Princeton School of Public and International Affairs Jump To: Jump To: Program Offerings A.B. Offering type A.B. The Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) offers a multidisciplinary liberal arts major for students who are interested in public service and becoming leaders in the world of public and international affairs. Through immersive experiential learning courses and a solid disciplinary and thematic foundation, students acquire the tools, understanding and habits of mind to address current public policy issues.Please note: These requirements apply only to SPIA majors in the Classes of 2026 and beyond. Students in the Class of 2025 should consult the appropriate archived Undergraduate Announcement for detailed information about departmental requirements. Goals for Student Learning Curricular Learning GoalsPrerequisites are meant to provide basic social science literacy and a foundation for studying and analyzing public policy, and domestic and international affairs. Prior to major declaration, students must complete four prerequisites. Core courses introduce the practical art of policymaking and further emphasize analytical tools and theory that students will need to understand, evaluate, engage with, craft and/or implement public policy and international affairs. The core prepares students for junior and senior independent work through thematic or disciplinary depth. Electives are designed to encourage disciplinary breadth required in public and international affairs; intellectual depth, by discipline or policy area; and a regional focus that recognizes relationships, institutions and effects that cut across national borders.Independent Work Learning GoalsJunior Independent Work in the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs is designed to teach students:To think analytically about a public policy problem.To critically review evidence about a public policy problem and its potential solutions.To present evidence in a clear, logical and well-organized manner.To evaluate solutions that have been tried or proposed, and potentially develop new solutions to deal with a public policy problem.To clearly and concisely summarize the evidence and the alternatives, and to make recommendations to stakeholders on how best to address a public policy problem. Senior Independent Work in the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs allows seniors to draw on their core and elective work to produce clearly written, well organized, methodologically sound and substantively defensible senior theses on a current and significant public policy issue. We expect that every thesis will:Identify a knowledge gap or public policy research question and/or argument.Generate a logical and empirically testable hypothesis and/or make an argument.Identify or collect evidence that will allow you to test your hypothesis and/or support your argument.Apply appropriate research method(s) to analyze your data.Draw evidence-based conclusions from your analysis that apply to the relevant public policy debate. Prerequisites Students must complete four prerequisites from a list of preapproved courses prior to the fall term of their junior year. Students should consult the Undergraduate Program website for the most up-to-date list of approved courses.All courses taken to meet these prerequisites must be taken on a graded basis. First-year seminars (FRS) may not be used to fulfill prerequisites. Students must earn a grade of C or higher in all courses counting toward prerequisites. The following courses may be used to satisfy the prerequisites:One Course in StatisticsSPI 200 Statistics for Social ScienceECO 202 Statistics and Data Analysis for EconomicsORF 245 Fundamentals of StatisticsPOL 345 Introduction to Quantitative Social ScienceSML 201 Introduction to Data ScienceNote that students may not fulfill this prerequisite with AP credit.One Course in MicroeconomicsECO 100 Introduction to Microeconomics (or AP score of 5 in Microeconomics, IB Higher Level score of 7 in Economics or GCE A-level grade of A in Economics)One Course in Sociology or PsychologyStudents must choose from an approved list of courses. Please consult the Undergraduate Program website for the most current list of courses that meet this prerequisite.One Course in Politics or HistoryStudents must choose from an approved list of courses. Please consult the Undergraduate Program website for the most current list of courses that meet this prerequisite.All courses taken to meet prerequisites must be completed before September of junior year with a grade of C or higher. A summer course or a course taken abroad may count to satisfy a department prerequisite if the course has been approved by the relevant department and by either OIP or the student's residential college dean or assistant dean for transfer credit. All requests to use a transfer course to satisfy a department prerequisite must be approved in advance by the SPIA Undergraduate Program Office.A course taken at Princeton and used as a prerequisite may also be used to meet either a departmental core requirement (if it is on the list of core requirements) or as a departmental elective (if it is on the electives list). Program of Study The curriculum consists of a wide range of courses offered through the school and through our