• POLS 111 Introduction to U.S. Politics
• POLS 222 Analysis of U.S. Policy and Elections or POLS 224, Courts, Law and Policy

And any three of the following courses:

• POLS 330 Environmental Politics and Policy
• POLS 331 U.S. Political Parties & Elections
• POLS 332 U.S. Congress
• POLS 333 US Presidency
• POLS 334 U.S. Bureaucracy and Regulatory Law
• POLS 336 State and Local Government
• POLS 337 Theory of Public Policy
• POLS 339 Gender and Politics
• POLS 350 Topics in Public Policy
• POLS 351 U.S. Foreign Policy

Other upper division POLS courses will be counted with the agreement of the department chair.

POLS 111 INTRO TO US POLITICS

Introduction to the study, analysis and evaluation of U.S. political institutions, processes and policies. Subjects of the course include the structure of the federal government, constitutional rights and liberties, the functions of political parties, interest groups, communication media, and the process of democratic decision-making.

POLS 222 ANALYSIS: U.S. POLICY/ELECTION

Investigation of scholarly work and methods in all areas of political science. Students form hypotheses in response to political questions, use a variety of methods and tools to gather evidence, and identify criteria for evaluating the quality of evidence.

POLS 330 ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS/POLICY

This is a course about the politics and policies surrounding environmental issues at all levels of government. Many issues are both local and global. Transportation, electricity, and food are locally experienced but have global as well as local environmental ramifications. Environmental politics and policy are necessarily multi-disciplinary topics so we will draw upon a range of disciplines including economics, history, ecology, and ethics in addition to political science, public policy, and public administration. In covering environmental politics, we focus mostly on the major, albeit shifting, themes of "environmentalism" from white-collar lobbying, legislating and litigating to the direct action protests and the politics of corporate sustainability. The policy focus emphasizes content related to major federal laws governing public lands and other environmental issues, and the federal agencies that oversee environmental policy. The second half of the course concentrates on specific local, national and international issues such as the management of national forests, food politics, and local land use planning. We will study each issue by discussing the players and major debates circulating around the respective ecological issues.

POLS 331 US POL PARTIES/ELECTIONS

Analysis of the party system of U.S. elections. Students evaluate how populations are connected to governance through electoral and other processes; specifically, major parties, minor parties, interest groups, media, movements, and campaign organizations. Students investigate and compare the value of a 'two-party' system to one-party and multi-party systems as organizers of government power. Alternate years.

POLS 332 U.S. CONGRESS

Study of the legislative branch with emphasis on the concept of representation, internal organization, committees, party leaders and constituency influences on the Congressional process.

POLS 333 U.S. PRESIDENCY

Analysis of the president, organizational aspects of the executive office and relationship with Congress, the bureaucracy, the media and public opinion.

POLS 334 U.S. BUREAUCRACY/REG LAW

Analysis of public policy organizations. Students examine values and processes that influence the regulations generated by the public sector at the national level, as well as the merit system of public service, and the web of connections among public bureaucracies at the state and national levels and institutions in other sectors.

POLS 336 STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Inclusive and comparative examination of governments and politics at the subnational level. In the federal structure of the United States, states and tribal nations share sovereignty with the national government. The course examines subnational policies, processes, and political structures and their potential for success in addressing issues such education, public assistance, pollution, health care, transportation, etc.

POLS 337 PUBLIC POLICY

Examination of the normative nature of public policy making. The principles of public policy analysis are examined. Course focuses on the place of equality, efficiency, justice, authority, community, and other principles in the practice and evaluation of policy. Policy examples are taken from education, health care, poverty, housing, crime, employment and other areas.

POLS 339 GENDER & POLITICS

Analysis of public policy expectations, processes and decisions as they influence and are influenced by men and women differently. Students investigate criteria for gender-neutral policies, and evaluate the value and likelihood of such policy approaches.

POLS 350 TOPICS IN PUBLIC POLICY

In different semesters this course will address various aspects of public policy. Topics that may be covered include the relationship between political philosophy and public policy, issues of race and inequality, health care and education.

POLS 351 U.S. FOREIGN POLICY

Examination of United States foreign policy. The course focuses on key players as well as institutions and unofficial individuals or groups involved in the making of U.S. foreign policy. Case studies will be used to bring a ‘real-life’ element to the class.