Courses Offered

American Government I (POLS 115)
An introduction to political science through the study of the American political system: The Constitution, political processes; the structure, powers and procedures of the Presidency, Congress, and the Judiciary.

State and Local Government (POLS 116)
Structure, function, and problems of state and local government; executive, legislative, and judicial processes; federalism and metropolitan government.

International Politics (POLS 220)
An introduction to international politics with emphasis on the international system, the major actors, the struggle for power, and the struggle for order.

Comparative Politics (POLS 225)
An introduction to comparative politics with emphasis on the democratic systems of Europe.

Politics of Public Administration (POLS 250)
Introduction to the development of public administration in the United States and to the concepts and methods used in its practice. The political aspects of the public bureaucracy and contemporary issues are also highlighted.

Introduction to Research Methods (POLS 300)
General consideration of research methods and data analysis in political science and the social sciences.

American Constitution - Governmental Powers (POLS 305)
American Constitution studied in the light of the U.S. Supreme Court decisions and interpretations; focus on governmental powers, federal relationships, and economic regulation.

American Constitution - Civil Liberties (POLS 306)
Analyzes U.S. Supreme Court decisions and interpretations which focus on civil liberties; equal protections, due process, First Amendment rights.

Intergovernmental Relations (POLS 308)
Analyzes the growing interrelationship of federal, state, and local governments with emphasis on financial aspects.

Legislative and Executive Processes (POLS 309)
A survey of the organization, functions, and interactions of the American legislative and executive branches of government.

Introduction to Political Thought (POLS 310)
Classical political thought from classical times to the 19th century with emphasis on issues raised in the workds of Plato, Aristotle, St. Augustine, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Mill, Marx and Nietzsche.

American Political Thought (POLS 318)
A historical analysis of the major thinkers and the streams of thought that molded the political life and institutions of the United States from Puritans to the present.

Foreign Policies (POLS 320)
Examination of the roles of major powers in the international system, with emphasis on the foreign policies of the United States and other major powers.

International Human Rights (POLS 321)
Examination of factors that contribute to human rights violations and domestic, multilateral and bilateral efforts to combat such violations with emphasis placed on the changing nature of the international system of states.

Issues in Comparative Politics (POLS 323)
Examination of contemporary issues in comparative politics with particular emphasis on the dynamics of change in political systems.

Chinese Politics (POLS 324)
The course evaluates the politics of China following two underlying themes: assessing the changes that have taken place in China since the death of Mao and China's place of prominence on the global stage. Focus is placed on Chinese politics since the economic reforms in the 1970s and the political implications of these reforms. The course also evaluates Chinese public policy with regard to critical issues facing China today.

Transitions to Democracy (POLS 327)
Based on liberal democratic theory, the course will investigate the different processes and components associated with successful democratization. The course will evaluate multiple case studies, including those found in Southern Europe, Latin America, and post-communist Europe. The course will conclude with an assessment of cases beginning to democratize presently.

Legislative Processes (POLS 328)
Emphasis will be placed on the structure, functions, and duties of Congress, as well as congressional elections, patterns of congressional leadership, policy successes and failures, and the relationship between Congress and the federal court, and Congress and the U.S. Presidency.

Presidential Institutions and Management (POLS 329)
This course focuses on the intersection of politics and management with the executive branch. Special emphasis is placed on the roles of institutions and critical executive branch actors such as the President in the management and execution of public policy.

Women and Politics (POLS 351)
Role of women in politics, including selection of women for political offices; the political attitudes and behavior of women; and the development of public policy initiatives as they affect or are likely to affect women.

Nonprofit Management (POLS 361)
This course is an overview of the management of nonprofit organizations. Content includes the history and legal foundation of nonprofits, leadership, marketing, management of employees and volunteers, and operations management.

Problems in Political Science (POLS 393)
Students study special topics that vary by semester.

Cooperative Education (POLS 397)
Compensated on-the-job experience in various areas of political science. S-U grading only Prereqs: 3.00 GPA; 12 hours in POLS, and course related to cooperative experience; permission of department.

Urban Politics and Administration (POLS 404)
Analysis of the socio-economic context of urban America and its impact on politics, policy, and administration.

Political Behavior (POLS 405)
A review of the role of the public in a democracy, focusing on the formation and content of public opinion, the means of communicating that opinion to government, and the impact of that opinion on policy.

Public Policy Making Process (POLS 432)
Two-thirds of the class is devoted to understanding the stages of the policy process: (1) Problem Identification and Agenda Setting; (2) Policy Formulation; (3) Policy Adoption; (4) Policy Implementation; and (5) Policy Evaluation. The last third applies the model to substantive policy areas such as health, environment, and education.

The Administrator and Public Affairs (POLS 433)
Designed to make students aware of the political and community implications of public administration in a democratic society. Reviews and analyzes the political environment of public administration and considers various techniques for accommodating democratic influences in the administrative process.

Administrative Processes (POLS 437)
Explanation of theoretical and practical aspects of personnel and financial management in the public sector. Spring.

Administrative Internship (POLS 480)
On-the-job training in a governmental position with final report and analysis of the agency by the intern. S/U grading only. Prereqs: 3.00 GPA; 12 hours in POLS, and course related to internship experience; permission of department. Coreqs: Prior approval of instructor required before enrollment.

Readings in Political Science (POLS 491)
Selected readings with oral and written reports.. Prereqs: Consent of instructor required.

Professional Project in Public Administration (POLS 493)
The student will independently develop a paper under supervision, which demonstrates the ability to use the knowledge and skill of public administration to address public administration issues. Prereqs: Senior standing. Coreqs: This course is designed for Public Administration majors only.

