoretical frameworks, empirical cases, and cutting-edge debates in the field of international organizations. Focuses on different theoretical perspectives for understanding international organizations. Examines the effects of international organizations in world politics, such as the role of international organizations in fostering interstate cooperation, the power of international organizations in shaping state interests and identities, the pathologies of international organizations as global bureaucracies, and the interactions between international organizations and other non-state actors like nongovernmental organizations.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2015 Fall Term, 2014 Fall Term, 2014 Spring Term, 2013 Spring Term  
POSC 5621  Politics of the World Economy  (3 credits)  
Political and economic dynamics of the world economy; historical and theoretical roots; international trade and monetary relations and the impact of hegemony, interdependence, regimes, and domestic politics; trade, debt, multinational corporations, and the dynamics of dependency and development; communism, capitalism, and change.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2016 Fall Term, 2015 Fall Term, 2013 Fall Term, 2013 Spring Term  
POSC 5631  World Conflict and Security  (3 credits)  
Classical and contemporary theories of war and peace; just and unjust wars; principles of strategic analysis, arms control, and security policy-making; the proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. The international trade in arms; nationalism, ethnic conflict, and wars of secession.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2023 Fall Term, 2018 Fall Term, 2015 Fall Term, 2015 Spring Term  
POSC 5633  Human Security  (3 credits)  
What is human security? What happens when we label a social, economic or political problem a ‘human security’ issue? Notions of security now include a broader range of concerns, from the structural violence of poverty to the impact of crime, migration, disease epidemics and climate change. Traces the normative, political and intellectual history of this policy lens, and examines its real world implications across several key issue areas.
Level of Study: Graduate  
POSC 5635  Cyber Security  (3 credits)  
Studies the impact of cyber security on international relations. Considers the history of and potential for using computer networks to conduct espionage, attack digital and physical infrastructure, undermine information integrity and commit other crimes. Considers how cyber threats redistribute power in the international system and change the rules by which the international system operates. Considers policy issues such as balancing security concerns with rights such as freedom of speech and privacy.
Level of Study: Graduate  
POSC 5636  Terrorism  (3 credits)  
Why do militant groups employ terrorist methods? What forces or pressures drive militant leaders to employ such controversial forms of violence in pursuit of their aims? Study what terrorists do, and why they do it, and formulate answers to these questions. Develop and apply alternative theories or lenses through which militant groups can be analyzed. Examine case studies of diverse domestic and foreign militant groups.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2019 Fall Term, 2017 Fall Term, 2016 Fall Term  
POSC 5641  Politics of the Illicit Global Economy  (3 credits)  
Political and economic dynamics of the illicit dimension of the global economy; historical and theoretical roots; state efforts to control illicit flows of goods and services including drug trafficking, arms smuggling, illegal migration, traffic in women and children, money laundering; exploration of transnational organized crime as a challenge to state power.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2016 Spring Term, 2014 Fall Term, 2010 Spring Term  
POSC 5642  Politics of Drug Control  (3 credits)  
Explores origins and evolution of national and global drug control policies and practice, with emphasis on impact of power and inequality in shaping patterns of criminalization and enforcement and more recent efforts at policy reform. Places modern U.S. War on Drugs in context by tracing patterns in developed and developing countries and as deliberated and implemented through international organizations. Students identify and analyze key concepts, theories and substantive materials on drug control; the political, economic, historical and social contexts shaping drug use, trafficking and control policies, and patterns of national, international and global responses.
