Lower Division Courses numbered 1–99 are designed primarily for freshmen and sophomores but are open to all students for lower division credit. (Graduate students requesting to enroll in lower-division undergraduate courses will not receive unit credit nor will the course fulfill degree requirements.) Upper Division Courses courses numbered 100–199 are open to all students who have met the necessary prerequisites as indicated in the catalog course description. Preparation should generally include completion of one lower division course in the given subject or completion of two years of college work.
GRADUATE COURSES
Courses numbered 200–299 are open to graduate students. (Undergraduate students must obtain the signature of the instructor, School Dean, and the Dean of Graduate Studies. Graduate level units will count towards the required 120 units for graduation; however students are urged to meet with their academic advisor in order to determine if graduate course units may be used to fulfill a graduation requirement.)
CROSS-LISTED/CONJOINED COURSES
Cross-listed Courses are the same course offered under different course subjects at the same level (either undergraduate or graduate) that share the same meeting time, requirements, units, etc. Conjoined Courses are the same course but one is undergraduate and one is graduate.
COREQUISITE COURSE
A corequisite course is a course that must be taken at the same time as another course.
PREREQUISITES
Prerequisites for courses should be followed carefully; the responsibility for meeting these requirements rests on the student. If you can demonstrate that your preparation is equivalent to that specified by the prerequisites, the instructor may waive these requirements for you. The instructor also may request that a student who has not completed the prerequisites be dropped from the course. If the prerequisite for a course is not satisfied, students must obtain the approval of the instructor (or school designee) of the course they wish to take.
For all undergraduate courses a “C-” or better grade is required for a course to be used as a prerequisite for another course. If a course was taken for a “P/NP” grade then a “P” grade is required.
For all graduate courses a “B” or better grade is required for a course to be used as a prerequisite for another course. If a course was taken for a “S/U” grade then a “S” grade is required.
WORLD LANGUAGES
No credit is allowed for completing a less advanced course after successful completion (C-or better) of a more advanced course in the world languages. This applies only to lower division world language courses, not upper division courses.
GRADING OPTIONS
Unless otherwise stated in the course description, each course is letter graded with a P/NP or S/U option (unless required for your major or graduate program). The policy regarding Grading Options, can be found in an alternate section of the catalog.
An introduction to ‘scientific teaching’ - an approach to teaching science that uses many of the same skills applied in research. Topics will include how people learn, active learning, designing, organizing and facilitating teachable units, classroom management, diversity in the classroom and assessment design.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Crosslisted with: MATH 201 Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory only
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
Provides an understanding of relevant physical principles for biological systems, introduce them to experimental and theoretical techniques of biophysics and to communicate the excitement of cutting-edge biophysics research. Topics include diffusion, fluids, entropic force, motor proteins, enzymes, nerve impulses, networks and evolution.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Conjoined with: BIO 104, PHYS 104 Discussion included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
Topics in classical mechanics, including Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formulations, Conservation Laws and Symmetry and the relationship, Calculus of variations and variational principle, Euler angles and rigid body dynamics, Oscillations and normal modes.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Discussion included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
Introduction to the physics of soft materials designed for graduate students in physics. Uses a physics based approach to study the structure and assembly of a variety of materials including liquid crystals, polymers, colloidal systems and surfactants including biological examples.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Conjoined with: PHYS 109 Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
Introduction to electrodynamics. Electrostatics including Poisson and Laplace Equations, Green’s Theorem and different Boundary Value Problems, Polarizibility, Susceptibility and dielectric media. Magnetostatics, Maxwell’s equations, Plane Electromagnetic Waves, Polarization of light, Electromagnetic radiation in different media.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Discussion included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
Continuation of electrodynamics. Wave guides and resonant cavities, Multipole radiation, Relativistic charged particles in electromagnetic fields, Collisions between charged particles and radiation from moving charges with relativistic corrections, introductory magnetohydrodynamics.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Discussion included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: PHYS 210 Instructor Permission Required: No
Topics include: General principles of statistical mechanics including microcanonical, macrocanonical and grand canonical ensembles, fluctuations and equilibrium. Thermodynamics including Legendre transforms and Maxwell relations, fluctuations and stability and Landau theory. Quantum statistical mechanics including Bose-Einstein and Fermi-Dirac statistics.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Discussion included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
PHYS 230: Computation and Modeling for Interdisciplinary Biophysical Sciences, Biomaterials and Biotechnology
Units: 3
Covers cutting-edge applications of computation and modeling tools to problems in biophysical sciences, biomaterials and biotechnology. Team of students will undertake open research projects utilizing tools and languages such as R, Python and C/C++ to address questions ranging from epidemic spreading to protein design.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Crosslisted with: BEST 230 Discussion included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No Completion of the NSF-CREST CCBM IB3 Summer Training Module in Computation and Modeling is strongly recommended.
