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Political Science

Departmental Office: 710 International Affairs Building; 212-854-3707 http://www.polisci.columbia.edu

Director of Undergraduate Studies: Prof. Robert Shapiro, 730 International Affairs Building; 212-854-3955;  [email protected]

Economics-Political Science Advisers: Economics : Prof. Susan Elmes, Director of Undergraduate Studies, 1006 International Affairs Building; [email protected] Political Science : Prof. Carlo Prato, 718 International Affairs Building; 212-854-3977; [email protected]

Political Science-Statistics Advisers: Political Science : Prof. Andrew Gelman, 1255 Amsterdam Ave., Room 1016; 212-851-2164; [email protected] Statistics : Prof. Ronald Neath, 612 West 115th Street, Room 612; 212-853-1398;  [email protected] Statistics : Prof. Gabriel Young, 612 West 115th Street, Room 614; 212-853-1395;  [email protected]

The discipline of political science focuses on issues of power and governance and, in particular, on political institutions, both formal and informal. It also focuses on political behavior, political processes, political economy, and state-society relations.

The field consists of four substantive subfields: American politics , which covers such topics as national and local politics, elections, and constitutional law; comparative politics , which aims at understanding the political systems of other countries, both by studying individual states and by engaging in cross-national comparisons; international relations , which deals with the ways that states and other political actors behave in the international arena, including such topics as security, foreign policies, international organizations, and international economic relations; and political theory , which analyzes the history of normative political thought as well as of analytic concepts such as the nature of justice or liberty.

Other broad topics, such as “political economy,” or the study of the relationships between economic and political processes, overlap with the subfields, but also constitute a separate program (see below). Methodology, including statistical analysis and formal modeling, also occupies an important place in the discipline.

Advanced Placement

The department grants credit toward the major for work completed under the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) Advanced Placement Program. Students receive 3 academic credits and exemption from POLS UN1201 INTRO TO AMERICAN POLITICS or POLS UN1501 INTRO TO COMPARATIVE POLITICS for scores of 5 in the United States and Comparative Government and Politics AP Exams.

The Department of Political Science offers a variety of advising resources to provide undergraduate majors and concentrators with the information and support needed to successfully navigate through the program. These resources are described below.

Undergraduate Advising Office

Students should take questions or concerns about the undergraduate program to the department's undergraduate advising office first. If advisers cannot answer a student's question, they then refer the student to the appropriate person.

The undergraduate advising office is staffed by political science Ph.D. students who hold open office hours each week (the schedule can be found online at  https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-advising ). During open hours, advisers are available to respond to questions and concerns about requirements, course selection, course of study, transfer and study abroad credit, and any other aspect of the program. Students may also reach advisers by email at [email protected] .

Students should also consult the undergraduate advisers for assistance in completing the political science program planning form (available online at https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-forms-library ). The advisers must sign and date this form in the approval column next to any listed class that requires approval to fulfill program requirements (transfer courses, non-traditional courses, etc.). Each student's planning form is kept on file in the department, so that each semester they may meet with an adviser to update it.

The advisers are also available to speak with students about academic and professional issues, including research interests, internships, and post-college plans. Since the advisers have been through the graduate school application process, they are great resources with whom students may discuss the process. Also, as current Ph.D. students in the department, they are familiar with the research interests of political science faculty and can therefore refer students to a professor whose research aligns with the students' interests for focused thesis advice, information about academic, professional, and research opportunities, or professional development.

Requesting a Faculty Adviser

Often the best way for students to obtain advising from a faculty member is to contact a professor with whom they have taken a class in an area of interest. Students also have the option of having a faculty adviser assigned by the department. To request a faculty adviser, students should complete the Faculty Adviser Request Form and submit it to the undergraduate coordinator during the first two weeks of the semester. The link to the current adviser request form may be found in the undergraduate forms library on the department website.

Students may consult with their faculty adviser for any substantive issue, but still must visit walk-in advising hours to have courses approved, to have planning forms reviewed and approved, and to discuss departmental requirements and regulations.

Director of Undergraduate Studies

The director of undergraduate studies oversees the department's undergraduate programs and is available during office hours. While a student's first stop for advising should be the undergraduate advising office, the director of undergraduate studies is available to answer any questions that the undergraduate advisers or the undergraduate coordinator cannot. 

Economics–Political Science Adviser

Economics–political science majors may consult with the economics-political science adviser during office hours. However, students should also see an undergraduate adviser to discuss major requirements and fill out a planning form. 

Political Science–Statistics Adviser

Political science–statistics majors may consult with the political science-statistics adviser during office hours. However, students should also see an undergraduate adviser to discuss major requirements and fill out a planning form. 

Faculty At-Large

All faculty are available for consultation with students during office hours or by appointment to discuss interests in political science, course selection, and other academic or post-college matters. The faculty may provide advice about graduate schools, suggest literature that the student might consult as sources for research, recommend specific courses or professors based on the student's interests, or offer information about research opportunities with faculty. However, students should note that any issues surrounding departmental regulations and requirements, major certification, course approvals, etc., should be addressed initially with the undergraduate advisers.

Honors Program

The department offers the Honors Program for a limited number of seniors who want to undertake substantial research projects and write honors theses. The honors thesis is expected to be about 75 pages in length and of exceptional quality.

Honors students perform research as part of a full-year honors seminar ( POLS UN3998 - POLS UN3999 , 8 points total) during their senior year, in place of the seminar requirement for majors. Honors students may, however, take additional seminars to fulfill other course requirements for the major. Theses are due in late March or early April. To be awarded departmental honors, the student must satisfy all the requirements for the major, maintain a 3.6 GPA in the major, and complete a thesis of sufficiently high quality to merit honors.

The honors seminar director provides general direction for the seminar and supervises all students. Each student also works with a faculty member in his or her major subfield (American politics, comparative politics, international relations, or political theory) and a teaching assistant. The honors seminar meets weekly for part of the year and addresses general issues involved in research and thesis writing, such as how to develop research questions and projects, methodology, sources of evidence, and outlining and drafting long papers. The sessions are also used for group discussions of students’ research and thesis presentations. Students are also expected to meet periodically with the supervising professor and preceptor.

Students who wish to apply to the Honors Program must notify the department in writing by the end of the spring semester of the junior year. Please check the department website for the official deadline. Normally no more than 10% of graduating majors receive departmental honors in a given academic year. Applicants are required to have already completed the methods requirement for the major.

Application Materials

Applications to the Honors Program must include the following:

• A cover page with the student’s name, CUID number, e-mail address, and school (Columbia College or General Studies);
• An official transcript, which may be obtained from the Office of the Registrar in Kent Hall, or from Student Services Online (SSOL);
• A writing sample, preferably a paper written for a political science course;
• A brief description (no more than one page) of a possible thesis topic.

Completed applications should be sent to:

Department of Political Science Attn: Departmental Honors 420 West 118th Street Mail Code 3320 New York, NY 10027

In addition, students are encouraged to find a faculty sponsor for their thesis proposal. Students who have identified a faculty sponsor should indicate the sponsor in the proposal; students without a faculty sponsor should identify a faculty member with whom they would like to work. Research areas for the political science department faculty are listed on the department's website . Students will be notified by e-mail of the decision taken on their applications before fall registration.

Students who are not accepted into the honors seminar or who decide after the application deadline that they would like to write an honors thesis may take one or two semesters POLS UN3901 INDEPENDENT RESEARCH I  and POLS UN3902 INDEPENDENT RESEARCH II  in order to write a thesis to submit for honors consideration. Any member of the department's full-time faculty may sponsor independent study courses. Part-time faculty are not obligated to sponsor these courses.

For registration information and more details about this process, students should contact the Academic Affairs Coordinator. Note that most honors theses are about 75 pages in length. All theses must be submitted along with a confidential assessment of the paper by the supervising instructor in order to be considered for departmental honors. Students who choose this path must also complete all the requirements for the major and maintain a minimum major GPA of 3.6. Theses are due in late March or early April, and decisions about departmental honors are announced in May.

Departmental Prizes and Fellowships

The Department of Political Science administers the following prizes and awards. Unless otherwise noted, students do not play an active part in the nomination process. Rather, faculty members nominate students at their own discretion. Departmental prizes are reserved for political science majors.

Charles A. Beard Prize

A cash prize awarded every other year to the student who writes the best paper in political science during the academic year.

Caroline Phelps Stokes Prize

A cash prize established at the bequest of Caroline Phelps Stokes is awarded to a student who has been a degree candidate at Columbia College or Barnard College for at least one academic year, and who has written the best essay in course or seminar work on the general subject of human rights.

Allan J. Willen Memorial Prize

A cash prize awarded to the Columbia College student who writes the best seminar paper on a contemporary American political problem.

Edwin Robbins Academic Research/Public Service Fellowship

The Robbins Fellowship provides a stipend each summer for at least two political science students in Columbia College who will be engaged in research in important matters of politics or policymaking or who will be working, without other compensation, as interns in a governmental office, agency, or other public service organization. Each spring, the department invites students to submit fellowship proposals. Awards are announced in late April or early May.

The Arthur Ross Foundation Award

Phyllis stevens sharp fellowship in american politics.

The Phyllis Stevens Sharp Endowment Fund provides stipends each year during the summer for one or more Columbia College or School of General Studies students majoring or concentrating in political science to support research in American politics or policy making, or otherwise uncompensated internships in a government office, agency, or other public service organization. Each spring, the department invites students to submit fellowship proposals. Awards are announced in late April or early May.

Early Admission to the Master's Degree Program in Political Science for Columbia and Barnard Political Science Undergraduates

While the Department of Political Science does not offer a joint bachelor of arts/master’s degree, it does allow Columbia and Barnard undergraduates to apply for early admission to its master’s degree program. 

Students should apply during the fall semester of their senior year for admission to the M.A. program in the following fall semester, after completion of the B.A. degree. The department and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences may award up to one-half residence unit of advanced standing and/or up to three courses (nine to twelve credits) of transfer credit for graduate courses ( 4000 -level and above) taken at Columbia in excess of the requirements for the Columbia bachelor's degree, as certified by the dean of the undergraduate school awarding the bachelor's degree.

For further information about the application process and minimum qualifications for early admission, please contact the director of undergraduate studies.

For further information about requirements for the M.A. degree, see  https://gsas.columbia.edu/degree-programs/ma-programs/political-science .