Level of Study: Graduate  
POSC 5643  Human Trafficking  (3 credits)  
Patterns of human trafficking, and local, national, international and global responses. Traces the historical, political, economic and social drivers of human trafficking and anti-trafficking efforts. Explores the transatlantic slave trade, white slave trade, comfort women and modern-day challenges of sex, labor and organ trafficking.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2022 Fall Term, 2020 Fall Term, 2018 Fall Term  
POSC 5646  Politics of Migration  (3 credits)  
Juxtaposes transnational life-worlds of migrants against a state-centered perspective of international boundaries and citizenship. Examines the lived experience of migrant journeys within their larger political context and explores what these narratives of mobility can teach us about the politics of migration around the globe. Topics include explanations of the resilience of unauthorized migration; impact of securitization of migration on the lives of migrants and citizens; and decisions on who belongs on which side of the border, how and why.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2019 Fall Term  
POSC 5651  The Politics of Human Rights  (3 credits)  
Introduces students to the theoretical frameworks, empirical cases, policy instruments and cutting-edge debates in the field of human rights. Examines different theoretical perspectives for understanding human rights, the philosophical foundations and historical origins of human rights, various mechanisms and actors for promoting and protecting human rights, the trajectory and effectiveness of humanitarian intervention and various forms of transitional justice.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2015 Spring Term, 2013 Fall Term  
POSC 5661  The Political Economy of Development  (3 credits)  
Introduces interaction between politics and economics in developing countries by examining political and economic development (and underdevelopment) through the lenses of the principal theoretical debates and substantive issues. Areas of inquiry include the general theories that underpin the study of the processes of economic and political reform, the roles of international and domestic institutions, and the influence of private interests including business, labor and civil society organizations. Substantive issues include poverty, conflict, human rights, foreign aid, investment and the environment.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2021 Spring Term, 2020 Spring Term, 2014 Fall Term  
POSC 5699  Topics in International Politics  (3 credits)  
Lectures and discussion in an area in international politics which, because of its topicality, is not the subject of a regular course. May be taken a maximum of three times.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Spring Term  
POSC 5701  United States Foreign Policy  (3 credits)  
Objectives of American foreign policy. Problems facing the United States in its relations with other countries. Trade, aid, propaganda and alliances as instruments of foreign policy.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2017 Spring Term, 2015 Fall Term, 2014 Spring Term, 2010 Fall Term  
POSC 5731  International Politics of Asia  (3 credits)  
Principal patterns and problems of international politics in Asia, including international political economy, development and security issues, and the impact of global trends. Regional focus varies with instructor.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2017 Spring Term, 2014 Spring Term  
POSC 5801  Citizens, Beasts, or Gods?  (3 credits)  
Evaluates the comparative congeniality to mankind of pre-political 'states of nature,' political citizenship, and the life of philosophy; selections from the works of Rousseau, Nietzsche, Chesterton and Aristotle are read.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2011 Fall Term, 2010 Fall Term, 2009 Fall Term  
POSC 5811  The Best Constitution  (3 credits)  
Examines the relationship between constitutional design and human flourishing; selections from the works of Plato and others are read.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2020 Fall Term, 2018 Spring Term, 2017 Spring Term, 2015 Fall Term  
POSC 5821  Democracy and Its Problems  (3 credits)  
Diagnoses the instability of popular governments in antiquity and considers the remedy provided by the American constitutional republic; selections from the works of Thucydides, Publius, Tocqueville and others.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2019 Spring Term, 2013 Spring Term  
POSC 5861  The Political Philosophy of Capitalism  (3 credits)  
Is capitalist society just or unjust? Does capitalism promote or inhibit the realization of freedom? Does capitalism promote or inhibit the pursuit of human excellence? Authors such as Rousseau, Adam Smith, Marx, Weber.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2017 Fall Term, 2011 Fall Term  
POSC 5871  Politics and Literature  (3 credits)  
Study of the central questions of political philosophy through the lens of literature, with special focus on how literature approaches the questions of the best regime and the best type of human life.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2019 Fall Term, 2014 Fall Term, 2013 Fall Term, 2012 Spring Term  
POSC 5899  Topics in Political Theory  (3 credits)  
Lectures and discussion in an area in political theory which, because of its topicality, is not the subject of a regular course. May be taken a maximum of three times.
