Political Science  

POLT 801 - Courts and Public Policy
Credits: 4.00
Impact of judicial decisions on public policy and influences on judicial decision making at the federal, state, and local levels.

POLT 802 - Public Planning and Budgeting
Credits: 4.00
Analysis, goal setting, and strategic planning in a governmental setting, with particular emphasis on budgetary processes as a means for controlling policy effectiveness.

POLT 803 - Urban and Metropolitan Politics
Credits: 4.00
An eclectic approach to the study of urban and metropolitan politics. Topics include: urban politics, forms of local government; migrations, urban development, intergovernmental relations; community power structure, urban policy making, urban service delivery, crime and law enforcement, urban bureaucracy, urban decay, and revitalization.

POLT 804 - Policy and Program Evaluation
Credits: 4.00
Policy and program evaluation of federal, state, and local governmental enterprise; focuses on the politics, practices, and methods of evaluative investigation. Evaluation as a technique for providing rational information for budgetary and policy-making decisions.

POLT 805 - American Public Policy
Credits: 4.00
Examination of public policy formation, agenda-setting, decision-making, implementation. Focuses on theories, models, concepts, actors, and case study examples.

POLT 807 - Criminal Justice Administration
Credits: 4.00
Examines the administration and politics of police organizations, the courts, and correctional institutions.

POLT 808 - Administrative Law
Credits: 4.00
Examines the legal rules governing regulatory agencies, in the U.S. Topics include regulatory adjudication and rulemaking, legislative and executive control over administrative agencies, judicial review and public participation. Course examines federal and state levels of government.

POLT 810 - Public Human Resource Management
Credits: 4.00
Examination of the administration, politics, and strategies of effective public human resource management.

POLT 821 - Feminist Political Theory
Credits: 4.00
Exploration of various strands of feminist political theory; taking a specifically political view of the challenges of feminist activism and philosophy. Issues of public space, power, social transformation and democracy addressed.

POLT 843 - Comparative Political Economy
Credits: 4.00
Exploration of the origins, development, and functions of the modern state in the West, its links with markets and capitalism, and its role in contemporary political economy. Examples from various advanced industrial societies.

POLT 851 - Comparative Environmental Politics and Policy
Credits: 4.00
Environmental politics and policy across national boundaries and at different levels of governance. Comparisons of the U.S. and European Union environmental policies to build a foundation for comparisons across national boundaries and sub-national authorities. Students improve their understanding of how and why comparative methods are used to gain insight into politics and policymaking. Central concepts and debates addressed include the roles of expertise, sustainability, precautionary principle, the use of market mechanisms in policy, environmental justice, policy devolution and flexibility, environmental performance assessment, NGO roles, activism, and social movements. A range of theoretical approaches and historical and contemporary events and case studies, evaluating the claims and explanatory power of various concepts and theories. Includes ethical issues emerging from the theory and practice of environmental politics.

POLT 860 - Theories of International Relations
Credits: 4.00
Theoretical approaches of international politics, international organization, and international political economy with particular emphasis on systems theories, domestic determinants of foreign policy, and theories of decision making.

POLT 862 - International Political Economy
Credits: 4.00
Evolution of international economic regimes (monetary, trade, development). Particular emphasis on theoretical approaches to explain current economic problems: systematic theories (interdependence, hegemonic stability); domestic determinants (bureaucratic, interest group); and decision making theories (rational choice).

POLT 878 - International Organization
Credits: 4.00
Various forms of cooperation among nations on security, economic, environmental and social issues through international organizations such as the United Nations, NATO, the World Trade Organization and other global and regional bodies. Includes examination of the role and influence of non-governmental international organizations.

POLT 880 - International Environmental Politics, Policy and Law
Credits: 4.00
Explores international/global environmental politics and policymaking, multilateral negotiations, the role of science and technology in policymaking, state capacity, the making of international law, implementation, and compliance. Other issues include climate control, marine pollution, long-range air pollution, United States leadership in the global political arena, North-South divisions in global politics, environmental justice, sustainable development, and the role of the United Nations and other international organizations.

POLT 897B - Seminar in American Politics
Credits: 4.00
Advanced analysis and individual research.

POLT 897C - Seminar in Comparative Politics
Credits: 4.00
Advanced analysis focusing on government and politics in foreign nations or regions. Areas of interest may include: constitutional structures, political parties and interest groups, legislatures, bureaucracy and public policy. Topics address such concerns as: religion and politics, patterns of economic development, ethnic strife, political leadership.

POLT 897E - Seminar in International Politics
Credits: 4.00
Advanced analysis focusing on problems of theory and contemporary issues in international politics. Areas of interest may include: democratic norms in international relations; NATO expansion and European security; the peace process in the Middle East, etc. See department listings for semester offerings.

POLT 897F - Seminar in Public Administration
Credits: 4.00
Advanced analysis and individual research, including opportunities for direct observation of governmental administration.

POLT 897I - Seminar in Political Thought
Credits: 4.00
Advanced treatment and individual research.

POLT 898B - Seminar in American Politics
Credits: 4.00
Advanced analysis and individual research.

POLT 898C - Seminar in Comparative Politics
Credits: 4.00
See description for POLT 897C.

POLT 898E - Seminar in International Politics
Credits: 4.00
See description for POLT 897E.

POLT 898F - Seminar in Public Administration
Credits: 4.00
Advanced analysis and individual research, including opportunties for direct observation of governmental administration.

POLT 898I - Seminar in Political Thought
Credits: 4.00
Advanced treatment and individual research.

POLT 899 - Master's Thesis
Credits: 4.00 or 8.00
Each student carries out original research that culminates in a master's thesis. Must be taken 4 credits per semester in each of two semesters or 8 credits in one semester. Required. Cr/F.

POLT 905 - Methods of Policy Analysis
Credits: 4.00
Research design, survey methods, experimental techniques, and aggregate data analysis applied to public policy settings.

POLT 906 - Theories and Processes of Public Administration
Credits: 4.00
Theories of organization and bureaucracy, the implications of bureaucratization, and the major processes of public administration including budgeting, personnel, policy making, as well as attention to contemporary policy issues including collective bargaining, affirmative action, citizen participation.

POLT 907 - Cases in Public Management
Credits: 4.00
Policy case studies emphasizing politics, organizational structure, and inter-organizational behavior; management case studies emphasizing behavior, human relations, personality, and intraorganizational dynamics; and simulation and role-playing exercises.

POLT 910 - Pro-seminar
Credits: 4.00
Familiarizes students with political science as a profession. Briefly surveys the scope of the discipline in terms of the substantive fields and methodological approaches. Examines the logic of research design and explores diverse methods of inquiry (i.e., archival, experimental, case study, comparative analysis, field study, survey, etc.), including the process of generating a presentable research paper.

POLT 970 - Administrative Internship
Credits: 4.00
Practical administrative experience in an area of professional interest. Prereq: M.P.A. candidate.

POLT 995 - Reading and Research
Credits: 1.00 to 4.00
A) American Politics; B) Comparative Politics; C) International Politics; D) Political Thought; E) Public Administration; F) Public Policy. The graduate student engages in independent study under the direction of one of the members of the department. Requires approval of the graduate committee. MPA candidates who have been exempted from the administrative internship are required to complete a 4 credit independent research project in lieu of POLT 970.

POLT 996 - Reading and Research
Credits: 1.00 to 4.00
See description for POLT 995.