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College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

Courses: Political Science (POLS)

6198:6298:6398:6598: Special Problems
Cr. 1-5 per semester, or more by concurrent enrollment. Prerequisite: approval of chair.

6301: Mathematical Methods for Political Scientists
Cr. 3. (3-0). Mathematical tools frequently used in political science: set theory, differential calculus and integration, optimization, linear algebra and probablility theory. Prerequisite for advanced statistics and formal theory courses.

6308: Political Economy
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: graduate standing or consent of instructor. Examines the intersections between economics and politics.

6309: Survey of American Political Behavior
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: graduate standing in political science or consent of instructor. Selected major segments of the research literature on American political behavior.

6311: Seminar in Comparative Political Analysis
Cr. 3. (3-0). Discusses major works in comparative politics. Logic of comparative analysis for cross-national research.

6312: Survey of American Institutions and Policy
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: graduate standing in political science or consent of instructor. Theoretical and empirical issues in American institutions and policy.

6314: Fundamentals of Policy Analysis
Cr. 3. (3-0). How public policies are decided. Tools for policy decision making. Political, social, and legal determinants of public policy.

6315: Seminar in Health Care Policy
Cr. 3. (3-0). Politics and economics of health and medical care with emphasis on the delivery of services, their quality, distribution, and financing.

6316: Seminar in Social Policy
Cr. 3. (3-0). Study of distributive public policies such as civil rights, income maintenance, and social services at comparative, federal, and state levels.

6317: Seminar in Criminal Justice Policy
Cr. 3. (3-0). Examination of problems and issues in the design, implementation, and evaluation of policies intended to prevent and contain criminal behavior.

6318: Seminar in Science, Environmental, and Energy Policy
Cr. 3. (3-0). Role of science and technology in policy processes, including risk analysis, public funding, and regulation of R&D; role of science in a democracy; and development of natural resources.

6319: Seminar in Emergency Management
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: graduate standing or consent of instructor. Policies and programs of public and private sector including natural and technological disasters and terrorism.

6322: Seminar in Comparative Elections
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: graduate standing or consent of instructor. Examination of problems and issues in the design and function of elections and electoral systems, the behavior of voters, and the role of political parties.

6323: Seminar in Comparative Political Parties
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: graduate standing or consent of instructor. A comparison of different frameworks for understanding the impact and development of political parties, including normative critiques of party democracy.

6324: Seminar in Latin American Political Systems
Cr. 3. (3-0). Examines Latin American political systems. Politics, process, and policies.

6328: Seminar in the Politics of Modernization
Cr. 3. (3-0). Examines political systems of modernizing and developing nations.

6329: Seminar in Western European Political Systems
Cr. 3. (3-0). Compares European political systems. Political process in United Kingdom, France, and other European democracies.

6331: Seminar in Democratization
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: graduate standing or consent of instructor. Explores and evaluates a variety of theoretical approaches to understanding institutional and other developments in newly-democratizing countries.

6340: Seminar in Ancient and Medieval Political Thought
Cr. 3. (3-0). A selective examination of Greek, Roman, and feudal thinking on recurrent problems in political theory.

6341: Seminar in Modern Political Thought
Cr. 3. (3-0). A selective examination of thinking, from Machiavelli to the present, concerning recurrent problems in political theory.

6342: Liberalism and Its Critics
Cr. 3. (3-0). Contemporary arguments for and against the liberal tradition: including libertarian, responsible government, communitarian, conservative, and feminist perspectives.

6343: Seminar in Democratic Political Thought
Cr. 3. (3-0). A critical examination of the theoretical foundations for democracy, and its major texts and competing theories. Emphasizes normative and analytical approaches.

6344: Dissertation Prospectus Seminar
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisites: graduate standing or consent of instructor. Students prepare a plan for dissertation research and complete a working dissertation prospectus.

6345: The Professional Political Scientist
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisites: graduate standing in political science and consent of graduate advisor. May be repeated. Provides training in the various roles of the professional political scientist.