Level of Study: Graduate  
POSC 5931  Topics in Political Science  (2-3 credits)  
Lectures and discussion in a broad area which, because of its topicality, is not the subject of a regular course. May be taken a maximum of three times.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Summer Term, 2022 Fall Term, 2022 Spring Term, 2021 Fall Term  
POSC 6101  Contemporary Political Research  (3 credits)  
Approaches to the scientific study of politics; data-collection techniques; case studies, the comparative method, statistical analysis.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2023 Fall Term, 2022 Fall Term, 2021 Fall Term, 2020 Fall Term  
POSC 6102  Advanced Research Methods  (3 credits)  
Explores approaches to quantitative and/or qualitative methods in political science. Topics covered may include large-N data analysis and data collection methods; principles of reliability and validity; comparative case studies; experimental and non-experimental design; and other techniques of theory generation and theory testing.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate program dir. or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Spring Term, 2023 Spring Term  
POSC 6201  American Politics  (3 credits)  
The development of the field of American politics. Currently used concepts and approaches. Extensive reading, short papers, and discussion.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2021 Fall Term, 2020 Fall Term, 2019 Fall Term, 2018 Spring Term  
POSC 6211  Congress and the Presidency  (3 credits)  
Examination of major literature, theories and concepts used to understand the relationship between the Congress and the presidency.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2011 Spring Term, 2008 Fall Term, 2004 Spring Term  
POSC 6221  Interest Groups  (3 credits)  
How various kinds of organizations attempt to exercise political influence, including the use of incentives to attract members, lobbying, attempts to influence public opinion, involvement in electoral politics, and litigation.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2011 Fall Term, 2009 Fall Term, 2007 Fall Term, 2006 Spring Term  
POSC 6231  Elections and Voters  (3 credits)  
Why voters vote the way they do, including policy preferences, partisanship, and retrospective assessments. The dynamics of elections including the role of media, other elites, money, and interest groups.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 1993 Spring Term  
POSC 6281  Urban Public Policy  (3 credits)  
Introduces the institutions and politics that shape urban public policy. Explores who is involved and influential in urban policy, the power relations in metropolitan America, and how governing coalitions shape and create social change within cities. Examines urban public policy challenges, including racial and income inequalities, housing, education, transportation, law enforcement, economic development and environmental justice.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2019 Spring Term  
POSC 6361  Women and Public Policy  (3 credits)  
The development of public policies to advance the status of women throughout U.S. history, with an emphasis on 1961-date. The role of women's groups and social movements.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2017 Fall Term, 2005 Fall Term, 2003 Fall Term, 1994 Fall Term  
POSC 6401  Comparative Politics  (3 credits)  
The development of the field of comparative politics. Currently used concepts and approaches. Extensive reading, short papers, and discussion.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2021 Fall Term, 2021 Spring Term, 2019 Fall Term, 2019 Spring Term  
POSC 6411  Comparative Political Economy of Advanced Industrial Societies  (3 credits)  
The relationships between capitalism and democracy. The impact of economics on the development and operation of democratic institutions, political behavior, and public policy. The impact of politics on economic development, performance and policy. The political economy of the welfare state. The transition to post industrial society. Globalization and the democratic nation state.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2020 Fall Term, 2018 Fall Term, 2012 Fall Term, 2009 Fall Term  
POSC 6421  Political Economy of East Asia  (3 credits)  
Considers topics in the Political Economy of East Asia such as the rise of Japan and the Four Tigers, the Japanese economy in the 1990s, the East Asian Financial Crisis, the reform of the Chinese economy, economic relations among the East Asian Countries, and the relationship between East Asian economies and the world economy. These topics are considered in light of various theories of political economy, and theories of political economy are evaluated in light of developments in East Asia.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2007 Spring Term, 2006 Spring Term  
