Graduate

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.

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.

TBA

This seminar is designed to acquaint students with current research approaches in various subfields of American Politics. Particular attention will be given to debates over theory, methodology, and substance. The seminar is not designed to provide a complete survey of the field. Students planning to be examined in American Politics are expected to master recommended readings on their own and should review additional readings included in versions of this seminar offered in the past years.

The course will provide students with: (1) a methodological foundation to help them craft and evaluate experimental studies; (2) opportunities to read and discuss political science research using experimental methods; and (3) a structured setting in which to develop their research ideas, with feedback from peers and the instructor. 

Social scientists often rely on nonrandom samples, whether due to nonresponse, convenience sampling, or practical design considerations, when studying descriptive or causal relationships.  This class focuses on design and analysis techniques that allow researchers to draw generalizable inferences from non representative data.  In particular, we will study sampling and randomization design; weighting and modeling methods; and sensitivity analyses with applications to survey analysis and external validity of experiments.

Discussion sections meet Thursdays 4-6pm in SOCS791.

This course provides an introduction to the methodology of game theory and related modeling techniques, with a focus on applications in the study of politics.  The goal of the course is to get students familiar with the basic tools and frameworks of formal models as used in political science research.  This will enable you to be a more-informed reader of the growing body of literature that uses these methods or that tests predictions derived with them.  It should also prove useful in structuring your thinking about political actors and outcomes even when you are not explicitly using a formal model.  This course will also provide a starting point for students who hope to pursue more advanced training and even to use formal theory in their own future research.

Discussion sections meet Wednesday 4-5:30pm in SOCS791.

This course builds on 231B to introduce students to the theory and application of cutting-edge methods for observational causal inference, including recent advances on difference-in-differences estimators (e.g. accounting for multiple periods and variation in treatment timing), instrumental variable approaches (e.g. the strengths and weaknesses of shift-share instruments which are widely applied in the migration literature), and regression discontinuity designs (e.g. how to think about politician characteristics’ RDDs). With this course, students will learn the theory behind these methods and will have the opportunity to apply the methods to cases of interest to social scientists, and to their own causal empirical research. The ultimate goal of the course is to stimulate student interest in future independent learning of new advanced techniques.

The focus of this course is on statistical methods for causal inference.

Discussion sections meet Wednesdays 2-4pm in SOCS749.

This graduate seminar on international political economy will cover a variety of core topics in the field of IPE. These include trade, international institutions, the role of multinational corporations in politics, foreign direct investment, monetary policy, sovereign debt, foreign aid, and environmental politics.