PHYS 231: Imaging and Spectroscopy for Interdisciplinary Biophysical Sciences, Biomaterials and Biotechnology
Units: 3
Covers cutting-edge applications of imaging and spectroscopy tools to problems in biophysical sciences, biomaterials and biotechnology. Teams of students will undertake open research projects utilizing tools such as protein expression and purification, single molecule, nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectroscopy to understand the structure and dynamics of biomolecules.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Crosslisted with: BEST 231, BIOE 231 Discussion included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No Completion of the NSF-CREST CCBM IB3 Summer Training Module in Computation and Modeling is strongly recommended.
PHYS 232: Bio and Nano Fabrication for Interdisciplinary Biophysical Sciences, Biomaterials and Biotechnology
Units: 3
Covers cutting-edge applications of fabrication tools to problems in biophysical sciences, biomaterials and biotechnology. Teams of students will undertake open research projects utilizing tools such as lithography, electrospinning, cell culture and confocal microscopy to explore cellular and multicellular systems.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Crosslisted with: BEST 232, BIOE 232 Discussion included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No Completion of the NSF-CREST CCBM IB3 Summer Training Module in Nano Biofabrication is strongly recommended.
Introductory Quantum Mechanics starting with simple Quantum two-state systems and one-dimensional problems, Uncertainty relations, Solution of Schrodinger’s equation for important two and three dimensional physical situations, Angular momentum, identical particles and spin statistics. Hydrogen and multi-electron atoms.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Discussion included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
Perturbation methods, both stationary and time-dependent, Scattering, interaction with electromagnetic fields, Stark effect, Measurement theory and decoherence, Quantum Hall effect.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Discussion included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: PHYS 237 Instructor Permission Required: No
This course is an introduction to the physics of materials designed for graduate students in physics or chemistry. The course will cover traditional solid-state physics and examine the relationship between microscopic structure and bulk properties in different materials.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Conjoined with: PHYS 141 Discussion included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No Students should have taken classes in electrodynamics, thermal physics and introductory quantum mechanics. Intended for students who have not taken a course in solid-state physics.
Topics include elementary excitations and quasiparticles, bandstructure of electrons and photons, optical and dielectric properties, symmetry and group theory for solids, simulation techniques for electronic structure, and electrical and thermal transport.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Discussion included Normal Letter Grade with Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory option
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: PHYS 241 with B or better Instructor Permission Required: No Students should have taken classes in electrodynamics, thermal physics, quantum mechanics, and introductory solid-state physics.
