The Department of Political Science offers instruction and research in the art and science of politics. Work within the department is organized around six basic fields:
American Government and Politics The American subfield concentrates on the United States government and political system. Courses analyze topics such as interest groups, governmental regulation of business, political parties, the presidential and congressional systems, public priorities, the judicial system, and constitutional law.
Comparative Politics In the area of comparative politics, you’ll use a global perspective to investigate the interaction between politics and a wide range of phenomena: globalization, economic development, political protest, social capital, immigration, language policy, international organizations, and the environment. In additional, you’ll investigate the effects and implications of socioeconomic and political changes in Europe and the European Union, Southeast Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America.
International Relations In the International Relations subfield you will study U.S. foreign policy, the dynamics of the international environment, international security, international organizations, international political economy, international law, and war and peace.
Political Theory Political theory courses focus primarily on the history of political thought and on enduring normative questions of political association, such as the nature of justice, the proper basis of political authority, the promise and problems of democratic theory, and the extent of duties across borders.
Empirical Theory and Methodology Political methodology speaks to the tools we use to better understand and explain political phenomena. The faculty in political methodology teach research design and basic quantitative analysis to our undergraduate students. We offer both quantitative and qualitative methods training for our graduate students, including courses on research design, regression, maximum likelihood estimation, game theory, time series, multilevel models, surveys, experiments, qualitative methods, and network analysis.
Public Policy Public policy is the study of public problems in contemporary societies and the multiple ways in which they may be addressed. The public policy field is not limited to the study of governmental policies themselves, but rather public policies are analyzed in relation to the problems they are designed to address. Students of public policy are trained in multiple approaches to problem-oriented diagnosis of public problems and in analyzing plausible and actual policy responses to these problems.
"The Political Science Department at CU provided an essential outlet to engage with the social and political debates that were increasingly on my mind as a twenty-something college student. I loved the climatology and French literature classes that I was taking as a Geography and French major! But, a range of international experiences were fueling critical reflections on political-security-legal relations in the domestic U.S. context, and I was craving more discussion and debate. Courses in civil liberties, politics, law, and society with CU Boulder's excellent political science faculty provided important spaces for intellectual engagement. Looking back, it is clear that courses in political science at CU have played a significant part in professional choices since graduation, including a PhD in International Relations and aspirations for a successful academic career. I hope that my efforts in teaching and research help to provide a similar space for students as that which I experienced with political science at CU Boulder."
- Kathryn Fisher