• Jagdish Bhagwati (also Economics)
• Allison Carnegie
• Alessandra Casella (also Economics)
• Partha Chatterjee (Anthropology)
• Jean L. Cohen
• Michael Doyle (University Professor)
• Robert Erikson
• Virginia Page Fortna
• Timothy Frye
• Ester Fuchs (School of International and Public Affairs)
• Andrew Gelman (also Statistics)
• Donald P. Green
• Bernard Harcourt (Law)
• Fredrick Harris
• Jeffrey Henig (Teachers College)
• Shigeo Hirano
• David C. Johnston
• Ira Katznelson (also History)
• Sudipta Kaviraj (Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies)
• Jeffrey Lax
• Mahmood Mamdani (Anthropology)
• Karuna Mantena
• M. Victoria Murillo (also School of International and Public Affairs)
• Andrew J. Nathan
• Sharyn O'Halloran (also School of International and Public Affairs)
• Justin Phillips (Chair)
• Robert Y. Shapiro
• Jack Snyder
• Michael Ting (also School of International and Public Affairs)
• Nadia Urbinati
• Gregory Wawro
• Andreas Wimmer (also Sociology)
• Keren Yarhi-Milo (also School of International and Public Affairs)

Associate Professors

• Daniel Corstange (also School of International and Public Affairs)
• Alexander W. Hertel-Fernandez (also School of International and Public Affairs)
• Turkuler Isiksel
• Kimuli Kasara
• John Marshall
• Carlo Prato

Assistant Professors

• Naoki Egami
• Nikhar Gaikwad
• Junyan Jiang
• Daniel Luban
• Andrew McCall
• Tamar Mitts (also School of International and Public Affairs)
• Calvin Thrall
• Yamil Velez
• Jacqueline C. Dugard Kevin Funk Elise Giuliano Clara Maier Benjamin Mueser Benjamin Mylius Michael Parrott Tsveta Petrova David Ragazzoni Chiara Superti
• Profs. Carnegie, Egami, Gaikwad, Kim, Mantena ( 2023-24 )
• Prof. Doyle ( Fall 2023 )
• Profs. Casella, Johnston, Marshall ( Spring 2024 )

Guidelines for all Political Science Majors, Concentrators, and Interdepartmental Majors

Planning forms.

Major Planning forms are available on the department website .

Policy on Double-Counting Courses

• Columbia College
• School of General Studies
• Courses in the Core Curriculum do not fulfill requirements for the Political Science major.

Policy on Counting Credits outside the Department of Political Science

• Courses taken at other institutions or other Columbia departments may not be used to meet the requirement of a major or concentration in political science without the approval of the Director of Undergraduate Studies or the department’s undergraduate adviser. Students should secure such approval in advance of registration.

Pass/D/Fail and Grading Policy

• The course used to fulfill the research methods requirement cannot be taken Pass/D/Fail.
• Students must receive a grade of at least C- in order for a course to count towards the major or concentration.

AP Credit Policy

• Students who receive transfer credit for one or more AP exams in political science may count a maximum of one AP course toward the major or concentration, contingent upon completing an upper-level (3000 or higher) course with a grade of C or higher in the subfield in which the AP exam was taken. All transfer credits must be approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies or the  undergraduate adviser .

Transfer Credit Policy

For the political science major, a maximum of three courses in political science may be transferred from other institutions, including study abroad and AP credit. For the political science concentration as well as the economics-political science and political science-statistics interdisciplinary majors, a maximum of two courses in political science may be transferred from other institutions.

All transfer credits must be approved in writing by the Director of Undergraduate Studies or the undergraduate adviser .

• Students wishing to count transfer credits toward the major or concentration should send the undergraduate adviser their transfer credit report, the syllabi of the courses they want to count toward departmental requirements, and a statement of how they want to apply the transfer credits to the requirements.

Independent Study Policy

• Independent Study ( POLS UN3901 INDEPENDENT RESEARCH I  in the fall or POLS UN3902 INDEPENDENT RESEARCH II  in the spring) taken in fulfillment of course requirements for the major/concentration must be taken for at least 3 points of credit.

Major in Political Science

Program of study.

To be planned with the department as soon as the student starts to register for courses toward the major. Students should not wait until they formally declare the major before meeting with an undergraduate adviser during the registration period to plan their programs for the major.

Course Requirements

Students must choose a  Primary Subfield  and a  Secondary Subfield  to study. The subfields are as follows:

• American Politics (AP)
• Comparative Politics (CP)
• International Relations (IR)
• Political Theory (PT)

The major in political science requires a minimum of 9 courses in political science, to be distributed as follows:

Students must complete the methods requirement by the end of the junior year. A student may fulfill the research methods requirement with another course inside or outside the department only with the advance written permission of the Director of Graduate Studies or the department's undergraduate adviser. If a course outside the Department of Political Science is used to satisfy the research methods requirement, this same course cannot be used to fulfill requirements of another major, concentration or program.

Students are expected to take two 3000-level 4-point seminars. They may choose from among the seminars offered, though at least one of the seminars taken must be in the student’s Primary Subfield (that in which at least 9 other points have been completed). Entry into seminars requires the instructor's permission.

For detailed seminar registration guidelines, see  t he  department website . Seminars cannot be taken for R credit or Pass/D/Fail.

Barnard colloquia are open to students with the permission of the instructor. However, Barnard colloquia may not be used to fulfill the seminar requirement, though they may be used to fulfill subfield or elective requirements. Note that admission to Barnard colloquia is by application to the Barnard Political Science Department only. Please consult with the Barnard Political Science Department for more information.

Recommended Courses

In addition to political science courses, students are strongly advised, but not required, to take six points in a related social science field.

Major in Economics–Political Science

The major in economics-political science is an interdisciplinary major that introduces students to the methodologies of economics and political science and stresses areas of particular concern to both. This program is particularly beneficial to students planning to do graduate work in schools of public policy and international affairs.

Two advisers are assigned for the interdepartmental major, one in the Department of Economics and one in the Department of Political Science. Please note that the economics adviser can only advise on economics requirements and the political science adviser can only advise on political science requirements.

For the political science part of the major, students must choose a  Primary Subfield  and a  Secondary Subfield  to study. The corresponding introductory courses in both subfields must be taken, plus two electives in the Primary Subfield and one in the Secondary Subfield. The subfields are as follows:

The economics–political science major requires a total of 59 points: 22 points in economics, 17 points in political science, 6 points in mathematics, 6 points in statistical methods, 4 points in a political science seminar, and 4 points in the interdisciplinary seminar as follows:

Students who wish to count toward the political science seminar requirement a course that is not in the above list of approved seminars must obtain permission from the political science Director of Undergraduate studies.

Barnard colloquia may not be used to fulfill the seminar requirement. Note that admission to Barnard colloquia is by application to the Barnard political science department only.

Major in Political Science–Statistics

The interdepartmental major of political science–statistics is designed for students who desire an understanding of political science to pursue advanced study in this field and who also wish to have at their command a broad range of sophisticated statistical tools to analyze data related to social science and public policy research.

Students should be aware of the rules regarding the use of the Pass/D/Fail option. Courses in which a grade of D has been received do not count toward the major requirements.

Political science–statistics students are eligible for all prizes reserved for political science majors.

The political science-statistics major requires a minimum of 15 courses in political science, statistics, and mathematics, to be distributed as follows:

Students taking Statistics Sequence A may replace the mathematics requirements with both  MATH UN1207 HONORS MATHEMATICS A and  MATH UN1208 HONORS MATHEMATICS B .

Concentration in Political Science

To be planned with the department as soon as the student starts to register for courses toward the concentration. Students should not wait until they formally declare the concentration before meeting with an undergraduate adviser during the registration period to plan their programs for the concentration.

Concentration Requirements

The concentration in political science requires a minimum of 7 courses in political science, to be distributed as follows:

In addition to courses in political science, students are strongly advised, but not required, to take six credits in a related social science field.

American Politics

POLS UN1201 INTRO TO AMERICAN POLITICS. 4.00 points .

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the principles of American politics and governance. Upon completing the class, students should be more informed about the American political process and better able to explain contemporary American political phenomena, as well as being more likely to engage with politics and elections

POLS UN3213 AMERICAN URBAN POLITICS. 3.00 points .

This course examines the pattern of political development in urban America, as the countrys population has grown in urbanized locations. It explores the process by which cities and suburbs are governed, how immigrants and migrants are incorporated, and how people of different races and ethnicities interact in urbanized settings as well as the institutional relations of cities and suburbs with other jurisdictions of government. The course focuses both on the historical as well the theoretical understandings of politics in urban areas

POLS UN3220 LOGIC OF COLLECTIVE CHOICE. 3.00 points .

Much of politics is about combining individual preferences or actions into collective choices. We will make use of two theoretical approaches. Our primary approach will be social choice theory, which studies how we aggregate what individuals want into what the collective ;wants.; The second approach, game theory, covers how we aggregate what individuals want into what the group gets, given that social, economic, and political outcomes usually depend on the interaction of individual choices. The aggregation of preferences or choices is usually governed by some set of institutional rules, formal or informal. Our main themes include the rationality of individual and group preferences, the underpinnings and implications of using majority rule, tradeoffs between aggregation methods, the fairness of group choice, the effects of institutional constraints on choice (e.g. agenda control), and the implications for democratic choice. Most of the course material is highly abstract, but these abstract issues turn up in many real-world problems, from bargaining between the branches of government to campus elections to judicial decisions on multi-member courts to the allocation of relief funds among victims of natural disasters to the scoring of Olympic events. The collective choice problem is one faced by society as a whole and by the smallest group alike

POLS UN3222 THE AMERICAN CONGRESS. 3.00 points .

Prerequisites: POLS UN1201 or the equivalent, or the instructor's permission. Prerequisites: POLS W1201 or the equivalent, or the instructors permission. Inquiry into the dynamics, organization, and policy-making processes of the American Congress. Particular emphasis on the relationship of legislators to constituents, lobbyists, bureaucrats, the president, and with one another

POLS UN3225 AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL HISTOR. 4.00 points .

This Course is intended to look at key developments of American History through the prism of Supreme Court decisions and their aftermath. In essence, this Course will address three questions: 1. How did the Supreme Court reflect, and affect, historic patterns of U.S. development, and how did it impact the legal and economic framework of the United States? 2. How did the Supreme Court respond to, or worsen, crises in U.S. history? 3. How did the perception of individual and collective rights and liberties, and of the function and role of Governments -- both Federal and State -- evolve over time?

POLS UN3245 RACIAL AND ETHNIC POLITICS. 3.00 points .

This course examines the role of race in American politics and the political behavior of racial and ethnic minorities in the United States. Topics will include, but are not limited to, minority political participation, segregation, gentrification, group identity, implicit bias, political representation, media effects, and the role of race in political campaigns

POLS UN3255 RACE AND THE US CARCERAL SYSTEM. 3.00 points .

This course will introduce students to research on the institutions of the US carceral system, including the police, courts, prisons, and immigration control. We will focus on two questions: how race relates to experiences with the institutions of the carceral state, and how those institutions in turn influence racial politics. The main objective is not the accumulation of factual knowledge about this system, but familiarity with theoretical frameworks with which to make and critically assess arguments about the functioning of carceral institutions as they relate to racialized people and the functioning of democracy

POLS UN3260 LATINO POLITICAL EXPERIENCE. 3.00 points .

This course focuses on the political incorporation of Latinos into the American polity. Among the topics to be discussed are patterns of historical exclusion, the impact of the Voting Rights Act, organizational and electoral behavior, and the effects of immigration on the Latino national political agenda

POLS UN3285 FREEDOM OF SPEECH ＆ PRESS. 3.00 points .

Examines the constitutional right of freedom of speech and press in the United States. Examines, in depth, various areas of law, including extremist or seditious speech, obscenity, libel, fighting words, the public forum doctrine, and public access to the mass media. Follows the law school course model, with readings focused on actual judicial decisions

POLS UN3290 VOTING AND AMERICAN POLITICS. 3.00 points .

Elections and public opinion; history of U.S. electoral politics; the problem of voter participation; partisanship and voting; accounting for voting decisions; explaining and forecasting election outcomes; elections and divided government; money and elections; electoral politics and representative democracy.