Focuses on teaching first-year graduate students from a variety of graduate programs skills in computational methods, programming languages, team science, project development, problem solving, social networking, and career preparation.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Crosslisted with: CHEM 243, COGS 243, EECS 243, MATH 243, ME 243, PSY 243, QSB 243 Laboratory included Normal Letter Grade with Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory option
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: Yes
PHYS 244: Modern Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics
Units: 4
Covers modern topics in the atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) physics. The interaction of atoms with radiation, laser cooling and trapping, Bose-Einstein condensation, atom interferometry, and ion trap quantum computing. Quantitative understanding of the physics effects is required for graduate students.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Conjoined with: PHYS 144 Discussion included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
Covers the quantum nature of light, atom-light interaction and experimental quantum optics. It will provide a basis for research in the field of quantum optics. Fundamental concepts and techniques will be linked to modern experimental research.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
An introduction to quantum field theory with a special emphasis on quantum electrodynamics (QED). Topics include canonical quantization of scalar fields, electromagnetic fields, perturbation theory and renormalization methods among others.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Discussion included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: PHYS 238 Instructor Permission Required: No
A survey of research in the physics graduate group, designed for first-year graduate students to broaden perspectives on physics research and help in choosing an advisor. Faculty will present seminars on basic ideas and challenges in their subfield, research in their group, and opportunities for new students.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory only
Requisites and Restrictions Open only to following major/minor(s):
Designed to increase the writing proficiency of graduate students, with a focus on strategies for reading critically, organizing and developing thoughts, choosing appropriate vocabulary, and generating and revising writing in a given scientific field. Topics address scientific disciplines. Projects may include writing abstracts, research reports, literature reviews, posters, and grant proposals.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Crosslisted with: CHEM 270, MATH 270, QSB 270 Normal Letter Grade with Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory option
Requisites and Restrictions Open only to following major/minor(s):
Most processes encountered in nature are inherently nonlinear. This course introduces the main topics of low-dimensional nonlinear systems, with applications to a wide variety of disciplines, including physics, engineering, mathematics, chemistry, and biology. Specific topics include maps and flows in one and two dimensions, phase portraits, bifurcations, chaos, and fractals.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Conjoined with: PHYS 180 Discussion included Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: (PHYS 008 or PHYS 008H) and MATH 023 and MATH 024 Instructor Permission Required: No
PHYS 285: Seminar: Nanomaterials for Space Exploration
Units: 1
Designed for students in materials engineering, physics, and chemistry. Intended to expose students to various nanomaterial-based devices, foster students’ critical thinking in postulating feasible approaches, and develop students’ communication and presentation skills.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Crosslisted with: BEST 285, CHEM 285, ME 285 Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
Exploration of current research directions, problems, and techniques in molecular and materials chemistry, physics and engineering. Course format emphasizes student-led presentation, analysis, and discussion of reading assignments from the current and recent scientific literature. Topics determined by the instructor and changes each semester.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: Yes Repeat Limit: Unlimited
Normal Letter Grade with Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory option
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
This is a colloquium series with talks on a wide range of research topics in Physics. Speakers for the colloquia are primarily invited researchers from other Institutions. Some of the seminars additionally showcase the research performed by UC Merced Physics faculty, post doctoral researchers and graduate students. This is a forum to introduce the undergraduate and graduate students to cutting edge research in Physics conducted on-site and elsewhere, and to give them an opportunity to meet researchers and faculty from other Universities/Research Institutions.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: Yes Repeat Limit: 6
Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory only
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
PHYS 399 is the counterpart to PHYS 201, which focuses on the theory of teaching and learning. The goals of PHYS 399 are to implement and practice select elements of the Scientific Teaching approach to instruction and to identify teaching challenges and use the foundation from PHYS 201 to seek solutions.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Laboratory included Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory only
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
A general introduction to political institutions and political behavior in the United States. Specific topics include the U.S. Constitution, Congress, the presidency, the federal judiciary, political parties, interest groups, mass public opinion, elections, and voting behavior.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Discussion included Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
GE Requirements
Approaches to Knowledge: Social Science
Badge: Scientific Method
Badge: Diversity and Identity
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
Examination of select problems in contemporary American politics. Possible subjects include campaign finance, culture wars and party polarization, barriers to third party success, and media coverage of politics.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Discussion included Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
GE Requirements
Approaches to Knowledge: Social Science
Badge: Scientific Method
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
Introduction to the cross-national study of political institutions and behavior. Formal and informal aspects of politics in selected countries are covered, as are comparative research methods.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Discussion included Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
