The course list for Fall 2023 is shown below. Classes marked with an asterisk have a topic, which are listed below the course list.
Summer 2023 Course List
| Course | Title | Faculty | Session | Dates | Instruction Mode | Subfield |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POL 130 01 | International Relations | Potter | First 5 Week | 6/12/23 - 7/13/23 | Online Fully Asynchronous | International |
Fall 2023 Course List
| Course | Title | Day | Time | Room | Instructor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POL 110 01 | AMERICAN GOVERNMENT | M-TH | 3:30 PM - 4:50 PM | SOCI223 | Morell, Sara |
| POL 110 02 | AMERICAN GOVERNMENT | T-F | 2:00 PM - 3:20 PM | SOCI225 | |
| POL 110 03 | AMERICAN GOVERNMENT | M | 5:30 PM - 8:20 PM | SOCI225 | |
| POL 130 01 | INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS | M-TH | 12:30 PM - 1:50 PM | SOCI223 | Cho,Hyun-Binn |
| POL 130 02 | INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS | M-TH | 2:00 PM - 3:20 PM | SOCI223 | Cho,Hyun-Binn |
| POL 150 02 | COMPARATIVE POLITICS | T-F | 2:00 PM - 3:20 PM | SOCI223 | Potter,Brian |
| POL 200 01 | POLITICAL ANALYSIS | M-TH | 2:00 PM - 3:20 PM | SOCI225 | Morell, Sara |
| POL 250 01 | POLITICS & SOCIETY IN DEVELOP COUNTRIES | T-F | 11:00 AM - 12:20 PM | SOCI131 | Lowi,Miriam |
| POL 270 01 | TOPICS IN POLITICAL SCIENCE | T-F | 9:30 AM - 10:50 AM | SOCI223 | |
| POL 270 02 | TOPICS IN POLITICAL SCIENCE | T-F | 3:30 PM - 4:50 PM | SOCI223 | |
| POL 275 01 | WESTERN POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY | T-F | 11:00 AM - 12:20 PM | FORC201 | |
| POL 305 01 | AMERICAN PUBLIC POLICY | M-TH | 9:30 AM - 10:50 AM | SOCI225 | Willse,Cadence |
| POL 320 01 | LAW AND SOCIETY | T-F | 9:30 AM - 10:50 AM | SOCI225 | Dumas,Tao |
| POL 321 01 | CONSTITUTIONAL LAW I: Institutions and Powers | T-F | 11:00 AM - 12:20 PM | SOCI225 | Dumas,Tao |
| POL 328 01 | STATE & LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN NJ | M | 5:30 PM - 8:20 PM | SOCI223 | Healey, William |
| POL 345 01 | HUMAN RIGHTS IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS | TH | 5:30 PM - 8:20 PM | SOCI225 | Holom-Trundy, Brittany |
| POL 350 01 | POLITICS IN EUROPE | M-TH | 11:00 AM - 12:20 PM | SOCI223 | Toloudis,Nicholas |
| POL 365 01 | ORIGINS OF THE U.S. CONSTITUTION | T | 5:30 PM - 8:20 PM | SOCI225 | |
| POL 390 01 | TUTORIAL IN POLITICAL SCIENCE | M | 3:30 PM - 6:20 PM | SOCI131 | Cho,Hyun-Binn |
| POL 498 01 | SEMINAR IN POLITICAL SCIENCE | TH | 2:00 PM - 4:50 PM | SOCI241 | Bowen,Daniel |
Fall 2023 Graduate Course List
| Course | Title | Faculty | Day | Time | Room | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PUBG 502 01 | PUBLIC BUDGETING AND MANAGEMENT | T | 5:30 PM - 8:20 PM | SOCI 241 | Policy Core | |
| PUBG 510 01 | QUANTITATIVE METHODS FOR POLICY RESEARCH I | Bowen, Daniel | TH | 5:30 PM - 8:20 PM | SOCI 241 | Quantitative Methods |
| PUBG 670 01 | EDUCATION POLICY | Willse, Cadence | M | 2:00 PM - 4:50 PM | SOCI 241 | Elective |
| PUBG 670 02 | TRANSIT POLICY | Healey, William | W | 5:30 PM - 8:20 PM | SOCI 241 | Elective |
| PUBG 696 01 | PUBLIC POLICY THESIS | independent course | Policy Core | |||
| ISTG 640 | TEXT MINING | Huang, Ziyue | TH - online Two Saturdays in person |
TH: 6:00 PM - 8:50 PM (online) Saturday October 7 & November 18, 1:00 - 4:00 PM in person Biliss 123 |
Elective |
Major Requirements and Program Planner
Special Topics & Seminars
POL 270-01 & 02: Race and American Democracy
Race and American Democracy examines African Americans’ enduring struggle for racial equality. From the movement to end slavery through today’s Black Lives Matter movement, the thought and activism of African Americans has challenged the dominant norms and institutions of political life. By engaging primary texts and documentary films, this course considers the resources Black politics offers for reimagining American democracy.
