Graduate

Graduate Student Instructor Training Seminar

Level
Semester
Fall 2023
Instructor(s)
Units
2
Section
1
Number
375
CCN
22735
Times
Fri 10am-12pm
Location
SOCS202
Course Description

PS 375 is a two-credit course designed for first-time Graduate Student Instructors (GSIs).  The course seeks to introduce students to practical teaching methods and to foster discussion about effective pedagogy. It also focuses on professional development, in particular on developing skills that are closely related to effective teaching such as presentation skills. The course features student presentations on selected pedagogical topics, panels on key issues related to teaching and to professional development, and discussion of weekly assignments in relation to challenges encountered by GSIs in the course of their teaching.

Local Politics and Public Policy in the United States

Level
Semester
Fall 2023
Instructor(s)
Units
4
Section
1
Number
279
CCN
23873
Times
Thurs 4-6
Location
SOCS202
Course Description
 
This course examines politics and policy in local governments in the United States. In the American politics subfield of political science as well as outside of scholarly social science, there is increasing recognition that what local governments do is important, and that US cities, school districts, counties, and special districts are worthy of study. This is an area of research with many promising directions, and the goal of this seminar is to familiarize students with the existing literature as well as encourage them to develop ideas about research they may want to do on local government. In pursuit of this goal, students will read some of the latest research on local politics and policy in the US, and they will also read some older literature so that the consideration of the relevant questions and issues is not disconnected from past approaches and insights. The course covers topics ranging from local government development, machines and reformers, economic development and growth, the role of business, race and representation, housing and segregation, local elections and accountability, local institutions and turnout, partisanship and ideology, public-sector unions, gender and representation, policing, education and school boards, and the relationship between local governments and states.

RESEARCH WORKSHOP IN THEORY

Level
Semester
Fall 2023
Instructor(s)
Units
1
Section
1
Number
291T
CCN
24575
Times
Mon 2-4pm
Location
SOCS749
Course Description

This course is a  seminar which can be taken for 0 - 2 units, Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory with the following course description:

A forum for the presentation and discussion of research in progress by graduate students. To receive credit for the course, the student will participate fully, including, as asked, either making a presentation of work in progress or serving as lead  discussant for another student's work. Appropriate works-in-progress include  (but are not limited to) a paper in preparation for submission to a journal, a dissertation prospectus (including early drafts), a dissertation chapter, or a job market paper. Anyone working on theory is welcome.

Research Workshop in Quantitative Modeling

Level
Semester
Fall 2023
Instructor(s)
Section
2
Number
291F
CCN
32614
Times
Thurs 2-4pm
Location
SOCS791
Course Description

A forum for the presentation and discussion of research in quantitative modeling. Anyone working on quantitative modeling or empirical testing of quantitative models is welcome to attend. To receive credit for the course, a student must attend regularly and participate actively.  Some weeks we will invite external speakers to present their work.  In other weeks, students may present their own work-in-progress or lead a discussion of work by other scholars (including both influential/classic works or interesting current working papers).

Variable Unit Course: 1.0 to 3.0

COMPARATIVE POLITICS COLLOQUIUM

Level
Semester
Fall 2023
Units
2
Section
1
Number
291AS
CCN
22718
Times
Thurs 12:30-2pm
Location
SOCS202
Course Description

This colloquium exposes graduate students and faculty to work by leading scholars of comparative politics working in diverse substantive areas. Graduate students are expected to read circulated papers of visiting speakers ahead of the colloquium and participate actively in raising questions and making comments.  They are encouraged to meet visiting speakers in their areas of interest in group or one-on-one sessions. 

This description is from Spring 2015

RESEARCH WORKSHOP IN AMERICAN POLITICS

Level
Semester
Fall 2023
Instructor(s)
Units
1
Section
1
Number
291
CCN
19443
Times
W 12-1:30pm
Location
MOSES119
Course Description

A forum for the presentation and discussion of research in progress by graduate students. To receive two units of credit, a student must make at least one presentation of work in progress and serve as a discussant for another student's presentation. To receive one unit of credit a student must regularly attend class and participate in discussion, but will not be required to make a presentation. Appropriate works in progress include (but are not limited to) a paper in preparation for submission to a journal, a dissertation prospectus (including early drafts), a dissertation chapter, or a job market paper. Anyone working on American politics, political behavior, public law, or public administration is welcome.

Emerging Research in International Relations and Comparative Politics - IR/CP Workshop

Level
Semester
Fall 2023
Instructor(s)
Section
1
Number
290IC
CCN
25498
Times
Tues 1-2pm
Location
SOCS291
Course Description

The main aims of this workshop are met through a forum in which faculty and graduate students at various career stages work closely together. It is an applied workshop with an emphasis on learning by doing and on learning how to be a more constructive colleague. Rather than segregate PhD students by cohort, the workshop is designed to bring cohorts together in order to facilitate the student-to-student transfer of skills and knowledge.

Research and Writing

Level
Semester
Fall 2023
Units
4
Section
1
Number
290A
CCN
19445
Times
Mon 12-2pm
Location
SOCS202
Course Description

The goal of this yearlong course is to provide a forum in which students propose, develop, and complete a research project that produces a journal-length paper of publishable quality. This paper will typically serve as students' second-year M.A. essay, and the course is intended as a complement to that requirement. This course is primarily oriented towards second-year Ph.D. students in any subfield (students in other years may participate with the professors’ consent). The course meets regularly during parts of the fall semester and irregularly during the spring semester. In the first few weeks of the course, we discuss the process of moving from research topic to research question; and we survey published articles by recent Ph.D. students/assistant professors, focusing on the structure and nature of the writing and presentation as well the quality of the argument and evidence. We then move to students’ research proposals for the rest of the fall semester. During the spring semester, students meet individually with the course instructors and their advisors, develop and revise drafts of their papers, and present their work at a department “APSA-style” conference. In order to complete the course and receive credit, students must complete the requirements for both semesters.