American Politics Seminars

POLS UN3921 AMERICAN POLITICS SEMINAR. 4.00 points .

Priority given to senior majors, followed by junior majors, then all other students.

Prerequisites: the instructor's permission. Pre-registration is not permitted. Prerequisites: the instructors permission. Pre-registration is not permitted. Seminar in American Politics Seminar. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

Comparative Politics

POLS UN1501 INTRO TO COMPARATIVE POLITICS. 4.00 points .

This course provides a broad overview of the comparative politics subfield by focusing on important substantive questions about the world today. The course is organized around four questions. First, why can only some people depend upon the state to enforce order? Second, how can we account for the differences between autocracies and democracies? Third, what different institutional forms does democratic government take? Finally, are some institutions more likely than others to produce desirable social outcomes such as accountability, redistribution, and political stability?

POLS UN3528 NEW/OLD FORMS OF POL PROTEST. 3.00 points .

This course will introduce the students to the important topic of political protest. Each week we will address different aspects of the phenomenon: from the determinant to the actors and strategies of protest. We will discuss how the forms of protest have changed and the current role of the internet in general and social media in particular. Finally, we will discuss the role of the state and state repression, in particular censorship in the dynamics of protest. Since this is a comparative politics course, we will cover a range of different countries, including the United States, as well as both democratic and authoritarian regimes

POLS UN3534 AUTOCRACY AND DEMOCRACY. 3.00 points .

With longstanding democracies in Europe and the US faltering, autocratic regimes in Russia and China consolidating, and hybrid regimes that mix elements of democracy and autocracy on the rise, scholars, policymakers, and citizens are re-evaluating the causes and consequences of different forms of government. This course is designed to give students the tools to understand these trends in global politics. Among other topics, we will explore: How do democracies and autocracies differ in theory and in practice? Why are some countries autocratic? Why are some democratic? What are the roots of democratic erosion? How does economic inequality influence a country’s form of government? Is the current period of institutional foment different past periods of global instability? This course will help students keep up with rapidly unfolding events, but is designed primarily to help them develop tools for interpreting and understanding the current condition of democracy and autocracy in the world

POLS GU4423 POLITICAL ECONOMY ANALYSIS OF ELITES ＆ INSTITUTIONS. 4.00 points .

This course examines political institutions and elite behavior from a political economy perspective. This course has three core goals. First, the substantive goal is to familiarize students with foundational theoretical arguments and frontier empirical evidence pertaining to central questions in political economy relating to political elite and institutions. Second, the methodological goal is to empower students to implement research designs that can effectively address the substantive questions driving their research. Third, the professionalization goal is to expose students to the academic processes of writing reviews, replicating and extending others’ studies, presenting research projects, and writing original research designs or academic papers

POLS GU4439 State and Society in Ukraine. 4.00 points .

This course deals with the functioning of the state and society in post-Soviet Ukraine, from its peaceful establishment in 1991 to its affirmation and revision in the crucible of the war with neoimperial Russia since 2014. On the one hand, it examines the formation and subsequent transformation of the state, including he branches of government, the party system, elections, foreign policy, education and social welfare. On the other hand, it discusses various facets of society such as religion, media, language use, gender relations, poverty, racism, etc. In tracing the relations between the state and society on a rocky road from totalitarianism to democracy, particular attention is paid to two upsurges of popular protest against state abuse, namely the Orange and Euromaidan revolution and subsequent attempts to empower society and strengthen its control over the state. No less prominent will be discussions of two military interventions by Russia seeking to keep Ukraine its its sphere of influence, the annexation of Crimea and the instigation of a separatist conflict in the Donbas in 2014, and the full-blown invasion in 2022, and the Ukrainian state and society’s responses to these interventions

POLS GU4453 POLITICS IN RUSSIA. 3.00 points .

This course begins by studying the late Soviet era—the 1970s through the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991--in order to understand what kind of political system and political culture Russia inherited. We spend some time analyzing why and how the Soviet Union—a superpower for 75 years—disintegrated suddenly and for the most part, peacefully. Then, the bulk of the course focuses on state-building in the Russian Federation. Russia’s effort to construct new political institutions, a functioning economy, and a healthy society represents one of the greatest political dramas of our time. Beginning with Yeltsin’s presidency in 1991 and continuing through the current eras of Putin, Medvedev, and Putin again, we consider phenomena such as economic reform, nationalism, separatism, federalism, war, legal reform, civil society, and democratization. The third part of the course addresses Russia’s foreign relations. Like its predecessor states, the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, Russia is concerned with what kind of state it is (or should be) and where it stands in the international order. We will study how Russian elites make sense of Russia’s identity, as well as Russia’s policies toward the US, Europe, its “near abroad,” the Middle East, and China

POLS GU4455 Russian Politics: How Autocracy Works. 3.00 points .

This course is designed to give students the tools to understand the politics of post-Soviet Russia through the lens of theories of modern autocracy and by putting Russian in comparative perspective. Among other topics, we will explore: Why did the Soviet Union collapse? Why was economic reform in Russian in the 1990s so difficult? How does autocracy influence economic development? How does Russia’s autocracy work? Why has Russia become increasingly repressive in the Putin era? Why did Russia invade Ukraine in 2022? What are the prospects for political change? How does economic inequality influence a country’s form of government? In addition to answering these questions, we will also examine the many difficult challenges in identifying the causes and consequences of studying autocracy. The course not only hopes to use modern theories of autocracy to understand Russia, but also to use the Russian case to build theories of modern autocracy. This course will help students keep up with rapidly unfolding events but is designed primarily to help them develop tools for interpreting and understanding the politics of autocratic Russia

POLS GU4457 Russian Propaganda Dom ＆ Global Politics. 4.00 points .

Propaganda is a key tool of contemporary authoritarian politics. Autocrats such as Russia’s Vladimir Putin, China’s Xi Jinping, or Hungary’s Viktor Orbán use state-controlled media to manipulate citizens, and some of them extensively rely on propaganda to undermine democracy in other countries. This course encourages students to think about the specific roles that media and propaganda play in autocracies, focusing on Russia in particular. We will read and discuss cutting-edge empirical research in political science and media studies to understand how autocrats such as Putin manipulate public opinion, why their propaganda can be successful, what its limits are, and how we can spot authoritarian propaganda in practice

POLS GU4461 Latin American Politics. 4 points .

This is a lecture class that seeks to introduce students to social scientific analysis while discuss the shifting dynamics of political representation in Latin America. In analyzing political representation in the region, it focuses on demands for political inclusion by different actors and how they were resisted or accepted by established elites in a process that moved from regime change to electoral rotation in power. The course covers these political dynamics and their institutional consequences since the onset of the twentieth century, starting with the Mexican Revolution, until the contemporary period where democracy is the predominant form of government and elections a crucial tool for social and political change. While analyzing the politics of Latin America, we will cover important political science concepts associated with democratic representation, social inclusion and the rule of the law, such as social movement mobilization, political regime change, presidentialism, political party systems, political identities, state capacity, and institutional weakness.

POLS GU4471 CHINESE POLITICS. 3.00 points .

This course offers a historical and thematic survey of Chinese politics and of salient issues in China’s public policy and governance. The first half of the course reviews the patterns and dynamics of political development in China, focusing mainly on the last two hundred years, during which the country has been on a rugged yet fascinating path toward modernity. We will examine major political events including the collapse of the Imperial China, the rise of the Communist Party, the Cultural Revolution, and the post-Mao shift toward reform and opening. The second half of the course will look various special topics, including the structure of the party and the state, the relationship between state and society, the modes of economic development, and the governance of the media and the Internet. Throughout the course, special attention will be paid to how China’s domestic political and economic processes intersected with major world events and transnational forces, such as imperialism, world wars, and economic globalization

POLS GU4472 JAPANESE POLITICS. 4.00 points .

POLS GU4496 CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN POLITICS. 3.00 points .

This course aims to teach students what, if any, answers social scientists have to the questions that concern anyone with an interest in African politics: 1) Why have democratic governments flourished in some countries and not others? 2) What institutions may enable Africans to hold their leaders accountable? 3) How do people participate in politics? 4) In what ways do aspiring African political leaders build public support? 5) To what extent does persistent poverty on the continent have political causes? and 6) Why is violence used to resolve some political disputes and not others?

Comparative Politics Seminars

POLS UN3951 COMPARATIVE POLITICS SEMINAR. 4.00 points .

Prerequisites: POLS V1501 or the equivalent, and the instructor's permission. Pre-registration is not permitted. Please see here for detailed seminar registration guidelines: http://polisci.columbia.edu/undergraduate-programs/seminar-registration-guidelines. Prerequisites: POLS V1501 or the equivalent, and the instructors permission. Pre-registration is not permitted. Please see here for detailed seminar registration guidelines: http://polisci.columbia.edu/undergraduate-programs/seminar-registration-guidelines. Seminar in Comparative Politics. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

International Relations

POLS UN1601 INTERNATIONAL POLITICS. 4.00 points .

This introductory course surveys key topics in the study of international politics, including the causes of war and peace; the efficacy of international law and human rights; the origins of international development and underdevelopment; the politics of global environmental protection; and the future of US-China relations. Throughout the course, we will focus on the interests of the many actors of world politics, including states, politicians, firms, bureaucracies, international organizations, and nongovernmental organizations; the interactions between them; and the institutions in which they operate. By the end of the semester, students will be better equipped to systematically study international relations and make informed contributions to critical policy debates

POLS UN3619 NAT'L ＆ CONTEMP WORLD POLITICS. 3.00 points .

The causes and consequences of nationalism. Nationalism as a cause of conflict in contemporary world politics. Strategies for mitigating nationalist and ethnic conflict

POLS UN3623 ENDING WAR ＆ BUILDING PEACE. 3.00 points .

This course provides an introduction to the politics of war termination and peace consolidation. The course examines the challenges posed by ending wars and the process by which parties to a conflict arrive at victory, ceasefires, and peace negotiations. It explores how peace is sustained, why peace lasts in some cases and breaks down in others and what can be done to make peace more stable, focusing on the role of international interventions, power-sharing arrangements, reconciliation between adversaries, and reconstruction

POLS UN3648 GOVERNING THE GLOBAL ECONOMY. 4.00 points .

Who governs the world economy? Why do countries succeed or fail to cooperate in setting their economic policies? When and how do international institutions help countries cooperate? When and why do countries adopt good and bad economic policies? This course examines how domestic and international politics determine how the global economy is governed. We will study the politics of trade, international investment, monetary, immigration, and environmental policies to answer these questions. The course will approach each topic by examining alternative theoretical approaches and evaluate these theories using historical and contemporary evidence. There will be an emphasis on applying concepts through the analysis of policy-relevant case studies designed specifically for this course

POLS UN3674 China's Technological Rise. 3.00 points .

This course examines the causes and consequences of China’s rise as an economic and technological great power over the past four decades. It provides a theoretically-informed introduction to the political economy of contemporary China and to major debates surrounding China’s relations with the United States and its allies and partners. Topics covered include Chinese industrial and innovation policies, China’s capabilities in core technologies like semiconductors and artificial intelligence, the prospects for U.S.-China economic decoupling, the risk of conflict over Taiwan, the future trajectory of China’s rise, and more. At the end of this course, students will have a strong understanding of the main features of modern Chinese political economy, how China’s positions in the global economy and international system have changed in recent decades, and the implications of these transformations for U.S.-China strategic competition. They will also have learned to critically evaluate prominent theories in political science and international relations as they apply to China

POLS UN3692 Business ＆ Politics in Globalized World. 3.00 points .