POL 390-01: Security in the Asia-Pacific
Dr. Hyun-Binn Cho
This tutorial examines the major challenges to security in the Asia-Pacific region. These include U.S.-China relations, North Korea’s nuclear program, the South China Sea disputes, and U.S. alliance relations with South Korea and Japan. By the end of the course, students will develop an independent research paper that employs political science research methods.
POL 498-01: American Political Behavior
Dr. Dan Bowen
American political behavior is concerned broadly with how Americans think about, participate in, and influence U.S. politics. In this senior seminar course, we will study public opinion and its measurement, who participates in American politics and why, the causes and consequences of U.S. elections, and citizen assessments of U.S. government at various levels. The course material is designed to give students a taste of the rich research in political behavior. While we will read some classic works, the readings are skewed toward recent research. As a capstone seminar, students will conduct a major research project using empirical data on a topic related to political behavior. The project will illustrate an appropriate use of research methods. Students should have senior status and have successfully completed POL 200 and POL 390 (Tutorial). By the end of the course, students will be familiar with the major themes and work in the field of American political behavior. More importantly, students will have added to this work through their senior thesis.
Course Descriptions
POL 110: American Government
Examines the strengths and weaknesses, problems and promise of representative democracy in the United States. Surveys the relationships of citizens to Congress, the president and the courts through political parties, elections, interest groups, and the media. Considers the constitutional framework of government and the rights of the individual against governmental intrusion.
POL 130: International Relations
An examination of contemporary patterns of international interaction and their historic roots with attention to competing theoretical perspectives. Topics studied include foreign policy, international law and organization, and international political economy.
POL 150: Comparative Politics
Introduces students to some of the most important concepts, themes and approaches in the comparative study of politics. Comparative Politics is the study of the domestic or internal politics of particular countries. By comparing the processes, institutions and other political phenomena of one country in relation to others, those engaged in the study of comparative politics isolate the primary causes and consequences of these political phenomena and are thus able to create and test theories of politics around the world.
POL 200: Political Analysis
The course familiarizes students with the basic statistical, conceptual, and technical skills needed for research in political science. Topics include research design, hypothesis testing, statistical methodology common in the social sciences, and practical experience examining and analyzing quantitative data. This course provides students hands-on training with Stata, a commonly used statistical software package. Should normally be completed by the end of the sophomore year prior to taking POL 390.
POL 250: Politics and Society in Developing Countries
Examines political trends, patterns, and variations in the developing world, drawing examples from countries throughout Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. Primary questions include colonialism’s impact the future political, economic and social development, strong versus weak states and regimes, and role of identity politics in these countries. The latter part of the course examines politics in four specific countries: Brazil, India, Nigeria and South Korea.
POL 275: Western Political Philosophy
Selected political questions that have intrigued Western society from time immemorial and theoretical solutions presented by some of the great political philosophers from classical Greece to the modern era.
POL 305: American Public Policy
An examination of the policy-making process, the important domestic policies that have resulted, and the evaluation of these policies. The course covers substantive issues of contemporary public policy in such areas as the environment, health care, welfare, the economy, crime, education, and regulation. The course also trains students in the methods of policy analysis with a focus on designing research projects to estimate the causal effects of public policies.
POL 320: Law and Society
An examination of what law is, the sources of law, and the impact of law on society and the individual. Examines internal aspects of the legal system, such as legal reasoning and the structure of the legal profession, as well as external factors such as the economic system and social structure, in order to illustrate the dynamic relationship between law and the society in which it exists.
POL 321: Constitutional Law I: Institutions and Powers
An analysis of how the U.S. Supreme Court interprets the Constitution, focusing on the rights of the individual, including freedom of expression, freedom of religion, the right of privacy, due process of law, and equal protection of the laws.
POL 328: State and Local Government in NJ
This course provides an analysis of the institutions, the political processes, and the resultant policies of state and local government in New Jersey. Particular attention is given to the structure of state, county, and local government, related political organizations, the nature of politics in New Jersey, and the impact of the state’s cultural, economic, political, and social characteristics on political decision-making and public policy at the state and local level.
POL 345: Human Rights in International Relations
Examines the evolution of human rights movements since World War II and their influence on the behavior of nation states and other transnational actors. Includes discussion of human rights in American foreign policy, and the role of non-state actors such as intergovernmental institutions, multinational corporations, and non-governmental organizations, selected regional and current topics such as: women’s rights, terrorism, self-determination, globalization, and humanitarian intervention.
POL 350: Politics in Europe
Examines government, politics, and society in the major European nations including but not necessarily limited to the United Kingdom, France, and the Federal Republic of Germany.
POL 365: Origins of the U.S. Constitution
An examination of the political theories, people, social and economic forces, events, and political context that influenced the framing and ratification of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights.