POLS - Political Science

Although there is not a graduate program in political science, the following courses are available for graduate credit.

Courses numbered 500 to 799 = undergraduate/graduate. (Individual courses may be limited to undergraduate students only.) Courses numbered 800 to 999 = graduate.

POLS 500.  Constitutional Criminal Justice in the 21st Century   (3).

Cross-listed as CJ 500, HIST 599AK. Unlike CJ 320 Criminal Procedure that provides only an overview of constitutional principles while concentrating on general criminal law procedures, this course more deeply examines the 1st, 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th and 14th amendments to the United States Constitution and how their requirements affect practitioners and citizens alike. The course uses seminal Supreme Court cases to provide deep understanding of constitutional law and why society requires our criminal justice system to seek justice, to reflect reasonableness, and to respect the concepts of liberty and individual rights, while at the same time recognizing societal authority and its dual needs of security and redress for crime victims. The course recognizes the importance of the Rule of Law in a representative democracy.

POLS 570.  International Political Economy   (3).

Cross-listed as ECON 570. Examines policy decisions regarding exchanges of trade, money and labor that span national boundaries. Studies the interaction of politics and economics at the international level, as well as the modern history of the global economy. Economics often studies the material benefits and costs of different policies. Political science asks why these policies exist in the first place with a focus on who gets the benefits, who pays the costs, and how decisions about allocating benefits and costs are made. Course includes diversity content.

POLS 600.  Senior Thesis   (3).

Capstone course for political science majors designed to pull together many of the themes and concepts covered in introductory and upper-division courses. The main component is writing a senior thesis in which students conduct in-depth research about a topic of their interest. The topic should be related to one of the main areas of political science: American politics, international relations or comparative politics. In exceptional cases, students may write a paper related to political theory. Course professor provides guidelines and a schedule of activities, supervises and grades the overall research process; however each student works closely with a faculty member in order to develop his or her research projects. For undergraduate students only.

POLS 710.  Public Sector Organizational Theory and Behavior   (3).

Cross-listed as PADM 710. Reviews the scope of the field of public administration including a survey of key concepts and schools of thought underlying the field. Identifies issues shaping the future development of the field.

POLS 725.  Public Management of Human Resources   (3).

Cross-listed as PADM 725. Surveys the major areas of management of human resources in the public sector. Includes hiring, training, evaluation and pay promotion policies. Emphasizes the laws governing public personnel management and the unique merit, equal employment opportunity, productivity, unionization and collective bargaining problems found in the public sector.

POLS 865.  Public and Nonprofit Financial Management   (3).

Cross-listed as PADM 865. Introduction to state local government financial administration. Topics include: government accounting systems, budgeting, government financial statement and financial condition analysis, internal financial control systems, debt management and policy, and government cash management and pension investment management systems. Prerequisite(s): PADM 765 or instructor's consent.