Companies (or, as we’ll mostly refer to them, firms) play a number of important roles in both domestic and international politics; among other activities, they create jobs, engage in trade and in-vestment, create social responsibility programs, lobby governments, and create much of the world’s pollution. How should we think about firms as political actors? Why, when, and how do firms attempt to influence policymaking? And when do they succeed? In this course, we will study strategic collaboration, competition, and collusion between firms and governments in a range of settings and policy areas. To do so, we will draw on insights from international relations, economics, and business scholars, and we will frequently engage with current real-world examples of business-government relations. Topics will include (among others) lobbying, corporate social responsibility, taxation and tax avoidance, public-private governance, and corporate influence in foreign policy

POLS GU4814 GLOBAL ENERGY: SECURITY/GEOPOL. 3.00 points .

The course focuses on the nexus between energy and security as it reveals in the policies and interaction of leading energy producers and consumers. Topics include: Hydrocarbons and search for stability and security in the Persian Gulf, Caspian basin, Eurasia, Africa and Latin America; Russia as a global energy player; Analysis of the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on energy markets, global security, and the future of the energy transition; Role of natural gas in the world energy balance and European energy security; Transformation of the global energy governance structure; Role and evolution of the OPEC; Introduction into energy economics; Dynamics and fundamentals of the global energy markets; IOCs vs NOCs; Resource nationalism, cartels, sanctions and embargoes; Asia's growing energy needs and its geo-economic and strategic implications; Nuclear energy and challenges to non-proliferation regime; Alternative and renewable sources of energy; Climate change as one of the central challenges of the 21st century; Analysis of the policies, technologies, financial systems and markets needed to achieve climate goals. Climate change and attempts of environmental regulation; Decarbonization trends, international carbon regimes and search for optimal models of sustainable development. Special focus on implications of the shale revolution and technological innovations on U.S. energy security

POLS GU4845 NAT SECURITY STRAT OF MID EAST. 4.00 points .

At the crossroads of three continents, the Middle East is home to many diverse peoples, with ancient and proud cultures, in varying stages of political and socio-economic development, often in conflict. Following the Arab Spring and subsequent upheaval in Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Libya and more, the region is in a state of historic flux. The Sunni-Shia rivalry, especially between Saudi Arabia and Iran, growing Iranian-Israeli conflict, population explosion, poverty and authoritarian control, Russian ascendance and US retrenchment, are the primary regional drivers today. Together, these factors have transformed the Middle Eastern landscape, with great consequence for the national security of the countries of the region and their foreign relations. The primary source of the worlds energy resources, the Middle East remains the locus of the terror-WMD-fundamentalist nexus, which continues to pose a significant threat to both regional and international security. The course surveys the national security challenges facing the regions primary players (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinians and Turkey,) and how the convolutions of recent years have affected them. Unlike many Middle East courses, which focus on US policy in the region, the course concentrates on the regional players perceptions of the threats and opportunities they face and the strategies they have adopted to deal with them. It thus provides an essential vantage point for those interested in gaining a deeper understanding of a region, which stands at the center of many of the foreign policy issues of our era. The course is designed for those with a general interest in the Middle East, especially those interested in national security issues, students of comparative politics and future practitioners, with an interest in real world international relations and national security

POLS GU4863 INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. 4.00 points .

This course examines how domestic and international politics influence the economic policies of developing countries. We will critically evaluate different theoretical debates related to foreign economic policymaking in emerging markets, and introduce chief methodological approaches used in contemporary analyses. We will focus attention on different types of cross-border flows: the flow of goods (trade policy), the flow of people (immigration policy), the flow and location of production (foreign investment policy), the flow of capital (financial and monetary policy), and the flow of pollution (environment policy). In the process, we will address several themes that are central to understanding the politics of economic policymaking in emerging economies, including, the legacies of colonialism, trade protectionism and liberalization, globalization and the race to the bottom, the relationship between economic policy and culture, and development and redistribution. There will be an emphasis on applying concepts through the analysis of policy-relevant case studies designed for this course

POLS GU4865 INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY. 4.00 points .

This course explores key frameworks and issue areas within international political economy. It examines the history and key characteristics of (economic) globalization, the theories of international cooperation, as well as the nature and role of international organizations (such as the World Trade Organization) in fostering trade and international economic cooperation. Furthermore, the course discusses the pros and cons of globalization and its implications on domestic policies of nation-states, with a particular focus on the tensions globalization creates and the lines of cleavages between winners and losers from globalization. Finally, the course reflects on the future of globalization and international trade and the challenges faced by national and supranational policy makers

International Relations Seminars

POLS UN3961 INTERNATIONAL POLITICS SEMINAR. 4.00 points .

Prerequisites: POLS UN1601 or the equivalent, and the instructor's permission. Prerequisites: POLS UN1601 or the equivalent, and the instructors permission. Seminar in International Politics. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

Political Theory

POLS UN1101 POLITICAL THEORY I. 4.00 points .

This course considers key questions at the foundation of political thought. What is justice? How do we justify the coercive power of states? Do we have an obligation to obey the government? Who should make and enforce the law? What basic rights and liberties should governments protect? How should our economic system produce and divide wealth and material resources? What are the claims of excluded or marginalized groups and how can these claims be addressed? We explore these questions through the works of several classical and contemporary political thinkers. A major goal of the course is to practice the skills needed to understand a political thinker’s arguments and to construct one’s own

POLS UN3100 JUSTICE. 3.00 points .

An inquiry into the nature and implications of justice in areas ranging from criminal justice to social justice to the circumstances of war and peace, considering issues such as abortion, the criminalization of behavior, the death penalty, climate change, global poverty, civil disobedience, and international conflict

POLS UN3106 Democracy: Principles, Critics and Problems. 3.00 points .

This course is about democracy: its theory, principles, critics and challenges. After centuries of vilification, democracy acquired the status of the "best" political order thanks also to the defeat of Nazism and fascism, in 1945. The end of the Cold War and the international order created by the victors of World War II caused some major changes in the perception and practice of democracy. The world has become a unified place for financial markets and a borderless space for the implementation of hegemonic projects. Openness and globalization put pressure on the ideal and practice of democracy, however. On the one hand, democracy seems to be the solution to all problems so much so that "democracy" now means everything on the right side of history. On the other hand, it seems instead to be a source of problems, and many (even democrats) criticize it for being inefficient in decision-making, subject to the prejudices of increasingly uninformed and ignorant voters, and finally a system that breeds corruption. The goal of this course is to understand this conundrum. What are the basic principles of democracy and the main objections raised against it? In what sense does democracy embody universal values? Is it desirable that democracy contains partisanship with competence? Is populism a fate of modern democracies? These questions will guide us in understanding the promises of democracy and the disappointments of democrats. We will begin our intellectual journey with the ancient vision of democracy and its early critics, then explore the modern trajectory of democratic theory and finally contemporary populist transformations

POLS UN3112 GANDHI, KING ＆ POLS OF NONVIOLENCE. 4.00 points .

Since Gandhi’s experiments in mass satyagraha over a century ago, nonviolence has become a staple of protest politics across the globe. From the Occupy movements to the Arab Spring to Movement for Black Lives, it might even be entering a new phase of revitalization. At the same time, what exactly nonviolence is and what it can accomplish in politics is very much under debate. This course aims to understand the politics of nonviolence by examining the political ideas and political careers of its most well-known twentieth-century advocates, M.K. Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. Though still venerated as founding figures of nonviolent protest, Gandhi and King have come to be remembered in ways that can misconstrue how they understood and practiced nonviolent politics. To many, Gandhi is a saintly idealist, who wanted to imbue politics with the spirit of ahimsa, truth, and conscience. Likewise, King is taken to be a spokesman for interracial brotherhood and Christian love. While partly true, these images also downplay the political side of their nonviolence – the techniques of organizing and strategies of protest that made their movements successful. We will examine the evolution of Gandhi’s and King’s political thinking in relation to the movements they led – the Indian independence movement and the civil rights movement in the US. We will consider how the theory and practice of nonviolence evolved and changed as it moved from one context to another. We will be especially focused on understanding the dynamics of nonviolent protest

POLS UN3141 Humans, Nature and the Future: an Introduction to Environmental Political Theory. 3.00 points .

This course is about how we understand humans and their relationship to nature – and about how these understandings influence the ways we design our societies, run our democracies, and make plans for the future. We’ll focus on two central themes. First: how does introducing a concern for ‘the environment’ (or the Earth, or ecology) deepen, and often complicate, our understanding of key concepts in political theory? Second: given that ‘the environment’ is an interdisciplinary issue, how do we understand the relationship between the ideas and conversations we have in political theory, and the ideas and conversations people are having in other disciplines? (For example: climate science.) There is no single prerequisite course for this one, but we will be assuming that you are familiar with the field of political theory in general. This is important, because many of our discussions will aim to map concepts and conversations from environmental political theory onto broader political theory conversations (which requires you to be familiar with those conversations!). Ideally, you’ll have taken a political theory survey before you take this course. If you haven’t, but you still think you’ve got the background necessary to participate fully in the class, please get in touch

POLS GU4110 RECENT CONTINENTAL POL THOUGHT. 4.00 points .

This course will compare and contrast the theories of the political, the state,freedom, democracy, sovereignty and law, in the works of the following key 20th and 21st century continental theorists: Arendt, Castoriadis, Foucault, Habermas, Kelsen, Lefort, Schmitt, and Weber. It will be taught in seminar format

POLS GU4132 POLIT THOUGHT-CLASSICL AND MEDIEVAL. 3.00 points .

Prerequisites: Contemporary Civilization or a comparable introduction to political theory course. Prerequisites: Contemporary Civilization or a comparable introduction to political theory course. This course examines ancient political thought from its origins in the archaic Greek poleis through the development of classical Greek political philosophy and the transmission and adaptation of Greek political ideas in the Hellenistic, Roman, and early Christian traditions. Our texts will include major ancient works of political theory by Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero as well as works of poetry, drama, history, and ethical and natural philosophy that offer insight into ancient thought on politics. We will approach these texts not only as reflections on the ancient democratic, oligarchic, monarchical, and republican political systems they address, but also as foundations for modern political discourse that still prompt us to consider the questions they raise—questions about the ideal form of government in theory, and the best form in practice; about the nature of law and justice, and the relationship between law and custom, science, or religion; about the rule of law, and the rights and obligations of an individual citizen living in a participatory state; and about the reach of empire, and the implications when a self-governing people attempts to direct the affairs of non-citizens or of other states

POLS GU4134 MODERN POLITICAL THOUGHT. 4.00 points .

Interpretations of civil society and the foundations of political order according to the two main traditions of political thought--contraction and Aristotelian. Readings include works by Hobbes, Spinoza, Locke, Montesquieu, Hume, Rousseau, Kant, Hegel, Saint-Simon, Tocqueville, Marx, and Mill

Political Theory Seminars

POLS UN3911 SEMINAR IN POLITCAL THEORY. 4.00 points .

Seminar in Political Theory. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

Research Methods

POLS UN3704 RESEARCH DESIGN: DATA ANALYSIS. 3.00 points .

