Political Science Program

Director of undergraduate studies: David Cameron, 124 Prospect St., 432-5236, david.r.cameron@yale.edu [F]; William Foltz, 124 Prospect St., 432-5236, william.foltz@yale.edu [Sp]

FACULTY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

PROFESSORS

Bruce Ackerman, Akhil Amar, Seyla Benhabib, Paul Bracken, David Cameron, William Foltz, John Gaddis, Alan Gerber, Donald Green, Jolyon Howorth (Visiting), Stathis Kalyvas, Ilona Kickbusch, Nicola Lacey (Visiting), Theodore Marmor, David Mayhew, Alex Mintz(Visiting), Barry Nalebuff, Douglas Rae, John Roemer, Amelie Rorty (Visiting), Susan Rose-Ackerman, Frances Rosenbluth, Bruce Russett, James Scott, Ian Shapiro (Chair), Stephen Skowronek, David Smith (Visiting), Steven Smith, David Soskice (Visiting), Peter Swenson, Ivan Szelenyi, Gustavo Vega-Cánovas (Visiting), John Wargo

ASSOCIATE PROFESSORS

José Cheibub, Michael Kochin (Visiting)

ASSISTANT PROFESSORS

Khalilah Brown-Dean, Keith Darden, Anna Grzymala-Busse, Jacob Hacker, Ange-Marie Hancock, Gregory Huber, Anastassios Kalandrakis, Pierre Landry, John Lapinski, Pauline Jones Luong, Ellen Lust-Okar, Jennifer Pitts, Rose Razaghian, Nicholas Sambanis, Kenneth Scheve, James Vreeland

SENIOR LECTURER

Robert Wokler

LECTURERS

Yevgenia Albats, Harry Blair, Carolina Emcke, Cynthia Farrar, Stanley Flink, Arthur Galston, Stuart Gottlieb, David Greenberg, Casiano Hacker-Cordón, Cynthia Horan, Matthew Kocher, Richard Marcus, Jamie Morin, Peter Quimby, David Simon, James Sleeper, Jason Sorens, James Sutterlin, Sylvia Tesh

Students majoring in Political Science are expected to choose a member of the Political Science department as an adviser. Students are also encouraged to seek advice from other members of the department working in their particular field of interest. Students choosing a standard major in Political Science must secure written approval of course selections from the adviser or another member of the department faculty. All subsequent changes in a student's major program must also be approved. Seniors' schedules must be approved by the director of undergraduate studies.

Students are urged to take the initiative in shaping a coherent program suited to their interests. If they intend to write a senior essay requiring substantial empirical analysis, students should plan to acquire the appropriate level of training in statistics. Students should consult with their advisers frequently. The director of undergraduate studies and other members of the department can give advice about special programs or problems. Opportunities for a joint major, study abroad, and work-and-study arrangements are normally discussed with the director of undergraduate studies.

The standard major. Eleven term courses of political science are required, including introductory courses. Only two introductory courses count toward the major. (One term only of DRST 003 may count as a Political Science course.) Two courses each in three of the five fields of political science - international relations, American government, political philosophy, analytical political theory, and comparative government - are required. Introductory courses and seminars may count in the three fields of political science. Students expecting to major in Political Science should take several introductory-level courses in the department early in their college careers. This allows a student to make an informed choice of a field for specialization.

Though students are urged to take related offerings in other departments, such courses may not substitute for any departmental offerings. College seminars may count toward the major only when taught by a member of the Political Science department.

Senior requirement. Students majoring in Political Science are required to take at least two seminars taught by members of the Political Science department. One seminar must be taken in the senior year. Admission to seminars is at the instructor's discretion. Students must complete a substantial paper, as described in "Senior essays" below, in at least one class taken during the senior year, either a seminar or a course specifically designated for that purpose. Senior essays written in the fall term are due December 5, 2003. Senior essays written in the spring term are due April 23, 2004. Two copies should be submitted to the office of the director of undergraduate studies and one to the essay adviser. In order to graduate from Yale College, a student majoring in Political Science must achieve a passing grade on the senior essay by the end of the senior year.

Senior essays. A senior essay provides an appropriate intellectual culmination to the student's work in the major and in Yale College. It should ordinarily be written on a topic in an area in which the student has previously done course work. It should rest on more extensive work than is typical for a seminar paper. The research should be appropriate to the subject matter, and should involve field research, statistical analysis, analytical reading of pertinent primary texts and secondary sources, and/or archival research, as the subject warrants. The length is usually about twenty-five double-spaced pages. Students intending to write their senior essay in a seminar are responsible for notifying the seminar instructor at the beginning of the term so that a plan for the necessary additional work can be arranged. In researching and writing the essay the student should consult regularly with the seminar instructor or adviser.

