Political Science Courses

Political Science Courses for Spring 2012

Core courses

All majors must take

• POL 201 Introduction to American National Government (formerly POL211)
• POL 202 Introduction to Comparative Politics (formerly part of POL212)
• POL 203 Introduction to International Relations (formerly part of POL212)

Students who entered the university prior to Fall 2009 are required to take POL211 (POL201) and ONE of the following: POL212, POL202, or POL203.

Notes: POL 213 does not count toward the major or the minor. In order for all other POL courses to count toward the major they must be passed with a grade of C- or above and with an overall GPA of 2.0. A special curriculum for students specializing in public administration enables them to complete the requirements for Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Public Administration in five years. For more information, see the Graduate section of this website.

The remaining credits must meet the following distributional requirements:

Six of the credits must come from two 500-level seminar courses offered by the University of Miami. This includes any 500-level seminar offered by the Department of Political Science or cross-listed with Political Science. The following 500 level courses are not seminars and do not fulfill this requirement:

• POL 520 Internship
• POL 521 Public Affairs Internship
• POL 563 Senior Honors Thesis (I)
• POL 564 Senior Honors Thesis (II)
• POL 599 Directed Readings
  (Note that POL 599: Special Topics is a seminar and does fulfill this requirement.)

At least one course above the 200-level must be taken in three of the following five principal sub-fields of political science:

• American Politics
• Comparative Politics
• International Relations
• Public Administration, Policy, and Law
• Political Theory and Methods (This subfield applies to students entering the University in or after Fall 2008)

These can include courses used to fulfill requirement 1 above.
For the purposes of fulfilling these distribution requirements, sub-fields are defined as follows; note that some courses cover more than one sub-field but students may not use a single class to fill two sub-field requirements.

American Politics:

• POL 309 American Political Thought
  POL 313 The Constitution
  POL 314 Legislative Process
  POL 315 American Presidency
  POL 332 Mass Media and Politics
  POL 334 Campaigns
  POL 335 Local Government
  POL 342 State and Local Government and Politics
  POL 343 Government in Metropolitan Areas
  POL344 Gender and Politics
  POL 347 American Foreign Policy
  POL 349 U. S. Defense Policy
  POL 351 Public Opinion
  POL 352 Political Parties
  POL 353 Interest Groups and Lobbying
  POL 354 The CIA and the World of Intelligence
  POL 360 Congressional Representation
  POL 408 The 2008 Election
  POL 515 Media Content Analysis
  POL 528 Advanced Seminar on Electoral Behavior
  POL 529 Conducting US Elections
  POL 530 Intelligence and National Security Decision Making
  POL 536 U.S. Health Care Crisis: Politics and Policies
  POL 540 Problems in American Foreign Policy
  POL 542 American Constitutional Development
  POL 543 Urban Politics
  POL 547 Congressional Representation
  POL 548 Civic Participation and Democracy
  POL 550 Advanced Seminar on American Politics
  POL 552 Politics and Group Perspectives
  POL 553 The Environmental Movement: Groups, Beliefs and Values
  POL 599 Special Topics: American Politics and the Public Sphere
  POL 599 Special Topics: Conducting US Elections
  POL 599 Special Topics: Congress, the President, and Spending
  POL 599 Special Topics: Gridlock and Policy Change
  POL 599 Special Topics: Inequality and Influence
  POL 599 Special Topics: The Politics of Civil Rights

Other POL599: Special Topics classes may count as an American Politics course. See the Director of Undergraduate Studies for questions about POL599 courses not listed in the Bulletin.

Comparative Politics:

• POL323 Global Warming Politics and the European Union
  POL344 Gender and Politics
  POL 380 Comparative Political Analysis
  POL 381 European Governments and Politics
  POL 382 Government and Politics of the Federal Republic of Germany
  POL 384 Soviet and Russian Politics
  POL 385 Politics and Society in Latin America
  POL 386 Democratic Consolidation
  POL 387 Politics of the Middle East
  POL 388 Politics of Israel
  POL 525 Comparative Public Policy and Administration
  POL 531 Global Environmental Politics
  POL 534 War Crimes Tribunals
  POL 535 Comparative Legal Systems
  POL 579 The Politics of Post-Communist Transitions
  POL 580 Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Secession
  POL 581 Comparative Political Economy of Post-Industrial Democracies
  POL 582 Political Economy Development
  POL 584 Contemporary Latin American Politics
  POL 588 Politics in China
  POL 599 Special Topics: Civil-Military Relations in Comparative Perspective
  POL 599 Special Topics: Post-Communist Russian Foreign Policy
  POL 599 On Violence: The Politics of Extremes

Other POL 599: Special Topics courses may count as a Comparative Politics course. See the Director of Undergraduate Studies for questions about POL599 courses not listed in the Bulletin.