This course examines the basic methods data analysis and statistics that political scientists use in quantitative research that attempts to make causal inferences about how the political world works. The same methods apply to other kinds of problems about cause and effect relationships more generally. The course will provide students with extensive experience in analyzing data and in writing (and thus reading) research papers about testable theories and hypotheses. It will cover basic data analysis and statistical methods, from univariate and bivariate descriptive and inferential statistics through multivariate regression analysis. Computer applications will be emphasized. The course will focus largely on observational data used in cross-sectional statistical analysis, but it will consider issues of research design more broadly as well. It will assume that students have no mathematical background beyond high school algebra and no experience using computers for data analysis

POLS UN3720 RESEARCH DESIGN: SCOPE AND METHODS. 4.00 points .

This class aims to introduce students to the logic of social scientific inquiry and research design. Although it is a course in political science, our emphasis will be on the science part rather than the political part — we’ll be reading about interesting substantive topics, but only insofar as they can teach us something about ways we can do systematic research. This class will introduce students to a medley of different methods to conduct social scientific research

POLS UN3768 Experimental Research. 4.00 points .

Randomized experimentation is an important methodology in political science. In this course, we will discuss the logic of experimentation, its strengths and weaknesses compared to other methodologies, and the ways in which experimentation has been -- and could be -- used to investigate political phenomena. Students will learn how to interpret, design, and execute experiments

POLS GU4700 MATH ＆ STATS FOR POLI SCI. 4.00 points .

This course presents basic mathematical and statistical concepts that are essential for formal and quantitative analysis in political science research. It prepares students for the graduate-level sequence on formal models and quantitative political methodology offered in the department. The first half of the course will cover basic mathematics, such as calculus and linear algebra. The second half of the course will focus on probability theory and statistics. We will rigorously cover the topics that are directly relevant to formal and quantitative analysis in political science such that students can build both intuitions and technical skills. There is no prerequisite since this course is ordinarily taken by Ph.D. students in their first semester. The course is aimed for both students with little exposure to mathematics and those who have taken some courses but wish to gain a more solid foundation. NOTE: This course does not satisfy the Political Science Major/Concentration research methods requirement

POLS GU4702 Qualitative and Mixed Methods of Research Design and Inquiry. 4.00 points .

This course covers research methods and research design in political science. We cover concrete and practical issues of conducting research that are useful for all types of empirical political science research: picking a topic, generating hypotheses, case selection, measurement issues, and the ethics of research; with a focus on qualitative and mixed-methods tools such as: interviews, fieldwork, case studies, archival research, ethnographic work, designing and conducting experiments, coding data and working with data sets, combining quantitative and qualitative methods, etc. The course is designed for several audiences in Political Science, including: PhD students MA students undertaking a major research project or intending to continue on to the PhD Advanced undergraduates writing or contemplating an honors thesis, or another major research project

POLS GU4710 PRINC OF QUANT POL RESEARCH 1. 4.00 points .

This course examines the basic methods of data analysis and statistics, through multivariate regression analysis, that political scientists use in quantitative research that attempts to make causal inferences about how the political world works. The same methods apply to other kinds of problems about cause and effect relationships more generally. The course will provide students with extensive experience in analyzing data and in writing (and thus reading) research papers about testable theories and hypotheses

POLS GU4712 PRINC OF QUANT POL RESEARCH 2. 4.00 points .

Prerequisites: POLS W4710 or the equivalent. Prerequisites: POLS W4710 or the equivalent. This course will intensively examine some of the data analysis methods which deal with problems occurring in the use of multiple regression analysis. It will stress computer applications and cover, as needed, data coding and data processing. Emphasis will also be placed on research design and writing research reports. The course assumes that students are familiar with basic statistics, inference, and multiple regression analysis and have analyzed data using computer software (e.g., any standard statistical programs on micro-computers or larger machines -- Stata, “R”, SPSS, SAS, etc.). Students will be instructed on the use of the microcomputers and the R and Stata statistical software program(s) available as freeware (R) or in the CUIT computer labs (Stata; several campus locations) or through SIPA. The lectures and required discussion section will emphasize the use of “R.” Students may use whatever computer programs they prefer for all data analysis for the course. There may be an additional fee for classroom instructional materials

POLS GU4716 Data Science for Political Analytics. 3.00 points .

Prerequisites: ( POLS GU4714 ) or The digital revolution has created previously unimaginable opportunities to learn about political behavior and institutions. It has also created new challenges for analyzing the massive amounts of data that are now easily accessible. Open source software has reduced barriers and inequities in coding, but it also requires different kinds of effort to employ optimally the latest innovations. Harnessing the power of political data is more critical than ever, given the threats that misinformation and alternative “facts” present to democratic forms of government. This course will teach students both essential tools and general strategies of data science within the domain of politics. Whether students’ goals are to analyze political behavior for academic or professional purposes, successful analysis requires skills for handling a wide array of issues that stand in the way of creating knowledge and insights from data. This course prioritizes breadth over depth in the sense that we will introduce a broad range of topics relevant for data science to develop basic skills and form a foundation that students can build on. More complete mastery of these skills will require additional engagement beyond this course

POLS GU4720 QUANT METH 1 APPL REG CAUS INF. 4.00 points .

Fitting and understanding linear regression and generalized linear models, simulation, causal inference, and the basics of design of quantitative studies. Computation in R. Textbook: Regression and Other Stories by Gelman, Hill, and Vehtari

POLS GU4722 QUANT METH 2 STAT THEO＆CAUS INF. 4.00 points .

This course is the second course in the graduate-level sequence on quantitative political methodology offered in the Department of Political Science. Students will learn (1) a framework and methodologies for making causal inferences from experimental and observational data, and (2) statistical theories essential for causal inference. Topics include randomized experiments, estimation under ignorability, instrumental variables, regression discontinuity, difference-indifferences, and causal inference with panel data. We also cover statistical theories, such as theories of ordinary least squares and maximum likelihood estimation, by connecting them to causal inference methods. This course builds on the materials covered in POLS 4700 and 4720 or theirequivalent (i.e., probability, statistics, linear regression, and logistic regression)

POLS GU4724 QUANT METH 3 EXPERIMENTAL METH. 4.00 points .

In this course, we will discuss the logic of experimentation, its strengths and weaknesses compared to other methodologies, and the ways in which experimentation has been — and could be — used to investigate social phenomena. Students will learn how to interpret, design, and execute experiments. Special attention will be devoted to field experiments, or randomized trials conducted in real-world settings. Prerequisites: Students should have taken at least one or two semesters of statistics. Some understanding of probability, hypothesis testing, and regression are assumed. Familiarity with statistical software such as R is helpful. We will be working with data in class throughout the term. The examples used in the textbook and lectures are written in R, and R tutorials will be taught in special sessions early in the term

POLS GU4726 QUANT METH 4 TOPICS IN METHODS. 4.00 points .

This course is the fourth course in the graduate-level sequence on quantitative political methodology offered in the Department of Political Science. Students will learn a variety of ad-vanced topics in political methodology, such as machine learning, recent measurement methods (e.g., ideal point estimation, text analysis, list experiment, and conjoint experiment), network analysis, and causal inference with spatial and network data. Students will collaborate to present discussion papers throughout the semester. The main goal of this course is to help students to write a final paper that applies or develops advanced statistical methods. This course builds on the materials covered in POLS 4700, 4720, 4722, and 4724, or their equivalent courses (i.e., probability, statistics, linear regression, logistic regression, causal inference with observational and experimental data, and knowledge of statistical computing environment R)

POLS GU4730 GAME THEORY ＆ POLIT THEORY. 4.00 points .

Prerequisites: POLS GU4700 or equivalent level of calculus. Prerequisites: POLS GU4700 or equivalent level of calculus. Introduction to noncooperative game theory and its application to strategic situations in politics. Topics include solution concepts, asymmetric information, and incomplete information. Students should have taken POLS GU4700 or have equivalent background in calculus. Permission of instructor required

POLS GU4732 RESEARCH TOPICS IN GAME THEORY. 4.00 points .

Prerequisites: POLS W4730 or the instructors permission. Advanced topics in game theory will cover the study of repeated games, games of incomplete information and principal-agent models with applications in the fields of voting, bargaining, lobbying and violent conflict. Results from the study of social choice theory, mechanism design and auction theory will also be treated. The course will concentrate on mathematical techniques for constructing and solving games. Students will be required to develop a topic relating political science and game theory and to write a formal research paper

POLS GU4768 Experimental Research: Design, Analysis and Interpretation. 4 points .

Prerequisites: one or two semesters of statistics; basic understanding of probability, hypothesis testing, and regression are assumed. Basic familiarity with statistical software (Stata and R) is helpful but not required.

In this course, we will discuss the logic of experimentation, its strengths and weaknesses compared to other methodologies, and the ways in which experimentation has been -- and could be -- used to investigate social phenomena. Students will learn how to interpret, design, and execute experiments.

Senior Honors Seminar

POLS UN3998 HONORS SEMINAR. 4.00 points .

Prerequisites: admission to the departmental honors program. Prerequisites: admission to the departmental honors program. A two-term seminar for students writing the senior honors thesis

POLS UN3999 HONORS SEMINAR. 4.00 points .

Prerequisites: admission to the departmental honors program.

A two-term seminar for students writing the senior honors thesis.

Independent Reading and Research

POLS UN3901 INDEPENDENT RESEARCH I. 1.00-6.00 points .

POLS UN3902 INDEPENDENT RESEARCH II. 1.00-6.00 points .

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Politics and Education

Prof. Jonathan Collins

The politics and education program welcomes prof. jonathan collins.

Students, professors, and staff in the Politics & Education program are happy to welcome our new faculty member. Prof. Jonathan Collins will join us beginning Spring 2024 semester. He will teach EDPP 4199, Democracy and Education, and EDPP 5042 , Urban Politics and Education. We are looking forward to him joining our community!

Students, professors, and staff in the Politics & Education program are happy to welcome our new faculty member. Prof. Jonathan Collins will join us beginning Spring 2024 semester. He will teach EDPP 4199, Democracy and Education, and EDPP 5042, Urban Politics and Education. We are looking forward his joining our community!

Jonathan Collins, Assistant Professor of  Politics and Education assumes his position after several years at Brown University. A visiting fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School in 2021, Collins studies local school boards; African American education; and more.

In addition to his service at Brown, Collins has reviewed several journals and written op-eds for the  Washington Post , the Brookings Institute and  Education Week . His ongoing grant from the U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences supports the Connecting Classrooms to Congress project, an initiative to develop and test a social studies curriculum that enables high school students to examine a pressing contemporary issue through a bipartisan lens. Among his numerous publications, Collins’ forthcoming titles include works on how school districts can operate more democratically as well as lessons from the 2016 U.S. presidential election. 

Learn from Thought Leaders

Study with world-renowned faculty shaping critical discussions of education policy and governance throughout the United States and the world.

Faculty Profiles

EDPP 4199 with Prof. Jonathan Collins

EDPP 4199, Democracy and Education

EDPP 5500 with Prof. Ansley Erickson

EDPP 5500, Local Struggle: Educational Activism in NYC since 1930s

Doctoral Alumni Panel 2023

Welcome to the politics & education program.