Senior Colloquium (POLS 495)
A capstone course in Political Science and Public Administration designed to integrate the subareas of the discipline. The development of the discipline, its great thinkers, and current directions will be examined. Prereqs: Senior standings. This course is designed for majors only.

Research Methods (POLS 500)
This course will first focus on various approaches to analyzing political phenomena with the goal developing students' ability to think analytically and to distinguish between empirical and normative analysis. The course will then introduce techniques of empirical research including research design, measurement, data gathering, and data analysis. Prereqs: MPA students only or consent of instructor.

Political and Public Policy Analysis (POLS 501)
This course focuses on the use of empirical data both to develop empirical theory and to make policy choices. Topics to be discussed include hypothesis testing, public choice, and policy evaluation. Students will be required to complete an original research project. Prereqs: MPA students only or consent of instructor.

Seminar: Problems in State and Local Governments (POLS 502)
Directed in-depth inquiry into contemporary structural and policy problems of state and local governments. During the course, each student will prepare a research paper relevant to a current problem suitable for publication and distribution to an identifiable body of public officials and citizens for problem-solving purposes. Prereqs: MPA students only or consent of instructor.

Government and Business (POLS 503)
This course is designed to make students aware of the interrelationship of business and government in our society and the importance of this interrelationship in an era of globalization. A component of the course involves travel to Washington, D.C. to meet with political officials, e.g., the Congressional delegation; Legislative staff; government regulatory agencies, government advocacy agencies, and national and international business representatives. Prereqs: MPA students only or consent of instructor, on-campus only.

Seminar: Legislative and Executive Processes (POLS 508)
Description, analysis, and evaluation of the structures, processes, procedures, and positions of the legislative and executive offices in government. Prereqs: MPA students only or consent of instructor.

Seminar: Political Theory (POLS 511)
Study of major political theories and the methodologies employed in their formulation. Prereqs: MPA students only or consent of instructor.

Seminar: Public Administration (POLS 531)
An extensive overview of Public Administration stressing the basic concepts and trends in the discipline as well as the classic scholars. Prereqs: MPA students only or consent of instructor.

Public Policy (POL S532)
A discussion of the initiation, formulation, adoption, implementation, and evaluation of American public policy. Various policy areas such as agriculture, education, environment, and welfare will be analyzed. Prereqs: MPA students only or consent of instructor.

Administrative Ethics in the Public Sector (POLS 533)
This course examines the challenges faced by public administrators in establishing personal standards of conduct in the administrative environment. Issues such as moral versus political accountability, social justice, and whistle blowing are among the topics that will be explored in this course. Prereqs: MPA students only or consent of instructor.

Public Organizations (POLS 535)
Description and analysis of bureaucratic organizations with particular emphasis on concepts and characteristics common to public bureaucracies. Prereqs: MPA students only or consent of instructor.

Public Personnel Administration (POLS 536)
This course is designed to help managers in all positions of an organization to understand the fundamental nature of public personnel administration, also known as human resource management. Topics to be covered include basic functions such as position classifications, wage and salary administration, and performance appraisal. It will also examine merit systems and contemporary reforms and techniques including TQM and conflict resolution. Attention will be given to contemporary issues such as sexual harassment, affirmative action, privacy, and unionization. Prereqs: MPA students only or consent of instructor.

Public Budgeting and Financial Administration (POLS 538)
This course will encompass the normative and descriptive budgetary question in public administration. Orthodox prevailing and alternative budget theories are presented in generalized and applied settings. Prereqs: MPA students only or constent of instructor.

Administrative Law (POLS 539)
Study of the legal dimension of public administration. Study of requirements for rule-making and adjudication and of judicial review of administrative decisions. Prereqs: MPA students only or consent of instructor.

Health Administration and Organization (POLS 551)
The evolution of health systems and their organizational challenges of administration from human resources to management in times of scarce resources are explored. Specific attention is devoted to Financial Management, Managerial and Fund Accounting, Medicare, Medicaid, Fiscal Intermediaries, and Managed Care, and Organizations in Decline. Prereqs: MPA students only or consent of instructor.

Health Policy (POLS 552)
This course examines historic and contemporary trends in health care delivery in the United States. Emphasis is placed on addressing health care cost-containment issues, access to health care, and recent efforts to invoke broadly based systemic reforms of the U.S. health care system. Prereqs: MPA students only or consent of instructor.

Creation and Management of Social Enterprises (POLS 561)
This course is an overview of social entrepreneurship and the management of social enterprises, often nonprofit organizations. The objective of the course is to expose students to content related to these topic areas, including methods and techniques of entrepreneurship for social purposes, strategic selection of an organizational form to advance a mission, the legal foundation of social enterprises in the U.S., and management topics such as leadership, strategic management, business planning, management of employees and volunteers, and operations management, and program evaluation.

Political Advocacy and Social Entrepreneurship (POLS 562)
The primary purpose of the course will be to explore all facets of building an advocacy campaign. We will consider our expectations, and the likely consequences, of collective action in fulfilling our social entrepreneurial objectives through advocacy.

Administrative Internship (POLS 580)
Students are employed on a full-time or part-time basis in on-the-job learning situations in federal, state, or local government. Students are required to make an analytical report on some facet of their work. Arranged. Prereqs: MPA students only and prior approval of instructor required before enrollment.

Readings in Political Science and Public Administration (POLS 591)
Selected reading with oral and written reports. Arranged. Prereqs: MPA students only and prior approval of instructor required before enrollment.

Problems in Political Science and Public Administration (POLS 593)
Students study special topics under the direction and supervision of a member of the staff. Arranged. Prereqs: MPA students only or consent of instructor.

Professional Development in Public Administration (POLS 595)
Specific issues will vary, but topics will focus on the latest issues, trends, and problems facing administrators, especially those in public and not-for-profit agencies. Prereqs: MPA students only or consent of instructor.