Department of Political Science

Areas of Concentration and Course Requirements

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

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

American Politics

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

POLS 5400, Pro-Seminar in American Politics

POLS 5406, Seminar in the American Political System

POLS 5407, Advanced Topics in American Political Institutions and Policy

POLS 5408, Advanced Topics in American Political Behavior

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

Comparative Politics

POLS 5200, Proseminar in Comparative Politics


*At least two of the following area courses:

POLS 5225, Eastern European Poltics

POLS 5210, Latin American Politics

POLS 5220, African Politics

POLS 5340, Poltics and Security in the Middle East

POLS 5205, Western European Politics

POLS 337, Runssia/former USSR (old numer)

Area course approved by the committee: POLS 397

*At least two of the following topics courses:

Comparative & Developmental Administration - POLS 368

Politics of Transitions & Democratization - POLS 397

Women in Political Development- POLS 397

Comparative Social Movements - POLS 397

Comparative Political Culture - POLS 397

Comparative Parties & Electoral Systems - POLS 397

Comparative Political Development - POLS 397

A topics course approved by the field committee - POLS 397

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

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

International Relations

POLS 5300, Proseminar in International Relations

POLS 5305, Foreign Policy Analysis

*Two or More of the Following:

POLS 5320, International Conflict and Cooperation

POLS 5330, International Organizations and Law

POLS 5325, International Political Economy

*One or More of the Following

American Diplomacy - POLS 313

American Foreign Relations - POLS 349

Politics and Security in the Middle East - POLS 329

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

International Politics of the Indian Ocean Region - POLS 397

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

Political Theory

-Proseminar in Political Theory - POLS 304

-At Least Three of the Following:

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

Seminar in American Thought and Ideology - POLS 307

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

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

Public Law

-Law and Society - POLS 352

-Judicial Decision-making - POLS 353

-At Least One of the Following:

Constitutional Rights and Freedoms POLS 397

Constitutional Interpretation - POLS 397

-One or More of the Following

Administrative Law - POLS 358

Representations in Law - POLS 397

Criminal Justice Administration - POLS 397

Legal Theory/Jurisprudence - POLS 397