6346: Teaching Political Science
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisites: graduate standing in political science and consent of graduate advisor. May be repeated. In-depth coverage of issues in teaching political science in institutions of higher education.

6347: Advanced Research Design
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: graduate standing or consent of instructor. Design and execution of dissertation and other work-length research projects.

6348: Contemporary Political Theory
Cr. 3 (3-0). Prerequisite: graduate standing or consent of instructor. Examination of contemporary political theory including postmodernism and the concomitant concerns of the character of modern political theory.

6349: Seminar in American Political Thought
Cr. 3. (3-0). The colonial experience, the Revolution, the writing of the Constitution, and experience in living under the Constitution-how each has contributed to American political theory.

6350: Seminar in Media and Politics
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: graduate standing or consent of instructor. Examines interactive effect of institutional forces and political actors on mediated political communication and information processing.

6353: Seminar in Administrative Law
Cr. 3. (3-0). Examination of the legal and Constitutional standards that affect and circumscribe the regulatory process and bureaucratic decision making.

6354: Seminar in Law and Society
Cr. 3. (3-0). How the values and behavior of society influence the substance and enforcement of the law and also how the law affects the mores and attitudes of society.

6355: Seminar in Judicial Process and Behavior
Cr. 3. (3-0). Study of judicial recruitment, socialization, and decision-making process. Also, impact and enforcement of judicial decisions.

6356: Seminar in American Constitutional Law
Cr. 3. (3-0). Study of major Supreme Court decisions interpreting the U.S. Constitution.

6358: Empirical Analysis of Democracy
Cr. 3. (3-0). Recent political theories of the democratic polity, including social choice and political culture, with emphasis on the interplay between theory building and empirical research.

6359: Bibliographic Essay
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: consent of instructor. A bibliographic essay of approximately 30 pages on a topic agreed to by instructor and student covering a significant topic of the discipline.

6360: Seminar in State Politics
Cr. 3. (3-0). Roles of the legislature and governor; state political parties and elections; state finances and taxation; comparative public policies of the states.

6361: Seminar in Urban Politics
Cr. 3. (3-0). Politics in American cities. How city government copes with social and economic problems, the complexity of urbanization, and other government agencies.

6364: Seminar in Legislative Process and Behavior
Cr. 3. (3-0). Organization, process, structure, and policy-making functions of Congress.

6365: Seminar in Public Opinion and Political Persuasion
Cr. 3. (3-0). Examines influences on public opinion; impact of mass media; role of public opinion in democracy.

6366: Seminar in Political Parties
Cr. 3. (3-0). History and organization of political parties in the United States; functions of parties for the political system; electoral base of American political parties.

6367: Seminar in Electoral Behavior
Cr. 3. (3-0). Examines determinants of voting decisions; role of elections in democracy.

6368: Psychological Approaches to Politics
Cr. 3. (3-0). Surveys the major psychological approaches to study of politics, such as clinical/functional theories and information processing theories, in current political science research.

6369: Seminar on the Presidency
Cr. 3. (3-0). Changing concepts of the presidency. The president as chief executive. The president and Congress. The president and public opinion.

6370: Public Administration and Policy Implementation
Cr. 3. (3-0). Explores ways in which political and organizational considerations constrain adoption and implementation of alternative public policies.

6371: Administrative Theory
Cr. 3. (3-0). Strategies and techniques for managing public organizations.

6372: Budgeting for Public Agencies
Cr. 3. (3-0). Introduces students to politics, basic concepts, theories, and practices involved in public budgeting process.

6373: Computer Use in Public Administration
Cr. 3. (3-0). Provides knowledge of computer applications in public administration. Develops skills in use of computers in public arena.

6374: Quantitative Management in Public Affairs
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: POLS 6480. Survey of analytic methods used to support management, planning, and decision making in the public sector, including geographic information systems (GIS), business forecasting and decision analysis.

6375: Seminar in Intergovernmental Relations
Cr. 3. (3-0). Examines interactions and policy development of federal, state, and local governments in the American political system.

6376: Regulatory Process
Cr. 3. (3-0). Examination of policies and processes of regulation at national, state, and local levels with emphasis on the administration of regulations.