The Politics and Education program prepares students for careers as education policy leaders at the local, state and national levels, or to pursue advanced work in doctoral programs in education policy, political science, or public policy. Graduates of this program secure positions as policy advisors and researchers for government agencies, foundations and various private agencies committed to looking at and developing policies for the field of education.

Schools represent a powerful instrument for shaping the development of future generations of citizens and workers as well as an important source of jobs and investment in many communities. Coursework focuses on how societies handle conflicting visions of what schools should and should not be doing, and what specific changes in political and governance processes might facilitate better decision-making and policy implementation.

Politics and Education Virtual Information Session

Premiered on November 9, 2023. If you would like to get the transcript of the POLC open house webinar 2023, please contact David Estrella at [email protected] at Admissions.

Choose Your Degree

M.a. in politics & education.

The 33-credit M.A. program includes coursework in political science and general foundation courses in education in addition to study in qualitative and quantitative research methods. Students choose a concentration to focus on a set of political debates in education or a particular political arena in consultation with an assigned advisor.

Ed.M. in Politics & Education

The 60-credit Ed.M. program includes advanced coursework in political science and general foundation courses in education in addition to study in qualitative and quantitative research methods. Students choose a concentration to focus on a set of political debates in education or a particular political arena in consultation with an assigned advisor.

Ph.D. in Politics & Education

The 75-credit Ph.D. program prepares students to conduct original and rigorous research relating to education policy and the political conditions that facilitate its adoption, implementation, and sustainability. Graduates of this program secure positions as professors within political science, public policy, and education departments at various types of four year institutions; as researchers in think tanks and private research organizations; and in government agencies with research and policy missions.

Congratulations Graduates 2023!

Student & Alumni Profiles

Chloe is a Politics and Education Ph.D. student, Columbia Law School Center for Public Research and Leadership Project Associate, and former Teacher’s College Arthur Zankel REACH Fellow with a passion for educational equity research, policy, and teaching.

Chloe received her Bachelor’s Degree in History from the University of Idaho in 2018 and Master’s Degree at Teachers College in 2022. Following her studies in Idaho, she accepted a position as the Education Fellow at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta Georgia. There, Chloe pursued research concerning the contemporary history of public policy and educational equity. While publishing content on notable historical figures and persistent inequity rooted in historic systems, Chloe engages with historical research and the interaction of contemporary American history and political identity.

Chloe’s professional aspiration is to connect public education with evidence-based research that defines historic systemic inequity in order to understand modern political systems, movements, and identity.

John Flora has worked as p-12 Music Specialist and S.T.E.A.M. educator in the Jersey City Public Schools for fifteen years. Collaboration with organizations like Little Kids Rock, the GRAMMY Museum, and New Jersey Audubon Society are proof of the entrepreneurial spirit he applies to securing greater opportunities and resources for the disadvantaged youth he engages daily.

A lifelong educator in his city of origin, John has become more sensitive to the interplay between politics and education in recent years. His previous graduate-level research focused on the impact of economic development subsidies on local educational funding. His most recent scholarly interests in the Department of Education Policy and Social Analysis explored the centralization of educational opportunities in New Jersey’s county-vocational sector. 

John’s journey to the Politics and Education Program at Teachers College could be summarized as a desire to broaden his theoretical knowledge base in education policy and social analysis. As a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives(NJ-10) in 2020, he plans on combining his academic experiences with his years as a reflective urban practitioner to run a campaign that addresses issues like climate change, campaign finance reform, and universal pre-K.

John holds a M.A in Politics and Education from Teachers College, an M.P.S. in Political Management from the George Washington University, and a B.A. in Music Education from the New Jersey City University. 

Campaign website:  www.floraforcongress.com

Politics and Education Program Teachers College Columbia University, Ph.D. 2012 

Kenann McKenzie: Inaugural Director, Tufts University's Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, Generous Listening, and Dialogue (GLAD) Center, Medford, MA until 2023 and currently Associate Professor of Practice, Gordon College, where she is also Director for Academic Innovation . Dr. McKenzie also became an elected official in 2021 for her local school committee and was re-elected in 2023.

Dr. McKenzie immigrated to the United States at the age of 7 to New York City and has a multinational, multicultural framework that shapes her approach to education and research. Based on her own childhood experiences, she decided at 12 years old to devote her future life’s work to improving the lives of children and families through education and community wellness.  For the last 25 years, she has worked in the higher education sector as an academic counselor (Georgetown University), researcher, lecturer, policy analyst, administrator, and an elected official.

During the time of her studies at the Politics and Education Program at Teachers College, Kenann assisted with conducting research on school choice with the Georgetown Public Policy Institute/Arkansas University collaboration. Being a student at TC broadened her appreciation for studying issues affecting urban settings and deepened her commitment to issues of social justice. Through courses and experiences, she discovered her deep passion for civic capacity building and community restoration. After several years into the program, her classes and research began to coalesce around these issues. 

While serving as an adjunct during her time as a doctoral student at the Politics and Education program, she knew she needed to learn more about K-12 experiences. She taught research methodology courses as well as a Social Foundations course. She was fascinated by the work done by the teachers she taught in DC. This path led her to Frank W.  Ballou High School in Southeast, Washington DC, where many hard-working educators are galvanizing youth in one of the most economically depressed neighborhoods in the DC Metro area. After working at Ballou for several years, she was presented with an amazing opportunity: a position of Executive Director for the National Board for Education Science at the US Department of Education and was in that role for several years. She has continued in higher ed via Boston University, Tufts and now Gordon. Her professional development journal released in 2023 is entitled: Learning, Listening and Leading: Taking what you learned to the next level .

Kenann has a B.A. in Africana Studies from Cornell University, M.Ed. from the University of Virginia in Social Foundations of Education, and a Ph.D. in Politics and Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.

She is most proud of being the mother of amazing children who inspire her daily. Learn more on her work and podcast via her website: https://www.theaspiringspirit.com/

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Faculty - October 16, 2023

Political Analytics Welcomes a New Faculty Member

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This past July, Columbia University School of Professional Studies welcomed Michael Schwam-Baird (‘16GSAS) to the Political Analytics program as an associate professor of professional practice. Joining the program is a homecoming for Schwam-Baird. Back in 2016, he successfully defended his dissertation on the motivations and behavior of people who contribute to political campaigns and received his PhD in political science at Columbia.

Today, after spending a number of years as a manager and data scientist in the political analytics field (where he continues to consult), Schwam-Baird is teaching the next generation of political analysts in courses like Introduction to Political Analytics and Campaign Finance & Fundraising Analytics.

In this interview, he reveals what students should expect in class, what inspired him to study political behavior, and what places he loves to visit near Morningside campus.

What excites you about the new M.S. in Political Analytics program?

After completing my PhD in Political Science in 2016, I worked in the field of political analytics for seven years, most recently as the head of data science at a firm called  Grow Progress . In that role, I hired a number of wonderful data scientists from a variety of academic and professional backgrounds. But nearly all of us (myself included when I first left graduate school) lacked a background in the application of data science to applied politics, meaning politics as it is actually practiced by campaigns, advocacy groups, and the firms that support them. This is a quickly growing field that uses techniques from survey research, experiments, modeling, and other disparate areas to help practitioners make data-driven decisions on a fast timetable.

What excites me about this program is that we’re bringing together all of these approaches under one roof and uniting the theoretical with the applied. The people who come through the program will be exposed to all of the main techniques used in political analytics, taught by top academics, and also understand how they’re used in the day to day to make decisions. As someone who recruited and hired in this field for a number of years, I find it exciting to see a program devoted to giving people the exact background I was looking for.

Briefly describe the course you'll be teaching. What should the students expect?

This semester, I’m teaching Introduction to Political Analytics, which is a statistics and R programming course designed to get new students ready to succeed in the subsequent courses in our program. We also discuss how various methods are applied in the political space.

I’m also teaching Campaign Finance and Fundraising Analytics. Campaign finance is a particular interest of mine and was the subject of my dissertation. This course covers the history and current state of campaign finance law and regulation, what motivates donors to give and what they may (or may not) receive in return, and how campaigns themselves raise and spend their billions. Students also analyze publicly available campaign finance data to understand how specific campaigns or interest groups strategically raise and spend their money. It’s a really fun subject and course.

What inspired you to specialize in American politics, specifically campaign finance, lobbying, political persuasion, public opinion, and experiments?

I came to the study of American politics because I wanted to understand how power works in our country and how different groups are able to get (or can’t get) what they want. Campaign finance and lobbying are a big part of that story. But once you get into the weeds of any complex topic, you realize it’s very hard to tell a clear causal story about what leads to what. And that’s what attracted me to experiments (and other methods) that try to understand causality in the political context. And since I’ve spent a lot of my professional life helping campaigns understand what works when communicating with voters, these methods were just what I needed in my work after graduate school.

What old haunts are you looking forward to visiting on Morningside campus?

Well, I never really left the neighborhood! After finishing at Columbia, my family and I moved  all the way to the other side of Morningside park in Harlem, where we’ve been living ever since. So I’m a 10-minute walk from campus. For a lot of special celebrations, like birthdays, we like to go to Pisticci on LaSalle Street, just off of Broadway. They have great Italian food and really good lemon ricotta pancakes if you go for brunch. We’re also regulars at Community Food & Juice. Whenever my parents are in town, they go straight to The Hungarian Pastry Shop for horseshoe almond cookies and Book Culture for something to read. And my corner of Harlem (just on the other side of the park) has a ton of cool places too, including Silvana (great Middle Eastern food), Lido (Italian), Levain (bakery with monster cookies), and BO’s Bagels, which is excellent and has a much shorter line than Absolute Bagels (also recommended). Just to name a few…

What is your advice for students pursuing a career in political analytics or politics in general?

You need real political experience in addition to solid training in analytics. That’s why working with a campaign or firm over the summer is a great idea, and why we’re going to have capstones that require students to apply their knowledge to a real political problem. But there’s no replacement for working on or with a campaign. When you see how quickly things move, you realize that you have to be ready to adapt and translate what you’ve learned in an academic setting for decision-makers on the ground.

About the Program

The  M.S. in Political Analytics program is designed to fill an important role in the rapidly developing field of data analytics as it is applied to politics and advocacy, allowing students who are interested in new approaches to data analytics—such as machine learning—to integrate those interests with a politics or advocacy focus. Furthermore, it will provide a clearer professional trajectory by helping students acquire necessary skills and suitable employment after graduation.

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The Graduate Program

 fields of study.

Like all major history departments in this country, we divide our graduate program into fields, most of which reflect the geographic and chronological boundaries that have traditionally organized historical research in the West, but others of which cross those boundaries (such as sociomedical sciences, Jewish history, and International & Global History).Those boundaries continue to define most faculty positions in American history departments. Every prospective Columbia student thus applies to work in a specific field. There are 13 of them, each of which has slightly different requirements:

• Early Modern Europe (1350-1750)
• International and Global History
• Jewish History
• Latin America
• Medieval Europe
• Middle East
• Modern Europe
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Prospective students should realize, however, that our history department, like many others, also provides opportunities for students to embrace broader lines of inquiry- both within and across traditional divisions by field. We urge our students, first, to explore the convergence of different methodological and theoretical approaches to history- to explore, for example, the intersections between political and social history, or the connections between diplomatic, cultural, and intellectual history. And we encourage our students, second, to consider research that moves beyond the period and place associated with their field. We continue to emphasize deep training in source analysis and empirical research,which are the foundations of professional history-writing. But we also urge students to take on research projects that situate their particular time or place in historical processes that decisively cross traditional boundaries.

