Courses

This course introduces students to both the scientific study of politics and the way that study advances our understanding of political actors, events, processes, and institutions.

Introduction to conceptualization, research design, and measurement in political research.

Data analysis and statistical applications in political research, including data processing, inferential statistics, contingency analysis, correlation and regression, and multivariate analysis.

This course examines the American democracy by looking at the dynamic interaction between the founding ideals of the United States government, the institutions established by the Constitution, and the ongoing contest for power within and through those institutions.

Introduction to study of comparative government and politics: normative/empirical theories; government functions in modern societies; representative structures and processes.

Critical analysis of contemporary political ideologies such as liberalism, conservatism, socialism, anarchism, fascism, feminism, and environmentalism.

Characteristics of modern nation-states and forces governing their international relations; nationalism; imperialism; diplomacy; current problems of war and peace.

Introduction to basic issues in political theory through analysis of selected major political thinkers.

This course provides students with the tools to empirically evaluate policy proposals and outcomes in the American states.

This course engages students in the empirical study of electoral politics in the United States.

This course engages students in the empirical study of public opinion.

This course engages students in the empirical study of law and the courts.

The transnational politics of trade, investment, aid, raw materials, and the environment; nation-states, multinational corporations, and the U.N.

A survey of traditional and contemporary conceptual frameworks and theoretical approaches for the analysis of international relations.

Analysis of political terrorism as a violent alternative for peaceful change and traditional warfare in the nuclear age.

Principles of American foreign policy; processes of policy formulation; roles of the President, Congress, the State Department, and other government agencies.

Social forces and processes, governmental institutions, foreign policies of major states of Latin America.

The international relations of the Middle East, stressing national security policies of regional and outside actors, and major contemporary conflicts.

An examination of how politics and public policy affect and are shaped by the news media, as a political institution, in America.

The origins of judicial review, landmark decisions of the Supreme Court, and their impact on the American form of government.

Analysis of the roles, procedures, and policies characterizing the American legal system.

Analyzes behavior of judges and other participants in the legal process; examines how and why courts function as policymaking bodies.

Basic characteristics and processes of the national legislature and executive; roles and interaction of these institutions in the policy process.

Advanced analysis of public policy, emphasizing policy evaluation and the factors that determine policy success and failure.

Introduction to various methods of analyzing strategic behavior using social choice and game theories.

Analysis of variance for single and multifactor designs; response surface methodology.

Introduction to linear and multiple regression; correlation; choice of models, stepwise regression, nonlinear regression.

Identification of models for empirical data collected over time; use of models in forecasting.

Introduction to design and analysis of sample surveys, including questionnaire design, data collection, sampling methods, and ratio and regression estimation.

Descriptive statistics, hypothesis testing, power, estimation, confidence intervals, regression, one- and 2-way ANOVA, Chi-square tests, diagnostics.

Models and measures of vital processes (fertility, mortality, migration) and their effects on growth and age structure of human populations.

This course provides an overview of key demographic data sets, and promotes familiarity with, and appropriate use of, these data.

Approved experience, related to student career objectives, in agencies external to University.

This course provides students with the tools to empirically evaluate policy proposals and outcomes in the American states.

This course engages students in the empirical study of electoral politics in the United States.

This course engages students in the empirical study of public opinion.

This course engages students in the empirical study of law and the courts.

Supervised student activities on research projects identified on an individual or small-group basis.

Creative projects, including research and design, which are supervised on an individual basis and which fall outside the scope of formal courses.

Nature and theories of law; the Supreme Court and press freedom; legal problems of the mass media.

Structure and functions of American and other mass communications systems and their relationship to political and economic systems.

Ethical problems in the practice of journalism; principal public criticisms of news media; case study approach.

The role of international media in communication among and between nations and peoples.

Theories and strategies important for conceptualizing, developing, and managing conflict negotiation, mediation, and third-party intervention.

Explores the nature and functions of communication in organizations, with emphasis on concepts, tools, and skills for effective management of communication.

Explores the literature on gender research in the discipline of human communication.

History and criticism of public discourse; intensive analysis of selected public addresses and social movements.

Relates organizational and public policy management approaches to police, courts, and correctional institutions.

Interdisciplinary analysis of security and loss prevention; its administration, role in crime control and prevention, and relationship to criminal justice.

This course provides knowledge about government organizations charged with American border security, guiding laws, and policies.

Ethical behavior in the criminal justice system.

Integrates information technology and gender studies. Overview issues and socio-cultural shaping of gender in the IT field.

Introduction to how the World Wide Web utilizes emerging technologies. Students acquire a conceptual understanding of constructing websites.