The yearlong senior essay. Students who wish to attempt a more ambitious senior essay than usually feasible in a single term may fulfill the senior requirement by enrolling in the two-term course sequence PLSC 490a, Senior Colloquium, and 491b, Senior Essay. In PLSC 490a students develop a research prospectus for the senior essay and begin their research. In PLSC 491b students write the essay under the supervision of a member of the faculty who specializes in the area being investigated by the student. Yearlong senior essays are expected to be substantially longer than a regular term paper. While there is no fixed length, yearlong essays are normally expected to be fifty to sixty pages in length.

Students enrolling in the senior colloquium are required to take one other seminar taught by members of the Political Science department, rather than the usual two. For purposes of the department's distributional requirements, the senior colloquium may count toward any field. The yearlong senior essay may be combined with the standard major or the major with an interdisciplinary concentration.

Admission to the yearlong senior essay. Juniors who wish to enroll in the yearlong senior essay apply for admission in the spring of their junior year. The deadline for the Class of 2005 is April 2, 2004. Students should submit to the office of the director of undergraduate studies: (1) a two-page statement of project, signed by a faculty adviser who has agreed to supervise the student's essay, and (2) an up-to-date transcript. Normally a successful candidate will have at least an A- average in political science courses and a B+ average outside the major. It is expected that no more than fifteen students will be admitted.

The major with an interdisciplinary concentration. An interdisciplinary concentration allows a student majoring in Political Science to pursue a concentration in political philosophy, American government, comparative politics, or international relations while also taking up to three related courses in other departments. Students choosing such a concentration are required to take twelve term courses toward the major, at least seven of which must be in the field of concentration. As many as three courses in the concentration may be taken in other departments. The courses selected from other departments must be approved by the director of undergraduate studies. College seminars may not be included among the nondepartmental courses. In addition to taking seven courses in their field of concentration, interdisciplinary concentration majors must take two courses in each of two other fields in the department. The senior requirement is the same as for the standard major, with the proviso that the essay must be written on a subject that falls within the field of concentration.

The intensive major. The intensive major gives students an opportunity to undertake a program of original research designed to investigate in depth some aspect of politics, political philosophy, or international affairs. In order to carry out this research the student takes independent research courses in each of the last three terms.

Eleven term courses are required for the intensive major, including introductory courses and the research courses PLSC 474b and 493. The distribution requirement is the same as for the standard major. Intensive majors must take at least one Political Science seminar in the senior year.

Senior requirement for the intensive major. The senior requirement for intensive majors is a senior essay. In the junior year, students admitted to the intensive major should make appropriate arrangements for preparing the senior essay. These might include registration in specific courses, study abroad, or special training in research methodology. Students must also take PLSC 474b, Directed Reading and Research for Junior Intensive Majors, with a member of the faculty knowledgeable in the area of the intended senior essay. Students wishing to continue in the intensive major must submit a satisfactory prospectus of their research project during the spring term of the junior year to their prospective senior essay adviser and the director of undergraduate studies. In the senior year, intensive majors take PLSC 493, a two-term senior essay, with their faculty essay adviser.

Students admitted to the intensive major may combine it with an interdisciplinary concentration major. This combination requires twelve term courses. Three terms of research courses (PLSC 474b, 493) substitute for three substantive courses. The intensive interdisciplinary concentration major must satisfy the distributional requirements expected of interdisciplinary concentration majors.

Admission to the intensive major. Students wishing to pursue an intensive major must apply to the director of undergraduate studies by the end of the first term of their junior year. Admission is based on performance and promise. The director of undergraduate studies and the prospective senior essay adviser serve as advisers to candidates for the intensive major in the junior year.

REQUIREMENTS OF THE MAJOR

Prerequisites: None

Number of courses: Standard major - eleven term courses; Interdisciplinary concentration - twelve term courses

Specific courses required: None

Distribution of courses: Standard major - no more than two courses at intro level; two courses in each of three fields; Interdisciplinary concentration - two courses in each of two fields in addition to seven in field of concentration

Substitution permitted: Standard major - relevant college seminars taught by PolSci faculty; Interdisciplinary concentration - up to three courses in other depts

Intensive major: Eleven term courses; two courses in each of three fields; PLSC 474b; PLSC 493; Intensive major with interdisciplinary concentration - twelve term courses, up to three of which may be taken in other depts; PLSC 474b; PLSC 493

Senior requirement: Standard major - two sems, one in senior year, and senior essay; Interdisciplinary concentration - two sems, one in senior year, and senior essay in field of concentration; Intensive major - two sems, one in senior year, and senior essay

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