
Political science core courses, required courses, and proseminars are offered regularly every fall or spring semester. Elective courses are offered on a rotating basis.
401 Data Analysis I 405 The Problem of Justice 414 Formal Models of Politics 420 Administrative Theory and Behavior I 429 Policy Making and Implementation 435 Special Topics in Bureaucracy 440 Politics of Urban Education 451 Law and Public Policy 460 The Structure and Processes of American Public Policy 465 Topics in Sociology of Politics 467 Public Opinion and Political Communication 482 Democratic Theory 485 Gender and Politics 497 Directed Readings in Political Science 498 Independent Research in Political Science 500 Introduction to Policy and Governance 501 Data Analysis II 502 Time Series Analysis for Political Science 503 Structural Equation Modeling for Political Science 504 Theoretical Approaches to Policy and Governance 505 Research Design and Methods 506 The Profession of Political Science 510 Seminar on Teaching Political Science 536 Public Personnel Systems 537 The Legal Environment of Public Administration 541 Policy Formation, Implementation and Evaluation 542 Distributive/Redistributive Public Policy 544 Regulatory Public Policies 549 Topics in Public Policy Analysis 551 Introduction to Urban Politics 553 Urban Public Policy 556 Neighborhood and Community Politics 558 Graduate Student Field Experience in Political Science 559 Topics in State and Local Government 560 Proseminar in American Politics 562 Seminar on Legislation and Public Policy 563 Executive Process 564 Seminar in Judicial Process 566 Interest Groups 567 Topics in Political Communication 569 Topics in American Political Processes 570 Comparative Politics and Public Policy 571 Seminar in International Relations 572 International Political Economy 573 Transitions to Democracy 579 Topics in Comparative Politics 582 The Philosophy of the Social Sciences 589 Topics in Political Theory 590 Advanced Public Policy Workshop 593 Independent Research for Master's Degree 596 Advanced Readings in Political Science 598 Thesis Research 599 Dissertation Research
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.
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.
3 OR 4 hours. Introduction to formal political theory, emphasizing
spatial voting and collective action models, analytic techniques including game
theory, decision theory, utility maximization, and difference equations. 3
undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite(s): POLS 200 or
graduate standing or consent of the instructor.
3 OR 4 hours. Theories of modern administrative behavior and
organizational processes; major trends in research findings on organizational
behavior and performance; comparison of governmental and non-governmental
organization. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite(s):
POLS 460 or consent of the instructor.
3 OR 4 hours. How political factors, institutional setting, procedures,
and the prior experiences of government officials affect policy making and
implementation. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite(s):
POLS 460 or consent of the instructor.
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.
3 OR 4 hours. Relations between school governance and urban politics. The
role of educational interest groups, school boards, professional educators, and
citizens in formulation and execution of educational policy. Same as PS 406. 3
undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite(s): Advanced
undergraduate or graduate standing.
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.
3 OR 4 hours. Integrated overview of American policy-making institutions
and processes. Emphasis on organizational design-making and the impacts of
various policy-making institutions. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.
Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
4 hours. Intensive readings on a topic not covered in regular curriculum.
May be repeated with approval. Approval of the graduate director required to
repeat course. Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing and consent of the
instructor.
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 course.
Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing and consent of the instructor.
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.
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.
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.
4 hours. Systems of equations, structural models, maximum likelihood
estimation, LISREL, matrix algebra, GAUSS. Prerequisite(s): POLS 402 or
consent of the instructor.
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.
4 hours. Overview of the methods and conduct of research in political
science. Issues of inference, measurements, data collection, hypothesis testing
and ethics.
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.
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.
4 hours. Major problems and issues in the management of human resources
in the public sector. Prerequisite(s): POLS 541; or consent of the
instructor.
4 hours. Statutory framework for administrative action; rule-making and
adjudicative powers of public agencies; judicial review of administrative
action; liability of public officials. Prerequisite(s): POLS 541 or
consent of the instructor.
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.
4 hours. Seminar on the politics of enacting and maintaining distributive
policies. Focus is on the parochial and community-wide efficiency of such
policies.
4 hours. Exploring the nature and determinants of public policymaking
with respect to the regulation of the economy.
4 hours. A research seminar on some aspects of public policy analysis not
otherwise covered in the regular curriculum.
4 hours. Explores relationships between private economy and public
policies in American cities; causes of urban decline and uneven development; and
urban redevelopment and human capital policies.
4 hours. Explores the problems of poverty, race, education,
transportation policy, and housing in America's cities, with a special emphasis
on Chicago.
4 hours. The techniques and effects of community organizing. Major issues
include the definition of community and how to encourage positive development.
Prerequisite(s): POLS 551.
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.
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.
4 hours. Introduction to research literature on American policy-making
institutions and processes. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.
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.
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.
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.
4 hours. Pluralism: the distributive state; radical group theory,
public-interest groups; collective actions; corporatism; statism; structural
Marxism; social movements and interest groups.
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.
4 hours. A research seminar on some aspect of American political process.
Topics vary. Prerequisite(s): POLS 402 and POLS 500.
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.
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.
4 hours. Exploration of competing perspectives on nation states and
economic systems. Previously listed as POLS 472.
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.
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.
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.
4 hours. Detailed analysis of a political theorist or type of political
theory, especially designed to meet programmatic and graduate needs
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.
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.
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.
0 TO 16 hours. Individual study required of all students pursuing
advanced degree in political science under thesis option.
Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading only. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the
instructor. Open only to degree candidates.
0 TO 16 hours. Individual study required of all students pursuing Ph.D.
degree with specialization in political science. Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory
grading only. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor. Open only to
degree candidates.