GE Requirements
Approaches to Knowledge: Social Science
Badge: Societies and Cultures of the Past
Badge: Global Awareness
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
Examination of select problems in international relations and foreign policy. Possible topics include terrorism, proliferation of nuclear weapons, and conflict in the Middle East.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Discussion included Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
GE Requirements
Approaches to Knowledge: Social Science
Badge: Scientific Method
Badge: Societies and Cultures of the Past
Badge: Global Awareness
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
Overview of the application of social scientific methods to the study of politics. Covers
research design, hypothesis testing, measurement, and a variety of methodological approaches (e.g. experiments, descriptive and inferential statistics, qualitative analysis) to answering political questions.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Discussion included Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
GE Requirements
Lower Division: Quantitative Reasoning
Approaches to Knowledge: Social Science
Badge: Scientific Method
Badge: Quantitative and Numerical Analysis
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
Provides oversight and structure for a student’s internship in a field of political science in community organizations, professional research projects, etc. connected to the study of political science. Requires students to write an original research paper or relevant product that demonstrates how the internship advanced their knowledge of political science.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: Yes Repeat Limit: 2
Pass/No Pass only
GE Requirements
Badge: Practical and Applied Knowledge
Badge: Leadership, Community, and Engaging the World
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: Yes
Elections and representation, legislative organization and process, legislative parties and leadership, lobbying, legislative outcomes, and the determinants of these outcomes in the U.S. Congress.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
GE Requirements
Upper Division: Writing in the Discipline
Approaches to Knowledge: Social Science
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: (POLI 001 or equivalent exam) and (POLI 010 or ECON 010 or PSY 010 or SOC 010 or equivalent exam) Instructor Permission Required: No
Powers, constraints, and behavior of the U.S. president and executive branch. Includes specific topics such as legislative-executive interactions, presidential control of the bureaucracy, nomination campaigns and general elections, and public opinion and the presidency.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
GE Requirements
Upper Division: Writing in the Discipline
Approaches to Knowledge: Social Science
Requisites and Restrictions Open only to the following class level(s):
Structure, function, and politics of the U.S. court system, with a particular focus on the selection of judges, judicial decision making, external political influences on the judiciary, and the impact of court decisions.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
GE Requirements
Approaches to Knowledge: Social Science
Badge: Scientific Method
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: (POLI 001 or equivalent exam) and (POLI 010 or ECON 010 or PSY 010 or SOC 010 or equivalent exam) Instructor Permission Required: No
Formation, strategies, and effectiveness of interest groups and political parties in the U.S.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
GE Requirements
Approaches to Knowledge: Social Science
Badge: Scientific Method
Badge: Quantitative and Numerical Analysis
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: (POLI 001 or equivalent exam) and (POLI 010 or ECON 010 or PSY 010 or SOC 010 or equivalent exam) Instructor Permission Required: No
Examines urban political development and policy processes in the United States. It will trace the historical development of local government, analyze urban coalitions and the distributions of power, and tackle the relationship between politics and policy making in the areas of growth, education, cultural issues, and welfare.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade only
GE Requirements
Upper Division: Crossroads
Approaches to Knowledge: Social Science
Badge: Scientific Method
Badge: Societies and Cultures of the Past
Badge: Diversity and Identity
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: POLI 001 or SOC 001 or equivalent exam Instructor Permission Required: No
The politics of the initiative, referendum, and recall in the American states. Specific topics may include the history and origins of direct democracy, voter support for ballot measures, the role of interest groups, the effect of initiatives and referenda on candidate elections and civic engagement, and policy implications.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
GE Requirements
Approaches to Knowledge: Social Science
Badge: Scientific Method
Badge: Quantitative and Numerical Analysis
Badge: Leadership, Community, and Engaging the World
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: (POLI 001 or equivalent exam) and (POLI 010 or ECON 010 or PSY 010 or SOC 010 or equivalent exam) Instructor Permission Required: No
Introduces students to the manner in which Supreme Court decisions shape our political system by delineating the sources and limits of governmental power. The powers of the three branches of the federal government are covered, as is the relationship between the federal government and the states.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade only
GE Requirements
Approaches to Knowledge: Social Science
Badge: Literary and Textual Analysis
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
Examines the constitutional politics of landmark U.S. Supreme Court cases involving civil liberties and civil rights. Specific topics may include First Amendment freedoms, privacy, the rights of criminal suspects, and discrimination based on race, gender, and sexual orientation.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
GE Requirements
Approaches to Knowledge: Social Science
Badge: Literary and Textual Analysis
Badge: Diversity and Identity
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: POLI 001 or equivalent exam Instructor Permission Required: No
POLI 112: Public Policy: Analysis, Strategy, and Impact
Units: 4
Introduces public policy and policy analysis. The material builds practical skills for effecting change while developing a theoretical understanding of policymakers’ goals – and how these goals are pursued. Emphasizes methods and strategies applicable across policy spheres. Students will strengthen their proficiency in asking relevant questions, assessing problems from multiple perspectives, and using a variety of analytical tools (rooted in political science, economics, psychology, and more) to evaluate and solve policy problems.