International Relations:

• POL300 The CIA and the World of Intelligence
  POL308 Security, Globalization, and Human Rights
  POL323 Global Warming Politics and the European Union
  POL 337 International Law
  POL 345 The United States and Asia
  POL 346 U. S.-Latin American Relations
  POL 347 American Foreign Policy
  POL 348 United States Relations with the Middle East
  POL 349 U. S. Defense Policy
  POL354 The CIA
  POL 391 Introduction to International Relations
  POL 392 International Terrorism
  POL505 Security, Globalization, and Human Rights
  POL 530 Intelligence and National Security Decision Making
  POL 531 Global Environmental Politics
  POL 540 Problems in American Foreign Policy
  POL 544 Chinese Foreign Policy
  POL 570 Uniting States in International Perspective
  POL577 Security in Southeast Asia
  POL 579 Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Secession
  POL 586 Conflict in the Middle East and Africa
  POL 591 Problems in International Politics and Organization
  POL 592 International Political Economy
  POL 593 International Relations of the Middle East
  POL 599 Special Topics: Post-Communist Russian Foreign Policy
  POL 599 Special Topics: Security in the Black Sea and the Caspian
  POL 599 Special Topics: Security, Globalization, and Human Rights
  POL 599 Special Topics: Security in South Asia
  POL 599 Special Topics: Counterinsurgency Warfare & Politics
  POL 599 Special Topics: The World Before European Domination

Other POL 599: Special Topics courses may count as an International Relations course. See the Director of Undergraduate Studies for questions about POL599 courses not listed in the Bulletin.

Public Administration, Policy, and Law:

• POL 300 Growth Management
  POL 313 The Constitution
  POL 321 Public Policy and Administration
  POL 322 Environmental Politics and Policy
  POL 336 Politics of Crime
  POL 337 International Law
  POL 372 Introduction to Criminal Justice
  POL 373 Constitutional Law I
  POL 374 Constitutional Law II
  POL 375 Supreme Court Issues
  POL 376 Discrimination and the Law
  POL 377 Constitutional Law III
  POL 396 Policy for Urban Systems
• POL 499 Government Accountability, Information Technology, and Personal Responsibility
  POL 501 Budget and Financial Management and Administration
  POL 522 Introduction to Graduate Public Administration
  POL 523 Problems in Public and Non-Profit Management
  POL 524 Non-Profit Organizations: Law, Policy, and Management
  POL 525 Comparative Public Policy and Administration
  POL 526 Administrative Law
  POL529 Conducting US Elections
  POL 533 Courts and Controversy
  POL 534 War Crimes Tribunals
  POL 535 Comparative Legal Systems
  POL 536 U.S. Health Care Crisis: Politics and Policies
  POL 537 The Law and Politics of Sports
  POL 541 Philosophy of Law
  POL 542 American Constitutional Development
  POL 545 Environmental Policymaking
  POL 546 Public Policy
  POL 551 Productivity in the Public and Non-Profit Sectors
  POL 554 Social Welfare Policy
  POL 555 Total Quality Public Service Management: Achieving High Performance Government
  POL 556 Political Ethics
  POL 557 Ethical Issues in Government
  POL 558 From Electronic Government to Digital Governance
  POL 569 Politics, Law and Sexual Identity
  POL 599 Special Topics: Public Project Management & Procedures
  POL 599 Special Topics: Public Management Process

Other POL 599: Special Topics courses may count as a Public Adminstration, Policy, and Law Course. See the Director of Undergraduate Studies for questions about POL599 courses not listed in the Bulletin.

Political Theory and Methods:

• POL 250 Scope and Methods in Political Science
  POL 305 Introduction to Political Theory
  POL 306 Positive Political Theory
  POL307 Political Ideologies
  POL 309 American Political Thought
  POL 310 God, Science, and Politics
  POL 380 Comparative Political Analysis
  POL 510 Political Analysis
  POL 512 Advanced Political Analysis
  POL 513 Models of Politics
  POL 515 Media Content Analysis
  POL 541 Philosophy of Law
  POL 599 Introduction to Game Theory
  POL 599 Special Topics: American Politics and the Public Sphere
  POL 599 Special Topics: Ideals and Realities
  POL 599 Special Topics: Justice and the Common Good
  POL 599 Special Topics: On Violence: The Politics of Extremes

Other POL 599: Special Topics courses may count as a Political Theory and Methods class. See the Director of Undergraduate Studies for questions about POL599 courses not listed in the Bulletin.