POSC 6441  Comparative Nationalism  (3 credits)  
Definitions of nation and nationalism; causes of nationalism; nationalism and democracy; modern nationalism in Europe, Asia and Africa.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2023 Fall Term, 2015 Fall Term, 2014 Spring Term, 2012 Summer Term  
POSC 6446  Democratization and Democratic Breakdown  (3 credits)  
Definition and measurement of democracy, authoritarianism, and totalitarianism; processes of democratization and democratic breakdown; economic, cultural, identity-based, institutional, and elite-focused theories of regime transition and consolidation.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2022 Fall Term, 2019 Spring Term, 2017 Spring Term, 2012 Spring Term  
POSC 6461  Politics of Development  (3 credits)  
The interplay between economic growth and the development of political institutions and practices, looking at both the historical experiences of advanced industrial societies and those of developing countries currently attempting to expand the capabilities of both their economies and their political institutions. Emphasis on the political factors and conditions on which economic development depends, and on how such growth and expansion in turn affect the political order.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2007 Spring Term, 2005 Spring Term  
POSC 6501  European Politics  (3 credits)  
The evolution of the European nation-state system. The origins, evolution, and transformation of electoral and party systems, modes of interest representation, and national political institutions. The ascent and crisis of the Keynesian welfare state. Variations in national models of capitalism and their impacts on politics. The evolution and contemporary politics of European integration. Globalization and European political economies.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2016 Fall Term, 2014 Fall Term, 2013 Fall Term, 2011 Fall Term  
POSC 6521  Chinese Politics  (3 credits)  
China's problems and prospects. Economic and political reforms. International relations. An overview and history of relevant literature.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2018 Fall Term, 2016 Spring Term, 2010 Fall Term, 2008 Fall Term  
POSC 6601  International Politics  (3 credits)  
The development of the field of international politics. Currently used concepts and approaches. Extensive reading, short papers, and discussion.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2022 Spring Term, 2021 Spring Term, 2020 Spring Term, 2018 Fall Term  
POSC 6621  International Political Economy  (3 credits)  
The development of the study of international political economy. Currently used concepts and approaches. Extensive reading, short papers, discussion, and a final research paper.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2008 Fall Term  
POSC 6631  International Security  (3 credits)  
Covers the theories, concepts, and issues underlying conflict and security in the contemporary world. Includes classical and modern perspectives on war and peace, the sources and causes of civil wars and regional conflict, and the prospects for arms control and world peace-keeping operations. Students will be expected to write a research paper on a selected topic concerning contemporary international security.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2019 Fall Term, 2016 Fall Term, 2014 Spring Term, 2012 Spring Term  
POSC 6651  International Human Rights  (3 credits)  
The development of international human rights; measures to promote and protect human rights at the global and regional levels.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2021 Fall Term, 2020 Spring Term, 2017 Fall Term, 2010 Spring Term  
POSC 6701  United States Foreign Policy  (3 credits)  
Policies of the United States toward other nations; policy formation.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2022 Spring Term, 2011 Summer Term, 1994 Fall Term, 1990 Spring Term  
POSC 6731  International Politics of Asia  (3 credits)  
Security issues among Asian states. The political economy of Asia.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2020 Fall Term, 2018 Spring Term, 2015 Spring Term, 2013 Spring Term  
POSC 6801  Political Philosophy  (3 credits)  
Explores the differentiation of justice and power with special reference to the authority of a higher law or principle of right; selections from the works of Thucydides, Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, and others.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2019 Fall Term, 2016 Fall Term, 2013 Fall Term, 2011 Fall Term  
POSC 6931  Topics in Political Science  (1-3 credits)  
Lectures and discussion in a broad area which, because of its topicality, is not the subject of a regular course.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2021 Fall Term, 2021 Spring Term, 2012 Spring Term  