Course Details Anticipated term(s) course will be offered:
Fall
Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
GE Requirements
Approaches to Knowledge: Social Science
Badge: Ethics
Badge: Leadership, Community, and Engaging the World
Badge: Practical and Applied Knowledge
Requisites and Restrictions Open only to the following class level(s):
An introduction to the field of political psychology. Political psychologists have applied insights from psychology to a host of questions relating to political behavior. Sample from across this broad range of topics in order to discover how people think and feel about politics.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade only
GE Requirements
Approaches to Knowledge: Social Science
Badge: Scientific Method
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: POLI 001 or equivalent exam Instructor Permission Required: No
An examination of the nature and origins of public opinion in the United States and the role of public opinion in the policy process.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
GE Requirements
Approaches to Knowledge: Social Science
Badge: Scientific Method
Badge: Quantitative and Numerical Analysis
Badge: Practical and Applied Knowledge
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: (POLI 001 or equivalent exam) and (POLI 010 or ECON 010 or PSY 010 or SOC 010 or equivalent exam) Instructor Permission Required: No
Contemporary and historical identity politics in the U.S., with a focus on the importance of race and gender in political representation, attitude formation, and civil rights.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
GE Requirements
Approaches to Knowledge: Social Science
Badge: Scientific Method
Badge: Quantitative and Numerical Analysis
Badge: Diversity and Identity
Requisites and Restrictions Open only to the following class level(s):
Cross-national comparison of the design, evolution, and impact of democratic political institutions, such as electoral systems, legislatures, executives, courts, and parties.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
GE Requirements
Upper Division: Writing in the Discipline
Approaches to Knowledge: Social Science
Badge: Scientific Method
Badge: Quantitative and Numerical Analysis
Badge: Societies and Cultures of the Past
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: (POLI 003 or equivalent exam) and (POLI 010 or ECON 010 or PSY 010 or SOC 010 or equivalent exam) Instructor Permission Required: No
Analysis of multiple forms of political behavior across a variety of countries. Includes public opinion, political culture, voting, and less conventional forms of participation.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
GE Requirements
Approaches to Knowledge: Social Science
Badge: Scientific Method
Badge: Quantitative and Numerical Analysis
Badge: Leadership, Community, and Engaging the World
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: (POLI 003 or equivalent exam) and (POLI 010 or ECON 010 or PSY 010 or SOC 010 or equivalent exam) Instructor Permission Required: No
Introduces students to major issues in contemporary Chinese politics. Focuses on the major challenges confronting China today, including economic reform and development, social unrest, democratization and the Tiananmen movement, village elections, ethnic conflicts, news media, Taiwan, and China’s foreign relations.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade only
GE Requirements
Approaches to Knowledge: Social Science
Badge: Societies and Cultures of the Past
Badge: Global Awareness
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
Investigates the determinants, processes, and effects of (mostly intra-national) political violence. Covers topics including the individual decision to join dissent activities, protest and rebellion, civil war, government repression, the relationship between dissent and repression, terrorism, and the effect of domestic and international institutions on discouraging or encouraging these behaviors.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade only
GE Requirements
Approaches to Knowledge: Social Science
Badge: Global Awareness
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: POLI 003 or POLI 005 Instructor Permission Required: No
Investigation of the causes of international conflict and war, the conduct of war, its ultimate termination, and the possibility of its prevention.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
GE Requirements
Approaches to Knowledge: Social Science
Badge: Scientific Method
Badge: Global Awareness
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: POLI 005 and (POLI 010 or ECON 010 or PSY 010 or SOC 010 or equivalent exam) Instructor Permission Required: No
Study of human judgment and decision making. Topics include decision making under uncertainty, financial choices, health decision making, group decisions, rational theories of choice behavior, and improving decision making. The material will be related to cognitive science, psychology, economics, and other social sciences.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Crosslisted with: COGS 170, ECON 153, MGMT 153 Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
GE Requirements
Upper Division: Crossroads
Approaches to Knowledge: Social Science
Badge: Scientific Method
Badge: Practical and Applied Knowledge
Badge: Ethics
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: COGS 001 or ECON 001 or PSY 001 or equivalent exam Instructor Permission Required: No
The connections between politics, policy, and international economics.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
GE Requirements
Approaches to Knowledge: Social Science
Badge: Scientific Method
Badge: Global Awareness
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: POLI 005 and (POLI 010 or ECON 010 or PSY 010 or SOC 010 or equivalent exam) Instructor Permission Required: No
Investigates the law, politics, and practices of international human rights. Explores the development of the modern idea of human rights, the motivations of governments to violate rights, and the institutions that enable or constrain rights violations and protections.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade only