partner departments that are relevant to the study of policymaking, policy analysis and policy evaluation. Students take courses in civil & environmental engineering, computer science, economics, ecology & evolutionary biology, geosciences, history, mechanical & aerospace engineering, politics, psychology, sociology, and Princeton's School of Public and International Affairs. An introductory public policy course is required, along with an ethics course and a course on power and identity. Students enroll in policy seminars in their junior year and write a policy thesis in senior year. To aid in students' independent work, a junior year research design seminar is also required.Majors are required to take statistics and must be able to use the basics of single-variable calculus in order to take economics courses and some advanced elective options. Students who are concerned about their preparation should consider taking a course that provides instruction in single-variable calculus. In addition, the undergraduate program requires that students engage in an extracurricular cross-cultural experience (which may include study abroad), or policy-relevant field experience (overseas or domestic).By the end of the fall semester of junior year, students will have to select their area of intellectual depth: disciplinary depth or thematic depth (designated by SPIA). Please consult the Undergraduate Program website for more information. Independent Work To satisfy the junior independent work requirement (JP), each student must complete a research paper in connection with a non-credit-bearing fall Introduction to Research Design (SPI 299) and a credit-bearing spring Research Seminar (SPI 300).To aid in the writing and preparation of the junior paper, the non-credit-bearing fall Introduction to Research Design (SPI 299) course will address the following questions:How does one define an important and researchable question?How does one deploy systematic concepts and evaluate competing hypotheses/arguments?How does one evaluate the plausibility, ethics and relative success of alternative policy solutions?The course will focus on research design rather than specific methods. In the spring Research Seminar (SPI 300) course, a faculty member supervises a small group of students engaged in research on a specific topic in public and international affairs through a topical credit-bearing seminar. Faculty will introduce students to the existing body of knowledge and available evidence for research within a well-defined topic that is timely and important in the area of public policy. Supported by the separate coursework required in the Research Seminar, students will complete their junior paper.To satisfy the senior independent work requirement, each student must complete a senior thesis that clearly articulates a research question about a significant public policy issue and draws conclusions that contribute to the debate on that issue. Additional Requirements Core Course Requirements (seven courses)Students should review the list of core requirements for their specific class year.Prior to graduation, students must complete the core course requirements listed below. Students are encouraged to take SPI 298 in the fall of their sophomore year and must complete the course no later than the fall of junior year. All courses used to meet these requirements must be taken at Princeton on a graded (A–F) basis. Students must earn a grade of C or higher in all courses counting toward core course requirements.SPI 298: Introduction to Public Policy (fall only; sophomores and juniors)SPI 299: Introduction to Research Design (fall only; juniors only; non-credit-bearing)SPI 300: Research Seminar (spring only; juniors only)SPI 301: Policy Task Force (fall or spring; juniors only; Prerequisite: SPI 298)One course on Power and Identity:Please consult the Undergraduate Program website for the most current list of courses that meet this requirement.One ethics course:SPI 365 Tech EthicsSPI 368 The Ethical Policy MakerSPI 370 Ethics and Public PolicyCHV 310/PHI 385 Practical EthicsEGR 219 Professional Responsibility & Ethics: Succeeding Without Selling Your SoulPHI 309/CHV 309 Political PhilosophyPOL 307 The Just SocietyPOL 313 Global JusticeOne intermediate economics course:N.B. Students with little to no calculus experience are recommended to take MAT 103 in preparation for SPI 304.N.B. Students who wish to take ECO 300, 301, 310 or 311 are responsible for completing additional prerequisites on their own.SPI 304 Microeconomics for Public Policy (formerly listed as SPI 300)ECO 300 Microeconomic TheoryECO 301 MacroeconomicsECO 310 Microeconomic Theory: A Mathematical ApproachECO 311 Macroeconomics: A Mathematical ApproachElective Courses (six courses)Students must complete six (6) elective courses according to the following guidelines. Students must earn a grade of C or higher in all courses counting toward elective requirements.Disciplinary Breadth (three courses): Take one course from each of three SPIA-related departments (CEE, COS, EEB, GEO, HIS, MAE, POL, PSY, SOC, SPI) not already covered by the intellectual depth requirement noted below. ECO is excluded because it is already a required prerequisite and core course. Prerequisites and core courses may double-count; ECO courses may not.By graduation, we