We welcome applications, therefore,from students with strong interests in particular fields, who are eager to immerse themselves in the records of particular cultures and are prepared to acquire the techniques necessary for such work (languages and, for certain subjects, such specialized skills as paleography, statistics, or even musical training). But we also encourage applications from students who want as well to think about their work in terms of longer histories and broader theoretical questions.

Faculty members at Columbia conduct research and train students in several such broad, transnational areas, including:

• International history, emphasizing imperial and post-imperial histories from the 1500s forward
• Western intellectual history, medieval to modem
• Diasporic Jewish history
• Ethics and public health
• Women’s history and the history of gender
• Social and political history of the West, including history of markets, commercial culture, labor, and associated legal institutions
• The international history of race, slavery, and emancipation
• The international history of the Cold War and other systems of geopolitics
• The history of science and technology
• The global history of medicine, disease, and public health

However they define their fields, history students are not confined to the resources of our department. They are, rather, encouraged to look beyond our walls to other areas of the university or to other institutions in the New York metropolitan area.

In addition to Columbia’s fine departments in associated disciplines, such as languages and literature, art history, music, philosophy, sociology, political science, or anthropology, Columbia has a wide range of energetic interdisciplinary institutes that provide formal and informal training to graduate students throughout the university, among them the Harriman Institute for Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies , the Middle Eastern Institute , the Institute for Research on Women and Gender , and the East Asian Institute  (along with the Department of East Asian Languages and Culture ). Columbia’s School of Public Health, which offers a Ph.D. in the history of medicine and public health in association with our department; the Law School, with which we offer a joint Ph.D./J.D. program; Teachers College; and the School of International and Public Affairs are four of Columbia’s many professional schools that offer courses and other intellectual opportunities to enhance a student’s training in the history department.

Columbia history students are also entitled to take courses at no additional cost at other area universities through the Inter-University Doctoral Consortium , such as NYU, the New School, CUNY Graduate Center, Stonybrook, Fordham, Princeton, and Rutgers .

Whatever larger interests a student may have or may develop, each enters the history program through a particular field. The Graduate Student Handbook lists the thirteen fields and details the specific requirements for each (the principal differences concern language requirements, orals preparation,and seminars). Students and their advisors may, however, agree on adjustments to those requirements in response to a student’s particular interests. Students should also keep in mind that they can formally change fields, with faculty permission, and consequently adjust their programs to reflect their particular needs.

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Program Overview

The research-intensive Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) program in Political Science at UBC Vancouver will help prepare you to secure tenure-track faculty positions and prestigious postdoctoral fellowships, as well as other academic and non-academic careers.

Prospective graduate students should browse our research areas to learn about the groups of faculty members working in 30 different research fields, methodologies, and geographic regions.

Our PhD program consists of two years of graduate coursework followed by comprehensive exams following the completion of course requirements.

Students write a dissertation proposal by the end of their third year of study, and with its approval and defense, move on to their dissertation research and writing, which normally takes two to three years to complete.

We are proud to see many of our PhDs in faculty positions and in successful careers throughout the world. We value collaboration and collegiality, and we strive to create an atmosphere of trust, respect, and professional courtesy to ensure a diverse intellectual community.

NEW: CANADIAN POLITICS FACULTY RENEWAL

UBC Political Science has significantly renewed our Canadian Politics faculty roster in recent years with the recruitment of Profs. Carey Doberstein, Sophie Borwein, and Vince Hopkins.

The Canadian Politics field at UBC is now especially equipped to supervise graduate students in the realm of public policy, public opinion and identity, inequalities in society, and how governments design and implement policies, programs, and services.

New faculty also complement the existing Canadian Politics faculty strengths in the areas of federalism (Kathy Harrison, Gerald Baier) and political behavior (Fred Cutler, Matthew Wright).

Faculty in the Canadian Politics field use survey methods, data science and experimental designs, and qualitative approaches in the course of their research.

The renewed Canadian Politics faculty at UBC will supplement department financial support packages in the doctoral program with research assistance fellowships and conference support.

Our PhD graduates have been highly successful in pursuing academic and non-academic careers.

On the academic front, UBC PhDs hold tenured or tenure track positions at major universities in North America and internationally. Our graduates have taken up  tenure-track and tenured positions at Canadian institutions including the University of Toronto, University of Victoria, University of Western Ontario, York University, University of Ottawa, MacEwan University, University of Fraser Valley, University of Manitoba, Memorial University of Newfoundland, McMaster University, and the University of Calgary; at U.S. institutions including the University of Michigan, University of Pittsburgh, Colorado State University, Georgia Tech, Soka University; and outside North America at institutions including the University of Essex, University of Sheffield, University of St. Andrews, Cardiff University, Trinity College Dublin, Tel Aviv University, Sophia University, National University of Singapore, Queensland University, Australia National University, University of Sydney, University of Melbourne, and Ritsumeikan University.

Our PhDs have held postdoctoral fellowships at Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University, Vanderbilt University, University of Toronto, Queen’s University, Oxford University, Duke University, and other institutions.

Many UBC PhDs have taken their doctoral training to high-level positions with government agencies, NGOs, international organizations, think tanks, and private-sector employers, including Statistics Canada, the Supreme Court of Canada, the US Department of Defense Asia-Pacific Center, Global Affairs Canada, Health Canada, the International Committee of the Red Cross, Medecins Sans Frontiers, the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, Deutschebank, Innovative Research Group, the Institute for Research on Public Policy, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, among others.

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Truman School of Government and Public Affairs

Phd in political science, program overview .

Our program is organized into the traditional major subfields of political science (including American politics, public policy/administration, international relations and comparative politics).  Beyond that, we focus on a number of research cores on the cutting edge of political science research including race and ethnic politics, voting behavior, political movements, civil wars, American political institutions, and conflict management.  We offer comprehensive methodological training in quantitative techniques, formal modeling and game theory, and qualitative techniques (such as interviews and archival research).  Students are trained in state-of-the-art methodologies such as experiments, spatial econometrics, and techniques to collect and analyze big data (including automated data collection and text analysis).   We are looking for promising students to help us answer important research questions with the most advanced techniques.  

At Mizzou, we provide opportunities for collaborative research projects with faculty members who are experts in their area.  Our vibrant program  features professors who publish their research in top academic journals and university presses, edit leading journals in the discipline, and teach classes on advanced techniques at international methods institutes.  The result is that our PhD students consistently publish in top academic journals while in graduate school.  Nationally, it is somewhat rare to see students graduate with multiple publications, both solo and co-authored with faculty members; at Mizzou, it is the norm.   

Coursework in our program consists of small seminars, allowing for intensive study of political science concepts and research, close interaction with faculty, and individual attention to student progress. Advised by graduate faculty, students at MU are encouraged to become active scholars capable of conducting independent analysis and research of political and social phenomena. 

Mizzou Political Science maintains a low graduate student to faculty ratio, a commitment to student success, and a high rate of retention and graduation. 

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The COVID pandemic has been extremely hard on students, especially for students from the developing world, rural backgrounds, or from groups that are underrepresented in academia.  The significant disruptions caused by lockdowns, health issues, and local ordinances mean that it may be difficult to prepare for the GRE exam, or even travel to the testing facility.  In the interests of fairness, we have removed this requirement for applicants for the Fall 2024 admissions cycle.  We hope that this small step makes it easier for a diverse group of students to reach their goals at Mizzou.  

We don’t have minimum scores for the GRE.  As for the GRE averages, the above figure shows admitted students from a previous application cycle (circled) across quantitative and verbal percentiles (50th, 75th and 95th percentiles).  As you can see, higher GRE scores improve your chances of being admitted.  At the same time, it is not a perfect relationship.  Unlike other top schools, we prefer to take a comprehensive or holistic approach to evaluating applicants.  

Keep in mind that we have waived the GRE requirement for applicants for Fall 2023, so it your choice as to whether to provide GRE scores or not. 

The Truman School strives to be a diverse and inclusive environment where students are encouraged to pursue their research interests in vibrant intellectual community.  As such, we take a holistic approach to  admissions .  This means that we look for students with unique backgrounds, exceptional academic performance, research interests that overlap those of our faculty, strong letters of recommendation, and experience conducting political science research.  Exceptional performance in one area could certainly compensate for less experience in another. 

More specifically, the best personal statements are those that a) describe your post-PhD employment goals, b) lay out your skills and tools—such as experience with data analysis, statistical software, language skills, and conducting independent research—that will help you succeed in graduate school, and c) show why Mizzou’s graduate program appeals to you—this includes noting how your research interests overlap with those of our faculty. 

No, there is no need to secure a professor’s approval before noting in the personal statement that you would like to work with them.  If you would like to chat with a particular professor, contact the Director of Graduate Studies, Laron Williams, and he would be happy to establish the connection and get the conversation going. 

While having an MA helps demonstrate that you are familiar with the intellectual demands of graduate school, it is not a requirement for admission.  In fact, the majority of our PhD students choose to begin the program immediately after graduating from their undergraduate institution.  In short, we welcome applicants from all backgrounds: applying straight from undergrad, after pursuing an MA, and mid-career applicants. 

All Ph.D. students have graduate assistantships and receive a tuition waiver and a health insurance subsidy.  Remaining expenses include course fees which—depending on the number of credit hours—typically do not exceed $1,000 a semester.  

Our graduate student stipends are highly competitive (over $18,000) and quite generous when one factors in the low cost-of-living of Columbia ( example ).  Historically, our students have won multiple university fellowships that provide additional funding (often $11,000-16,000). 

The Truman School is also unique in guaranteeing funding for the five years it takes students to complete their PhD requirements, rather than make acquiring funding a competition between students.  We have found that our approach reduces student anxiety about their economic situation.  When students don’t compete with each other for their funding, they are free to build lasting friendships and connections.      

Graduate assistants typically work 20 hours a week as either a teaching assistant or a research assistant.  Graduate students in RA positions are paired with faculty members with similar research interests, so promising research assistantships often evolve into full-fledged co-authored projects.  Teaching assistant duties vary according to the class, sometimes involving mostly grading while other times involving leading discussion sections. We also have opportunities for students interested in applied policy research to work as an RA with the  Institute of Public Policy .   

Students are allocated to either TA or RA positions based on a mixture of departmental need and the strengths and preferences of students.  

Most of our PhD alumni work in academia as professors, so a critical part of the graduate training at Mizzou revolves around teaching.  The ideal sequence is for students to serve as teaching assistants in substantive courses for a few semesters and then become lab instructors.  As a lab instructor, TAs build teaching experience by providing one-on-one and small group instruction to a lab.  We also encourage students to pursue guest lecturing opportunities so that they can strengthen their teaching skills.  Moreover, our students have taken advantage of the additional training offered by the  Teaching for Learning Center  and the  Minor in College Teaching . 

Advanced graduate students are allowed to take the reins and teach their own independent courses.  The goal is for our graduates to have a diverse teaching portfolio of classes so that they can hit the ground running in their first post-graduation academic job.    

Yes!  The professors in the Truman School believe that a critical part of training graduate students is collaborating with them on  research projects .  So much of the research process can only be learned by getting your hands dirty, brainstorming with coauthors, and writing on interests that you share with faculty.  Graduate education is certainly less rewarding if you don’t have these experiences.  