POSC 6954  Research Seminar in American Politics  (3 credits)  
Research in a broad area of American politics. Potential topics include, but are not limited to: Metropolitan Politics, The American Political Economy in Comparative Perspective, Problems in Civil Liberties. May be taken more than once.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Spring Term, 2023 Spring Term, 2018 Spring Term, 2017 Spring Term  
POSC 6956  Research Seminar in Comparative Politics  (3 credits)  
Research in comparative politics. Focuses on traditional comparative politics or contemporary problems. May be taken more than once.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Spring Term, 2023 Fall Term, 2022 Fall Term, 2019 Fall Term  
POSC 6958  Research Seminar in International Politics  (3 credits)  
Research in international politics. Focuses on traditional international topics of international politics or contemporary problems. Topics may include Japanese and German foreign policy.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2023 Fall Term, 2023 Spring Term, 2016 Spring Term, 2015 Spring Term  
POSC 6960  Research Seminar in Political Philosophy:  (3 credits)  
Research in a broad area of political philosophy. Focuses on individual thinkers (e.g., Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Rousseau) or on contemporary problems. May be taken more than once.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2023 Spring Term, 2004 Fall Term, 2004 Spring Term  
POSC 6986  Internship in Political Science  (1-3 credits)  
Practical learning experience in politics. Requires appropriate written work relating the experience to appropriately broad academic literature on the subject. Arrangements to be worked out by student, faculty member and agency concerned. Normally may be taken only once. S/U grade assessment.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dir. of graduate studies; degree status in the POSC or INAF program; and at least one related course.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2023 Summer Term, 2017 Spring Term, 2015 Spring Term, 2014 Summer Term  
POSC 6995  Independent Study in Political Science  (1-4 credits)  
Faculty-supervised, independent study/research of a specific area or topic in Political Science.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Summer Term, 2022 Fall Term, 2020 Spring Term, 2019 Fall Term  
POSC 6998  Professional Project in Political Science  (1-12 credits)  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2023 Spring Term  
POSC 6999  Master's Thesis  (1-6 credits)  
S/U grade assessment.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2010 Summer Term, 2009 Summer Term, 2009 Spring Term, 2008 Summer Term  
POSC 9970  Graduate Standing Continuation: Less than Half-Time  (0 credits)  
Fee. SNC/UNC grade assessment. Designated as less than half-time status only, cannot be used in conjunction with other courses, and does not qualify students for financial aid or loan deferment.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2022 Spring Term, 2021 Spring Term, 2020 Fall Term, 2020 Spring Term  
POSC 9974  Graduate Fellowship: Full-Time  (0 credits)  
Fee. SNC/UNC grade assessment. Designated as full-time status. If a student is already registered in other courses full time, this continuation course is not needed.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2023 Spring Term, 2022 Fall Term, 2021 Spring Term, 2020 Fall Term  
POSC 9975  Graduate Assistant Teaching: Full-Time  (0 credits)  
Fee. SNC/UNC grade assessment. Designated as full-time status. If a student is already registered in other courses full time, this continuation course is not needed.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2008 Spring Term, 2007 Fall Term  
POSC 9976  Graduate Assistant Research: Full-Time  (0 credits)  
Fee. SNC/UNC grade assessment. Designated as full-time status. If a student is already registered in other courses full time, this continuation course is not needed.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Spring Term, 2023 Fall Term, 2023 Spring Term, 2022 Fall Term  
POSC 9977  Field Placement Continuation: Less than Half-Time  (0 credits)  
Fee. SNC/UNC grade assessment. Allows a student to be considered the equivalent of less than half-time status. Requires that the student is working less than 12 hours per week at their field placement.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2008 Spring Term, 2007 Fall Term  
POSC 9978  Field Placement Continuation: Half-Time  (0 credits)  
Fee. SNC/UNC grade assessment. Allows a student to be considered the equivalent of half-time status. Requires that the student is working more than 12 to less than 20 hours per week at their field placement.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2008 Spring Term, 2007 Fall Term  
POSC 9979  Field Placement Continuation: Full-Time  (0 credits)  