GE Requirements
Approaches to Knowledge: Social Science
Badge: Scientific Method
Badge: Quantitative and Numerical Analysis
Badge: Diversity and Identity
Badge: Global Awareness
Badge: Practical and Applied Knowledge
Badge: Ethics
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: POLI 003 or POLI 005 or equivalent exam Instructor Permission Required: No
The formation of U.S. foreign policy, with an emphasis on the modern era and an introduction to analytical tools for understanding current foreign policy issues and debates.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
GE Requirements
Approaches to Knowledge: Social Science
Badge: Scientific Method
Badge: Societies and Cultures of the Past
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: POLI 005 and (POLI 010 or ECON 010 or PSY 010 or SOC 010 or equivalent exam) Instructor Permission Required: No
Investigates the emergence and rise of international organizations and the network of regulation and international governance that they facilitate. The course explores the institutional structures, political processes, and impact of international organizations within three issue areas: international peace and security, human rights and humanitarian affairs, and global trade and development.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade only
GE Requirements
Approaches to Knowledge: Social Science
Badge: Scientific Method
Badge: Quantitative and Numerical Analysis
Badge: Global Awareness
Badge: Practical and Applied Knowledge
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: POLI 005 Instructor Permission Required: No
The development, utility, and limitations of theoretical models of the political world. May include rational choice theory, game theory, and psychological theories of politics.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
GE Requirements
Upper Division: Crossroads
Approaches to Knowledge: Social Science
Badge: Scientific Method
Badge: Quantitative and Numerical Analysis
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: POLI 010 or ECON 010 or PSY 010 or SOC 010 or MATH 005 or equivalent exam Instructor Permission Required: No
Considers whether politics as portrayed on film differs from political reality as understood through political science, and further uses films as vehicles for better understanding an array of topics from political science, including legislative behavior, elections, presidential politics, local politics, war, and international relations.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade only
GE Requirements
Upper Division: Writing in the Discipline
Approaches to Knowledge: Social Science
Requisites and Restrictions Open only to the following class level(s):
Teaches students the basics of game-theoretic modeling, and how those models have been used to explain human behavior across a number of social and political settings.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
GE Requirements
Approaches to Knowledge: Social Science
Badge: Scientific Method
Badge: Quantitative and Numerical Analysis
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
The advanced application of social scientific methods to the study of politics. Covers quantitative testing of hypotheses about political phenomena, with a particular focus on the use of regression analysis.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: No Laboratory included Normal Letter Grade with Pass/No Pass option
GE Requirements
Upper Division: Writing in the Discipline
Approaches to Knowledge: Social Science
Badge: Scientific Method
Badge: Quantitative and Numerical Analysis
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: POLI 010 or ECON 010 or PSY 010 or SOC 010 or equivalent exam Instructor Permission Required: No
An in-depth, research-intensive, seminar-style treatment of a specific problem, topic, or puzzle in the field of political science. Recommended for students considering graduate school in political science.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: Yes Repeat Limit: 4
Normal Letter Grade only
GE Requirements
Upper Division: Crossroads
Badge: Scientific Method
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: POLI 010 or equivalent exam Instructor Permission Required: No
Provides oversight and structure for a student’s internship in a field of political science in community organizations, professional research projects, etc. connected to the study of political science. Requires students to write an original research paper or relevant product that demonstrates how the internship advanced their knowledge of political science.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: Yes Repeat Limit: 2
Pass/No Pass only
GE Requirements
Badge: Practical and Applied Knowledge
Badge: Leadership, Community, and Engaging the World
Requisites and Restrictions Open only to the following class level(s):
An introduction to designing political science research. The course will emphasize scientific method and causal inference, with special emphasis on designing strong tests, including introductory experimental and quasi-experimental design, as well as the use of natural experiments and observational data.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: Yes Repeat Limit: 2
Normal Letter Grade with Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory option
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
POLI 210: Quantitative Analysis of Political Data, I
Units: 4
An introduction to the theory and practice of quantitative data analysis. As the first statistics course in the department’s research methods sequence, it is intended to prepare students for future work in methodology. Aside from formal treatment of the material, students will receive a basic introduction to the use of Stata statistical analysis software. As time permits, we will also discuss substantive examples of the quantitative techniques introduced in class.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: Yes Repeat Limit: 2
Normal Letter Grade with Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory option