strongly encourage students to have taken courses in departments where they have not yet taken a course (for example in a natural science, if they are focusing on the social sciences). Intellectual Depth (three courses): Disciplinary OR Thematic DepthDisciplinary Depth: Take three courses in one SPIA-affiliated department, e.g., CEE, COS, ECO, EEB, GEO, HIS, MAE, POL, PSY, SOC, SPIORThematic Depth: Take three courses that address a given theme. Courses are drawn from SPIA-affiliated departments or SPIA-approved courses.Among the six (6) electives, a student may take only three electives from one department. For the major as a whole, a student may not take more than five courses from one department (with the exception of SPIA courses). Regional Focus: Students should also pursue regional focus across their SPIA coursework. Thus, across the SPIA prerequisites, core and electives, students must take at least two courses that focus substantively on a particular continent. The senior thesis can count toward the regional focus requirement.Up to three elective courses may be taken in semester-long study abroad programs.Cross-Cultural or Field Experience RequirementPrior to the second semester of senior year, each student must have completed an approved cross-cultural or field experience. The requirement may be satisfied in a number of ways, including but not limited to semester study abroad, approved summer study abroad (e.g., global seminars), policy-relevant summer jobs in a domestic or international organization, ROTC training, senior thesis research in the field, extended service in an underserved community, or an internship involving public policy work in a nonprofit, government or international agency such as the United Nations, the World Bank, the U.S. Congress or a state or federal agency.Summer study or thesis research must be done for at least four weeks to qualify (for the former, only study abroad programs with substantive academic and cultural components qualify). Students must engage in an internship, job or community service project for at least six consecutive weeks at a minimum of 40 hours per week or a total of 240 cumulative hours to qualify. Eligible community service work must involve policy work that will enhance one's learning and understanding of public service. Work at for-profit companies will not fulfill this requirement.Cross-cultural or field experience gained during the first or sophomore year or as a participant in the Bridge Year Program may count toward this requirement. To meet this requirement, all past or proposed work must be approved by the Undergraduate Program Office. Senior Departmental Examination The school's senior comprehensive examination is an oral defense of the senior thesis that assesses the student's expertise related to their thesis. Study Abroad SPIA majors may study abroad in one of the department's overseas programs in the first or second semester of junior year. At each site, students enroll in coursework at the host university and take a Policy Task Force directed by a faculty member at the host institution. Additional Information The program provides funding during summer, fall and winter breaks for travel and living expenses related to senior thesis research in public policy. The school also provides funding to students in the department who participate in public policy internships over the summer. For additional information, consult the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs Undergraduate Program website. Faculty Dean Amaney A. Jamal Vice Dean David S. Wilcove Chair Amaney A. Jamal Director of Undergraduate Studies Susan L. Marquis Director of Graduate Studies Elke U. Weber Professor Gary J. Bass Roland J. Benabou Alan S. Blinder Carles Boix Charles M. Cameron Miguel A. Centeno Christopher F. Chyba Alin I. Coman Janet M. Currie Rafaela M. Dancygier Navroz K. Dubash Pascaline Dupas Kathryn J. Edin Christopher L. Eisgruber Aaron L. Friedberg Filiz Garip Noreen Goldman Bryan T. Grenfell Gene M. Grossman G. John Ikenberry Harold James Seema Jayachandran Jennifer L. Jennings Henrik J. Kleven Atul Kohli Ilyana Kuziemko David S. Lee Frances E. Lee John B. Londregan Denise L. Mauzerall Nolan McCarty C. Jessica E. Metcalf Atif R. Mian Helen V. Milner Sanyu A. Mojola Eduardo Morales Andrew Moravcsik Layna Mosley Michael Oppenheimer Pietro Ortoleva Elizabeth L. Paluck Grigore Pop-Eleches Deborah A. Prentice Markus Prior Emily Pronin Laurence Ralph Stephen J. Redding Richard Rogerson Cecilia E. Rouse Aysegül Sahin Kim Lane Scheppele Eldar Shafir Jacob N. Shapiro Patrick T. Sharkey Stacey A. Sinclair Paul E. Starr Eric Tate Florencia Torche Zeynep Tufekci James Raymond Vreeland Keith A. Wailoo Leonard Wantchekon Mark W. Watson Elke U. Weber Ismail K. White Jennifer A. Widner David S. Wilcove Deborah J. Yashar Julian E. Zelizer Owen M. Zidar Associate Professor Elizabeth M. Armstrong Thomas Fujiwara Alexander Glaser Adam M. Goldstein Andy Guess Jonathan Mayer Jonathan F. Mummolo Anuj K. Shah Rory Truex Hye Young You Assistant Professor Benjamin H. Bradlow Pauline Carry Amelia Frank-Vitale Tanushree Goyal Naima N. Green-Riley John R. Grigsby Saad A. Gulzar Peter Henderson Arun Hendi Adam Kapor Aleksandra Korolova Wei Peng Karthik A. Sastry Maria Micaela Sviatschi Guadalupe Tuñón Andreas