Fee. SNC/UNC grade assessment. Allows a student to be considered the equivalent of full-time status. Requires that the student is working 20 hours or more per week at their field placement.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2008 Spring Term, 2007 Fall Term  
POSC 9984  Master's Comprehensive Examination Preparation: Less than Half-Time  (0 credits)  
Fee. SNC/UNC grade assessment. Allows a student to be considered the equivalent of less than half-time status. Requires that the student is working less than 12 hours per week toward their master's comprehensive exam.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2020 Fall Term, 2019 Fall Term, 2018 Fall Term, 2012 Fall Term  
POSC 9985  Master's Comprehensive Examination Preparation: Half-Time  (0 credits)  
Fee. SNC/UNC grade assessment. Allows a student to be considered the equivalent of half-time status. Requires that the student is working more than 12 to less than 20 hours per week toward their master's comprehensive exam. May be taken in conjunction with credit-bearing or other non-credit courses to result in the status indicated, as deemed appropriate by the department.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2021 Spring Term, 2020 Fall Term, 2020 Spring Term, 2019 Fall Term  
POSC 9986  Master's Comprehensive Examination Preparation: Full-Time  (0 credits)  
Fee. SNC/UNC grade assessment. Allows a student to be considered the equivalent of full-time status. Requires that the student is working 20 hours or more per week toward their master's comprehensive exam. May be taken in conjunction with credit-bearing or other non-credit courses to result in the status indicated, as deemed appropriate by the department.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2021 Spring Term, 2020 Fall Term, 2020 Spring Term, 2019 Spring Term  
POSC 9991  Professional Project Continuation: Less than Half-Time  (0 credits)  
Fee. SNC/UNC grade assessment. Allows a student to be considered the equivalent of less than half-time status. Requires that the student is working less than 12 hours per week on their professional project. Any professional project credits required for the degree should be completed before registering for non-credit Professional Project Continuation.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2008 Spring Term, 2007 Fall Term  
POSC 9992  Professional Project Continuation: Half-Time  (0 credits)  
Fee. SNC/UNC grade assessment. Allows a student to be considered the equivalent of half-time status. Requires that the student is working more than 12 to less than 20 hours per week on their professional project. Any project credits required for the degree should be completed before registering for non-credit Professional Project Continuation.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2008 Spring Term, 2007 Fall Term  
POSC 9993  Professional Project Continuation: Full-Time  (0 credits)  
Fee. SNC/UNC grade assessment. Allows a student to be considered the equivalent of full-time status. Requires that the student is working 20 hours or more per week on their professional project. Any professional project credits required for the degree should be completed before registering for non-credit Professional Project Continuation.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2009 Fall Term, 2008 Fall Term, 2008 Spring Term, 2007 Fall Term  
POSC 9994  Master's Thesis Continuation: Less than Half-Time  (0 credits)  
Fee. SNC/UNC grade assessment. Allows a student to be considered the equivalent of less than half-time status. Requires that the student is working less than 12 hours per week on their master's thesis. All six thesis credits required for the degree should be completed before registering for non-credit Master's Thesis Continuation.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2008 Spring Term, 2007 Fall Term  
POSC 9995  Master's Thesis Continuation: Half-Time  (0 credits)  
Fee. SNC/UNC grade assessment. Allows a student to be considered the equivalent of half-time status. Requires that the student is working more than 12 to less than 20 hours per week on their master's thesis. All six thesis credits required for the degree should be completed before registering for non-credit Master's Thesis Continuation.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2008 Spring Term, 2007 Fall Term  
POSC 9996  Master's Thesis Continuation: Full-Time  (0 credits)  
Fee. SNC/UNC grade assessment. Allows a student to be considered the equivalent of full-time status. Requires that the student is working 20 hours or more per week on their master's thesis. All six thesis credits required for the degree should be completed before registering for non-credit Master's Thesis Continuation.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch., cons. of graduate prog. dir., or cons. of adviser.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2008 Spring Term, 2007 Fall Term