Graduate Course Descriptions

401 Data Analysis I
3 OR 4 hours. Statistical inference for the social sciences. Emphasis on univariate and bivariate statistics. Same as PPA 401. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite(s): POLS 200 and POLS 201; or graduate standing.

405 The Problem of Justice
3 OR 4 hours. Premodern and modern views of justice and their practical utility in analyzing legislative, executive, and judicial programs for enhancing or restricting justice. Same as CRJ 405. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.Prerequisite(s): CRJ 101, plus two 200-level courses in criminal justice or two 200-level courses in political science.

435 Special Topics in Bureaucracy
3 OR 4 hours. Consideration of timely or enduring issues in policy formation and bureaucracy not available in regularly offered courses. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. May be repeated to a maximum of 12 hours.Prerequisite(s): POLS 460 or consent of the instructor.

451 Law and Public Policy
3 OR 4 hours. The role of law and legal institutions in the development and implementation of public policies. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing or consent of the instructor.

465 Topics in Sociology of Politics
3 OR 4 hours. Intensive examination of a specialized topic announced when the class is scheduled. Same as SOC 465. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. May be repeated to a maximum of 12 hours. Students may register in more than one section per term. Prerequisite(s): 6 hours of upper-division sociology or consent of the instructor.

467 Public Opinion and Political Communication
3 OR 4 hours. Nature of public opinion and political communication systems. Patterns of opinion distribution and its measurement. Forces shaping public opinion and its impact on public policy. Same as COMM 467. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite(s): POLS 200 or the equivalent or consent of the instructor.

482 Democratic Theory
3 OR 4 hours. Democracy as a procedure of government and value commitments associated with this form of government. Special attention paid to classical and modern democracies. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.Prerequisite(s): POLS 290 or POLS 291 or consent of the instructor.

485 Gender and Politics
3 OR 4 hours. Impact of gender on basic categories of western political thought. Distinctions between reason and emotion, public and private, among others, examined from a feminist perspective. Same as GWS 485. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite(s): POLS 190 and one 200-level course in political theory; or consent of the instructor.

497 Directed Readings in Political Science
4 hours. Intensive readings on a topic not covered in the regular curriculum. May be repeated with approval. Approval of the graduate director required to repeat the course. Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing and consent of the instructor.

498 Independent Research in Political Science
2 TO 6 hours. Research on special problems not included in course offerings. May not duplicate work done in POLS 598 or POLS 599. May be repeated with approval. Approval of the graduate director required to repeat the course.Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing and consent of the instructor.

500 Introduction to Policy and Governance
4 hours. Introduces the intellectual traditions and debates that have characterized the study of public policy and the social order. Society-centered and state-centered explanations for policy will be explored. Same as PPA 500.Prerequisite(s): Consent of the department required for nondegree graduate students.

501 Data Analysis II
4 hours. Interpretation and application of multivariate methods of analysis in the social sciences. Regression specification and diagnostics, limited dependent variable models, measurement issues. Same as PPA 501.Prerequisite(s): POLS 401 or PPA 401.

502 Time Series Analysis for Political Science
4 hours. Single series (ARIMA) models, event history analysis, Vector autoregression (VAR), panel and pooled models. Prerequisite(s): POLS 402 or consent of the instructor.

504 Theoretical Approaches to Policy and Governance
4 hours. Different theoretical approaches to the relationship between policy and governance and the philosophical foundations on which those approaches are based. Same as PHIL 504.

505 Research Design and Methods
4 hours. Overview of the methods and conduct of research in political science. Issues of inference, measurements, data collection, hypothesis testing and ethics.

506 The Profession of Political Science
2 hours. Introduces graduate students to the range of teaching, research and service possibilities in the political science profession. Students are encouraged to take this course during their first year of graduate study.

510 Seminar on Teaching Political Science
2 hours. Seminar on ethics and responsibilities of teaching political science in various academic settings. Teaching methods and technology applicable to community colleges and four-year colleges. Complements the Preparing Future Faculty Program. The format will include guest speakers from area community and four-year colleges. Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading only.

541 Policy Formation, Implementation, and Evaluation
4 hours. Introduction to political science theories of how elections, interest groups, and state structure affect the formulation of public solutions to societal problems. Same as PPA 541. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the department required for nondegree graduate students.

542 Distributive/Redistributive Public Policy
4 hours. Seminar on the politics of enacting and maintaining distributive policies. The focus is on the parochial and community-wide efficiency of such policies.

544 Regulatory Public Policies
4 hours. Exploring the nature and determinants of public policymaking with respect to the regulation of the economy.

549 Topics in Public Policy Analysis
4 hours. A research seminar on some aspects of public policy analysis not otherwise covered in the regular curriculum.