B. Wiedemann Xu Xu Associated Faculty Alison E. Isenberg, History Guy J.P. Nordenson, Architecture Lecturer with Rank of Professor Robert L. Hutchings Ethan Kapstein Stanley N. Katz W Bentley MacLeod Professor of the Practice Heather H. Howard Lecturer Alicia Adsera Lakshmi N. Balaji Frederick D. Barton Mark Berlin Barbara C. Buckinx Andrew Buher Devanne Béda-Geuder Zack Cooper Lauren Davis Maya Dimant Lynda Dodd Edward P. Freeland Varun Gauri Arbel Griner Jean B. Grossman William G. Guthe Kerry M. Healey Mehmet Hecan Sofie Norma Hiltner Thomas D. Howes Razia Iqbal Gregory B. Jaczko Steven A. Kelts Daniel C. Kurtzer Nicholas J. Lotito Tom Malinowski Robert Malley Elliot J. Mamet Anastasia Mann Susan L. Marquis Carol L Martin Eric Medawar Daniel J. Meuse Timothy J. Nelson Ali Nouri Udi Ofer Deborah N. Pearlstein Sebastien Philippe Ransford Pinto Juan C. Pinzon Kenneth Roth Leslie J. Rowley Thomas A. Shannon Arian M. Sharifi Alyssa B. Sharkey Tsering Wangyal Shawa Sarah L. Staszak Hannah B. Waldfogel Nina Yancy Nathaniel Zbaida Sam van Noort Visiting Professor Martin S. Flaherty Yoto V. Yotov Visiting Lecturer Eduardo Bhatia Brendan F. Boyle Martha B. Coven Rody Damis Salam Fayyad Barton D. Gellman Pallavi Gogoi Dee L. Mewbourne Mark A. Milley Teddy Nemeroff Steven Strauss For a full list of faculty members and fellows please visit the department or program website. Courses SPI 200 - Statistics for Social Science Spring QCR An introduction to probability theory and statistical methods especially as they relate to public policy. The course will consist of a brief introduction to probability theory as well as various topics in statistics and how they can be used in the public policy realm. Subject areas will include random variables, sampling, descriptive statistics, distributions, estimation, hypothesis testing, and introduction to the regression model. The data sources will be actual examples taken from the public policy realm. Stata, a general purpose statistical programming package will be used to perform the statistical analysis. R. Titiunik SPI 301 - Policy Task Force Fall/Spring In the Policy Task Force seminars, students work in groups to formulate a policy problem/issue. Students then engage in individual research on subtopics, and at the end of the semester will present their findings/policy recommendations for discussion and debate. Individual student papers will also be collated into a collective and comprehensive policy report. Staff SPI 304 - Microeconomics for Public Policy Spring SA Microeconomics is the study of how people and societies confront scarcity. This course, taught at the intermediate level, focuses on markets as a mechanism for dealing with scarcity, and uses examples that cast light on public policy issues. Two lectures, one preceptorial. Prerequisite: ECO 100. S. Moroni SPI 306 - Environmental Economics (also ECO 329/ENV 319) Fall SA An introduction to the use of economics in thinking about and dealing with environmental issues. Stress on economic externalities and the problem of dealing with them as instances of organizing gains from trade. Applications to a wide variety of problems, among them air pollution (including, importantly, global climate change), water pollution, solid waste and hazardous substances management, species preservation, and population policy. S. Brunnermeier SPI 309 - International Trade (also ECO 352) Not offered this year SA Examination of the causes and economic consequences of international trade in goods and services, investment and migration. Stress on the possibility of aggregate national gains from trade, and the distributional conflicts generated by trade. Analysis of policies regarding these issues from the perspective of economics and political economy. Two lectures, one preceptorial. Prerequisites: WWS 100 or ECO 300 or ECO 310. Staff SPI 315 - Grand Strategy (also POL 393) Spring SA Military strategy was defined by Clauswitz as the use of battle to achieve the objectives of war. Grand strategy is broader, encompassing the attempted use by political leaders of financial economic, and diplomatic, as well as military, power to achieve their objectives in peacetime and in war. This seminar will examine the theory and practice of grand strategy both to illuminate how relations among city-states, empires, kingdoms and nation states have evolved over the centuries and also to identify some common challenges that have confronted all who seek to make and execute grand strategy, from Pericles to Barack Obama. G. Ikenberry SPI 330 - Population, Society and Public Policy (also SOC 328) Not offered this year SA This course focuses on the causes and consequences of population change and the policy levers used to regulate demographic behavior and outcomes. In addition to basic demographic concepts, measures and data, we will address questions such as: What is the carrying capacity of the planet? Why has fertility declined in some countries but not others? How does population growth influence the environment? What does population aging portend for social security solvency? Can countries regulate international migration? Why does China have so many male births? Is marriage obsolete? Is urban life good or bad for your health? A. Hendi SPI 331 - Race and Public Policy (also AAS 317/POL 343/SOC 312) Fall SA