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
POLI 213: Experimental Methods in Political Science
Units: 4
Intended to provide students with an understanding of experimental methods in political science. The first portion of the semester will emphasize concepts and tools from the experimentalist’s toolbox with a strong focus on causal inference, external and internal validity, and choosing subjects and subject’s motivations. Later weeks will focus on issues and challenges to specific types of political science experiments including survey experiments, laboratory experiments, physiological experiments, and field experiments.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: Yes Repeat Limit: 2
Normal Letter Grade with Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory option
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
An introductory course on game theory and its applications in social and political science. Students will learn basic concepts and tools of non-cooperative game theory, covering both complete and incomplete information games in static and dynamic settings, and see how they can be used in studying political/social phenomena.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: Yes Repeat Limit: 2
Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
An introduction to the formal analytic tools that are now used extensively to model political phenomena. It will provide students with interests in formal theory a foundation to construct serious formal models of politics in their areas of interests.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: Yes Repeat Limit: 2
Normal Letter Grade only
Requisites and Restrictions Prerequisite: POLI 215 Instructor Permission Required: No
Intended to provide students with a broad understanding of American political institutions (the constitution, Congress, presidency, bureaucracy, judiciary, electoral systems, and subnational governments). The first portion of the semester will emphasize concepts and tools while later weeks will examine institutions in more depth, emphasizing classic writings and contemporary research controversies.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: Yes Repeat Limit: 2
Normal Letter Grade with Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory option
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
Provides an overview of the theoretical and empirical literature on legislative politics. The main focus of the course will be the U.S. Congress, but much of what we cover will have direct relevance for the study of legislatures more generally (both cross-nationally and the American state legislatures).
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: Yes Repeat Limit: 2
Normal Letter Grade with Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory option
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
An examination of executive politics, with special attention to the U.S. presidency and the politics of the bureaucracy. The course considers the theoretical and empirical literature on the processes of presidential selection (nomination and election), the ways in which presidents differ in their leadership styles, skills, executive management, and their roles as decision makers are also analyzed for their consequences.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: Yes Repeat Limit: 2
Normal Letter Grade with Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory option
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
An introduction to politics in American cities and metropolitan areas. We examine the historical development of local government institutions, analyze urban coalitions, investigate distributions of power, investigate the process and consequences of suburbanization, and examine local development and poverty policy.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: Yes Repeat Limit: 2
Normal Letter Grade with Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory option
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
Provides a general overview of political parties and party systems. We investigate the goals of parties, organizational structures, and the sources of parties (including societal divisions, coordination needs, and institutional structures). We explore party competition and interaction, study the causes of party system change, and the effects of parties in electoral and policy making arenas.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: Yes Repeat Limit: 2
Normal Letter Grade with Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory option
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
An examination of the role of the mass media in politics. We analyze the function of media in different political settings, study the development and transformation of the media, explore sources of bias, evaluate theories of news development and analyze the effect of the media in campaigns, elections, and governance.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: Yes Repeat Limit: 2
Normal Letter Grade with Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory option
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
POLI 230: Institutions and Institutional Change in Comparative Perspectives
Units: 4
An exploration of the political economy of institutions and institutional change in comparative perspectives. It will analyze the causes of institutional emergence/change and the effects of institutions.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: Yes Repeat Limit: 2
Normal Letter Grade with Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory option
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No
An introduction to political economy, a field of inquiry that seeks to explain political and economic behavior by characterizing the incentives of actors and the context in which these actors make decisions and influence outcomes.
Course Details Repeatable for Credit: Yes Repeat Limit: 2
Normal Letter Grade with Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory option
Requisites and Restrictions Instructor Permission Required: No