551 Introduction to Urban Politics
4 hours. Explores relationships between the private economy and public policies in American cities; causes of urban decline and uneven development; and urban redevelopment and human capital policies.

553 Urban Public Policy
4 hours. Explores the problems of poverty, race, education, transportation policy, and housing in America’s cities, with a special emphasis on Chicago.

558 Graduate Student Field Experience in Political Science
1 TO 8 hours. Graduate student intern experience. Placement with government agencies, community organizations, or civic organizations, in conjunction with a seminar class and directed readings. May be repeated up to 8 time(s). Students may register in more than one section per term. Field work required. Prerequisite(s): POLS 402 and POLS 500.

559 Topics in State and Local Government
4 hours. Case analysis and research in selected problems dealing with structure, functions and administrative processes of American state and local governments. Prerequisite(s): POLS 500 and POLS 541.

560 Proseminar in American Politics
4 hours. Introduction to research literature on American policy-making institutions and processes. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

562 Seminar on Legislation and Public Policy
4 hours. Review of recent theories and research on structure and policy formation in Americal legislatures. Emphasis on theoretical development in this field. Prerequisite(s): POLS 541.

563 Executive Process
4 hours. Presidential elections; presidential decision-making; the powers of the president; presidential leadership; the distributive state; policy implementation; federalism and administration; the politics of budgeting. Prerequisite(s): Admission to the M.A. or P.P.A. programs or consent of the instructor.

564 Seminar in Judicial Process
4 hours. The judicial process, as part of political and policy processes. Demands made by, and policy impacts on, individual and organizational litigants and other political actors. Prerequisite(s): POLS 460.

566 Interest Groups
4 hours. Pluralism: the distributive state; radical group theory, public-interest groups; collective actions; corporatism; statism; structural Marxism; social movements and interest groups.

567 Topics in Political Communication
4 hours. Intensive study of selected aspects; organizational communication in public institutions, urban political communication patterns, communication elites. Independent research using a variety of community research techniques. Same as COMM 567 and PA 567. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

569 Topics in American Political Processes
4 hours. A research seminar on some aspect of the American political process. Topics vary. Prerequisite(s): POLS 402 and POLS 500.

570 Comparative Politics and Public Policy
4 hours. Comparative analysis of how different political systems deal with a variety of public policy issues such as environmental protection, social welfare, and crime control.

571 Seminar in International Relations
4 hours. State-building and challenges to state authority, democratization and regime change, political economy, environment, war, regionalism and globalization, social movements and international governance.

572 International Political Economy
4 hours. Exploration of competing perspectives on nation-states and economic systems. Previously listed as POLS 472.

573 Transitions to Democracy
4 hours. Game-theoretic view of democracy. Process and outcomes of transitions to democracy in capitalist and in communist countries. Civil-military relations in the process of transition. Case studies.

579 Topics in Comparative Politics
4 hours. Advanced seminar on selected topics in comparative politics. Topic(s) will vary from semester to semester.Prerequisite(s): POLS 500 and POLS 541.

582 The Philosophy of the Social Sciences
4 hours. The ontological and epistemological foundations of alternative approaches to the study of human beings. Naturalistic, hermeneutic, and critical approaches are addressed and assessed.

589 Topics in Political Theory
4 hours. Detailed analysis of a political theorist or type of political theory, specially designed to meet programmatic and graduate needs

590 Advanced Public Policy Workshop
4 hours. Interdisciplinary workshop on preparing a dissertation proposal for public policy analysis students. Same as PPA 590. Prerequisite(s): Advanced standing in the Ph.D. in P.P.A. program and completion of P.P.A. core courses.

593 Independent Research for Master’s Degree
2 hours. Under the supervision of two faculty members, students will complete a major research paper that combines a review of relevant literature of a political science topic with analysis of original data or research materials. Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading only. Prerequisite(s): POLS 401 and POLS 505 and POLS 506; and POLS 541 or POLS 504 or POLS 551 or POLS 570 or POLS 571. Open only to Master’s degree students and; approval of the department.

596 Advanced Readings in Political Science
1 TO 4 hours. Intensive readings on an advanced topic not covered in the regular curriculum. May be repeated with approval. Students may register in more than one section per term. Approval to repeat course granted by the graduate director. Prerequisite(s): POLS 401 and POLS 404 and consent of the instructor.

598 Thesis Research
0 TO 16 hours. The individual study required of all students pursuing an advanced degree in political science under thesis option. Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading only. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor. Open only to degree candidates.

599 Dissertation Research
0 TO 16 hours. The individual study required of all students pursuing Ph.D. degree with a specialization in political science. Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading only. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor. Open only to degree candidates.