These collaborative opportunities arise organically, and often come out of a research assistantship position or as the result of a research paper for a graduate course.  The result is that the vast majority of students go on the academic job market with multiple publications—often with faculty and other graduate students as coauthors—which places them in a stronger competitive position than their peers.  Nationally, it is somewhat rare for graduate students to have multiple publications; at Mizzou, it’s the norm. 

We expect our students to produce high-quality, innovative political science research, so we provide the funds that help them along the way.  We group these funds into three categories: 

• All students receive  funding  to attend and present at academic conferences.  Academic conferences are a great way to network with others who share your passions, stay current on cutting-edge research, and receive feedback on your own research projects.  We encourage students to begin attending smaller or regional conferences early on so that they are comfortable with presenting research at national conferences later on in the program.  
• For some students, their research and teaching interests require additional training.  This could include immersive language training in other countries or classes on advanced methodological topics.  For example, in the past few years, we have funded students to receive additional training on Political Psychology, qualitative methods, and a variety of quantitative methods at American and international summer schools.  
• During the research process, students often discover that their project requires data that has never been collected before.  Whether the data comes from fieldwork in other countries, through experiments, or surveys, we are happy to provide small grants to get the ball rolling. 

Students choose to spend their summers in a variety of ways, whether it is taking a course or two, doing fieldwork or original data collection, gaining language training in an immersive environment, or attending summer schools in methodologies.  These decisions are made by the student in consultation with their advisor and committee. 

Departmental assistantships are based on 10-month appointments (you can spread payments over 12 months), but there are limited opportunities for 1- to 2-month summer research assistantships.  Any student with a departmental assistantship receives a tuition waiver for summer classes. 

Full-time PhD students take three classes a week and each class meets for 2.5 hours once a week.  We make sure that these graduate courses don’t conflict with the undergraduate courses related to your teaching assistantship.  

Students select a primary and a secondary field out of American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Relations and Public Policy/Public Administration.  Students must take four classes from their primary field, three from their secondary field, and four methods classes.  Besides that, we encourage students to take classes outside of their two fields and outside of the Truman School.  For more information on these courses—as well as available syllabi— click here . 

Here is a rough outline of the 2.5 years of coursework. 

Fall  Methods Core I, Primary Core, Secondary Core 

Spring  Methods Core II, Substantive (Primary), Substantive (Secondary) 

Fall  Methods, Substantive (Primary), Elective from outside TSGPA 

Spring  Methods, Substantive (Primary), Substantive (Secondary) 

Fall  Methods, Core, Substantive (Primary) 

Spring  Comprehensive Examinations and Dissertation Proposal Defense 

Fall  Dissertation Research 

Spring  Dissertation Research 

Fall   Dissertation Research and Job Market 

Core Courses:  each field has a broad seminar that introduces the fundamental topics and big questions in that field: Public Policy, Introduction to International Relations, and Introduction to Comparative Politics.  American Politics offers two core courses: American Political Behavior and American Political Institutions. 

Methods Courses:  each PhD student must take at least 13 hours of advanced methods courses.  The two core courses include Introductory Statistics for Political Science (and its 1-hour lab) in the Fall of Year 1, and Linear Models in Politics in the Spring of Year 2.  After that, students can take two other 3-hour courses on topics including Maximum Likelihood Estimation, Time Series Analysis, Formal Models, and Qualitative Research Methods.  Students are also encouraged to pursue methods training from other departments at Mizzou and at summer methods schools. 

Substantive Courses:  each field offers at least one substantive course per semester on an important topic in that field.  Click on this  link  to see the substantive courses we’ve offered in the last few years.   

Elective:  students are free to take classes outside of the Truman School at Mizzou.  Oftentimes students will want to gain expertise or learn some methodological skill that is found outside of political science.  In the past, students have taken courses in Black Studies, Statistics, Economics, Philosophy, Communications, and Sociology, to name a few. 

Comprehensive Examinations:  in the Spring of Year 3, students take comprehensive examinations in both their primary and secondary fields.  The examinations take place over two days (one for each field) and assess whether students understand the foundational research on big questions in their field.  After passing comprehensive examinations, students start writing their dissertation proposal. 

The Graduate Association of Political Scientists ( GAPS ) is the student organization for graduate students involved in political science degree programs.  It hosts monthly meetings with informational sessions, seminars on health and wellness, professional development activities, and social activities. 

GAPS also runs the Truman School’s mentoring program, which connects all first-year students with an advanced student in the program with similar research interests.  The mentors provide advice and guidance about how to navigate the PhD program.  We have found that this eases the transition to full-time graduate student and improves student retention. 

Since we recruit students from diverse backgrounds, there is considerable variance in students’ previous academic experiences.  To help the transition from undergraduate education (or full-time employment) to a PhD program, we provide a comprehensive professional development program.  The goal is to train students on all the tools and skills they’ll need to make the most out of the PhD program.  The professional development program is made up of three main components: 

• Boot camp :  This 3-hour graduate class (POLS 9010: Research Design and Analysis) is offered immediately prior to the start of the fall semester and is required for all first-year PhD students.  The primary objective of the course is to make sure that all students have the necessary skills to succeed in the first year of the program, regardless of their prior training or academic experiences.  The class provides a strong foundation in mathematics, statistics and probability theory so that students have the knowledge required for the methods sequence.  Other topics covered include professionalization, writing for a political science audience, the typesetting program LaTeX, and an introduction to Stata.  
• Methods workshops : 3-4 times a semester the Truman School offers a 2- or 3-hour methods workshop for graduate students.  The workshops focus on a topic that is not covered in our graduate methods sequence, but is useful for students wanting to produce high-quality research.  While these classes are typically taught by Mizzou faculty, we are happy to give advanced graduate students the opportunity to teach their peers in their area of expertise.  Over the last four years there have been almost 30 different workshops, ranging from Race and Ethnicity to Python, to Text Analysis and Network Analysis. 
• Mini-conferences : Presenting at academic conferences is a critical part of success in graduate school.  Of course, some people might be stressed at the thought of finishing their paper, producing their presentation, and presenting it in front of strangers.  We get it, as we were students at one point too.  To help our students become more comfortable with academic conferences, we host a number of mini-conferences through the year.  These mini-conferences typically take place about a month before a major political science conference and they give students the opportunity to practice presenting and receive feedback before they attend the conference.  We have found that presenting the project in a low-stress environment not only improves the overall research quality, but also puts students in the best chance to succeed. 

Degree Options 

Doctoral students identify a primary and a secondary field among four areas of study offered in the Political Science: 

• American Politics 
• Comparative Politics 
• International Relations 
• Public Policy and Administration 

The PhD program of study consists of 45 hours of graduate course work, including: 

• 12 hours in a primary field of study 
• 9 hours in a secondary field of study 
• 13 hours in methodology 

Up to 24 hours of courses from a student's master's program may be counted toward the doctoral degree, at the discretion of the student's doctoral committee. The doctoral degree requires a minimum of 72 hours of course credit including reading and research hours. 

Students typically take comprehensive exams in the spring of the third year. After passing the comprehensive examination, students work on independent research and a dissertation under the advisement of a doctoral committee.   

PhD Placement 

Our assistance to students doesn’t end when the student gets their PhD.  Each student pursuing a job on the academic job market goes through the placement program, where we review job market materials, discuss strategy, and offer interview prep.  We also offer seminars on how to succeed in non-academic careers, and have placed recent graduates in all levels of government, think tanks, and the private sector. 

The Truman School is extremely proud of its recent placement efforts (see below). In addition to placing students in tenure-track professor positions in research-dominated universities, we have an excellent track record in students gaining employment at small state universities and liberal arts colleges.  Professors in the latter type of universities can engage in their teaching passions while still having the opportunity to conduct research. 

Tenure-track Assistant Professor Placement Institutions: 

• Knox College
• Anderson University
• University of Louisiana-Lafayette
• Luther College
• Mount St. Mary's University
• Texas Tech University
• University of Macau
• University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley
• Lincoln University
• Baylor University
• State University of New York—Geneseo 
• University of South Carolina 
• Arkansas State University 
• University of Stavanger (Norway) 
• Georgia Southern University 
• University of Reading (UK) 
• University of South Carolina—Aiken 
• University of York (UK) 

Post-Doctoral Fellowships Placement Institutions: 

• Stanford University
• University of Kentucky
• Dartmouth College
• Korea University
• University of Georgia
• Ohio State University
• University of Gothenburg 
• Arizona State University 
• University of Copenhagen 
• Columbia University
• Vanderbilt University

Howard University's News & Stories Hub

Howard university students awarded 2024 dow jones columbia university graduate school of journalism hbcu media collective fellowship.

WASHINGTON – Two Howard University students – Jada Ingleton and Jasper Smith – have been named as fellows of the 2024 HBCU Media Collective, a program led by Dow Jones and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. 

Ingleton and Smith are joining six other HBCU students selected by their deans and faculty members to participate in the program, which will run from May 29 through June 12. As a part of the program, participants will receive newsroom training conducted by The Wall Street Journal and work alongside experienced journalists at Dow Jones’s MarketWatch and Barron’s newsrooms. Fellows will also enroll in graduate-level courses at Columbia University. 

Now in its second year, the program, which was developed to enhance newsroom diversity and promote financial literacy for participating students, is adding an international component to help fellows gain greater awareness of global opportunities. As part of this year's extended program, students will also spend five days in London, gaining invaluable exposure to News Corp. assets such as Virgin Radio, talkSPORT, The Fifth, The Sun, and The Times. 

Ingleton, a senior journalism major with a minor in psychology from Pembroke Pines, Florida, finds her passion and foundation for journalism rooted in a deep connection with creative writing and editing. She has served as an editorial intern for Legacy Magazine and is a copy-editing intern for The Washington Informer. She also works as a writer for the Howard University News Service. Following graduation in May, Ingleton will stay in the DC area on fellowship with opportunities to freelance.  

Ingleton is excited to be among the best and brightest journalists and expand her skillset.  

“I am looking forward to making connections with professors and the people around us while learning so much about journalism and really seizing this opportunity,” Ingleton said, adding that the program will help expand her skillset while delving deeper into business reporting. 

Smith, a senior journalism major with a minor in sociology from Phoenix, Arizona, is thrilled to be part of the fellowship. Smith, who will end two years as Editor-in-Chief of The Hilltop at the conclusion of this academic year, is no stranger to the field of journalism. She completed an internship with The Arizona Republic last summer and has accepted an offer to work as a reporter with The Washington Post following graduation in May. Smith looks forward to learning more about the craft of journalism from the well-respected industry leaders with whom she will come into contact. 

“This is such a great opportunity as an emerging journalist,” Smith said, expressing gratitude for the opportunity to have professional journalists pour into her and meet other emerging reporters. “I can’t wait to delve more into my interests of business and higher education reporting.” 

Gracie Lawson-Borders, Ph.D., dean of the Cathy Hughes School of Communications, said Ingleton and Smith are wonderful examples of the caliber of students the school trains for careers in journalism.  

“The Cathy Hughes School of Communications is pleased that two of our talented students, Jasper Smith and Jada Ingleton, will be part of the HBCU Media Collective,” Lawson-Borders said. “Excellence is our expectation, and these two exemplify this goal.” 

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