6377: Seminar in Urban Service Delivery
Cr. 3. (3-0). Review of political, economic, and administrative factors affecting the delivery of urban services. Particular attention paid to questions of efficiency, effectiveness, and equity in services provided by local governments.

6378: Workshop in Public Policy
Cr. 3. (3-0). May be repeated as topics vary. Examines a concrete issue of public policy using the skills emphasized in the public administration curriculum.

6379: Problem Analysis Project
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisites: consent of MPA director and enrollment in MPA program. May be repeated once for credit. Intensive study of significant policy issue of student's choice. Student asked to formulate and analyze real issue of public policy and make independent and specific recommendations about the issue.

6383: Evaluation Research
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: POLS 6480. Methods for evaluating public programs and problems; practical issues of collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; problems and limitations of public sector research.

6384: Survey Research Methods
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: POLS 6480. Practical issues of sampling, questionnaire design, interviewing techniques, and supervision; analysis of survey results and the presentation of data to academic, governmental, and commercial audiences.

6385: Time Series Methods
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: POLS 6481. Autoregressive and distributed lag models, stochastic regression, univariate and multivariate ARIMA modeling, impact assessment, forecasting.

6386: Measurement Theory for Political Science
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: POLS 6481. Unobtrusive measurement, scaling models, reliability and validity, factor analysis, analysis of covariance structures.

6387: Political Inquiry and Philosophy of Science
Cr. 3. (3-0). Applies relevant issues of the philosophy of science to the study of politics. Political science as a science.

6389: Public Choice Models in Political Science
Cr. 3. (3-0). Public choice models of political decision making, spatial models of elections, theory of public goods, game theory.

6394: Seminar: Selected Topics in Political Theory and Methodology
Cr. 3. (3-0). May be repeated as topics vary.

6395: Seminar: Selected Topics in American Politics and Public Policy
Cr. 3. (3-0). May be repeated as topics vary.

6396: Seminar: Selected Topics in Comparative Politics and International Relations
Cr. 3. (3-0). May be repeated as topics vary.

6397: Seminar: Selected Topics in Public Administration and Law
Cr. 3. (3-0). May be repeated as topics vary.

6399-7399: Master's Thesis
Cr. 3 per semester.

6480: Research Design and Quantitative Methods I
Cr. 4. (3-1). Research methods commonly used in political science and public administration; emphasis on issues of research design, descriptive and inferential statistics, bivariate regression.

6481: Research Design and Quantitative Methods II
Cr. 4. (3-1). Prerequisite: POLS 6480. Focus on the general linear model; multivariate regression, violations of model assumptions, alternative estimators, computer applications.

6482: Advanced Multivariate Statistics
Cr. 4. (3-1). Prerequisite: POLS 6481. Causal modeling, recursive and non-recursive model, identification, alternative estimators, specification, and measurement error.

6483: Evaluation Research
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: POLS 6480. Methods for evaluating public programs and problems. Topics include the practical issues of collection, analysis, and interpretation of data. Problems and limitations of public sector research are discussed.

6484: Survey Research Methods
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: POLS 6480. Practical issues of sampling, questionnaire design, interviewing techniques, and supervision are combined with the analysis of survey results and the presentation of data to academic, governmental, and commercial audiences.

6485: Time Series Methods in Political Science
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: POLS 6481. Autoregressive and distributed lag models, stochastic regression, univariate and multivariate ARIMA modeling, impact assessment, forecasting.

6486: Measurement Theory for Political Science
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: POLS 6481. Unobtrusive measurement, scaling models, reliability and validity, factor analysis, analysis of covariance structures.

7300: Seminar in Current Political Science Research
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite: graduate standing. May be repeated with consent of instructor. Current political science research presented in seminar format.

8398: Dissertation Prospectus
Cr. 3. (3-0). Seminar on preparing outline and prospectus for writing doctoral dissertation.

8399:8699:8999: Doctoral Dissertation
Cr. 3-9. per semester as indicated.