Department of Political Science University of Missouri-Columbia College of Arts and Science

Undergraduate Program - Courses

The Department of Political Science offers a wide range of courses and various means of attaining specialization in the field. Political Science courses are divided into five areas of concentration:

  • Comparative government
  • American Politics
  • International Affairs
  • Public Administration/Policy
  • Political Theory/Methodology.

Students have an option to pursue the Liberal Arts program, which is a broader and more flexible exploration of the field of political science. But the student also has an option to pursue more specialized fields, focusing on courses that would lead to specific jobs such as Public Information and Reporting or Government service.

Although these areas of concentration exist, students are urged to develop a broad understanding of the field by taking courses from several areas.

Note that courses are subject to change without notice. Please see the Campus Class Offerings (formerly Schedule of Courses) for current offerings and then check with our resident advisor, Donna Hanly (HanlyD@missouri.edu or 573-882-2580) or contact the main office at 573-882-2843 for changes.

Introductory classes

1100 American Government
1100H American Government, Honors

Methodology

2000 Quantitative Applications in Political Science
3000 Introduction to Political Research
4000 Introductory Statistics for Political Science
4010 Computing Methods
4020 Survey Research Methods
4030 Formal Political Analysis

American Politics/Judicial Politics and Law/Public Policy

2100 State Government
4100 Political Parties and Election Campaigns
4110 Political Behavior
4120 Media and Politics
4130 African American Politics
4140 Congress and Legislative Policy
4150 The American Presidency
4160 Interest Groups
4170 Politics of the American South

2200 The Judicial Process
4200 The American Constitution
4210 The Constitution and Civil Rights
4220 The Supreme Court
4230 Constitution and Civil Liberties

4310 Comparative State Politics
4320 Public Policy
4330 Public Policy Analysis
4350 Issues in Public Policy
4370 Issues in Public Bureaucracy
4995 Senior Capstone

International Relations

1400 International Relations
1400H International Relations
4400 Theories of International Relations
4410 Politics and War
4420 Politics of International Economic Relations
4440 International Organization
4500 The European Union in the Global System
4540 American Foreign Policies

Comparative Government

2600 Canadian Politics and Government (pending)
2700 Comparative Political Systems
2700H Comparative Political Systems
2710 Politics and the Military
4600 Latin American Politics
4610 European Political Systems
4620 Politics of India and South Asia
4640 African Politics
4660 Canada in North America
4710 Terrorism: Religious, Ethnic and Ideological Politics
4720 Third World Politics
4740 Comparative Political Culture
4995 Comparative Political leadership
4995 Senior Capstone
4995 Senior Capstone

Political Theory

2800 Introduction to Political Thought
2860 American Political Thought
4800 Classical Political Thought
4810 Modern Political Thought
4820 Contemporary Political Thought
4860 Liberal Thought and Ownership of Self
4870 Environmental Political Theory
4880 Feminist Political Thought
4890 Contemporary Political Analysis
4995 Senior Capstone

Special Topics

1002 Topics in Political Science
2002 Topics in Political Science
4002 Topics in Political Science
4940 Political Science Internship
4985 Special Problems in Political Science
4986 Special Readings in Political Science
4995 Senior Capstone
4996 Honors Thesis-Capstone