Analyzes the historical construction of race as a concept in American society, how and why this concept was institutionalized publicly and privately in various arenas of U.S. public life at different historical junctures, and the progress that has been made in dismantling racialized institutions since the civil rights era. I. White SPI 334 - Media and Public Policy (also SOC 319) Spring SA Introduction to communications policy and law, covering such topics as freedom of the press and the development of journalism; intellectual property; regulation of telecommunications, broadcasting, and cable; and policy challenges raised by the Internet and the globalization of the media. P. Starr SPI 340 - The Psychology of Decision Making and Judgment (also PSY 321) Fall EC An introduction to the logic of decision making and reasoning under uncertainty. Focus on psychological mechanisms that govern choice and judgment and on characteristic errors found in intuitive judgment and choice. Discussion of divergence from the model of rational agent often assumed in social science theory and economics. Rules governing pleasure, pain, and well-being provide background for analysis of the rationality of some individual choices and for the evaluation of general policies that affect human welfare. Prerequisite: introductory statistics for social science or instructor's permission. E. Shafir SPI 350 - The Environment: Science and Policy (also ENV 350) Not offered this year SEN This course examines a set of critical environmental issues including population growth, ozone layer depletion, climate change, loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services and depletion of global fisheries. It provides an overview of the scientific basis for these problems and examines past, present and possible future policy responses. Staff SPI 353 - Science and Global Security: From Nuclear Weapons to Cyberwarfare and Artificial Intelligence (also MAE 353) Fall SEN This course will provide students with a basic technical understanding of some of the critical technologies that are relevant to national and global security and will equip students with the skills to better assess the challenge of developing effective policies to manage such technologies. Case studies will inter alia include nuclear weapons and their proliferation, nuclear and radiological terrorism, space weapons, biosecurity and cyberware. Two lectures. S. Philippe SPI 370 - Ethics and Public Policy (also CHV 301/POL 308) Spring EM This course examines basic ethical controversies in public life. What rights do persons have at the beginning and end of life? Do people have moral claims to unequal economic rewards or is economic distribution properly subject to political design for the sake of social justice? Do we have significant moral obligations to distant others? Other possible topics include toleration (including the rights of religious and cultural minorities), racial and gender equity, and just war. S. Macedo SPI 401 - Policy Seminars Fall Open only to students enrolled in the school. See 'Program Information' for description. Juniors who are concentrators in the school must register for the policy task force as "Junior Independent Work.'' Seniors should register for SPI 401 or 402 as a course rather than junior independent work. Staff SPI 406 - Issues in Environmental and Natural Resource Economics (also ECO 429) Not offered this year SA Course introduces use of economics in understanding both the sources of and the remedies to environmental and resource allocation problems. It emphasizes the reoccurrence of economic phenomenon like public goods, externalities, market failure and imperfect information. Students learn about the design and evaluation of environmental policy instruments, the political economy of environmental policy, and the valuation of environmental and natural resource services. These concepts are illustrated in a variety of applications from domestic pollution of air, water and land to international issues such as global warming and sustainable development. S. Brunnermeier SPI 421 - Comparative Constitutional Law (also CHV 470/POL 479) Not offered this year SA This course will introduce students to the variety of forms of constitutional government and the way that human rights are understood and enforced by courts around the world. We will trace the emergence of a global constitutional culture and focus more directly on the constitutions of South Africa, India, Germany, France, Hungary, Israel and Canada. We will give primary emphasis to the rights provisions in national constitutions, but will also take transnational constitutional regimes through examining decisions of the European Courts of Human Rights. Two ninety-minute seminars. Staff SPI 466 - Financial History (also HIS 467) Fall HA The course examines the history of financial innovation and its consequences. It examines the evolution of trading practices, bills of exchange, government bonds, equities, banking activity, derivatives markets, and securitization. How do these evolve in particular state or national settings, how are the practices regulated, how do they relate to broader development? What happens as financial instruments are traded across state boundaries, and how does an international financial order evolve? What are the effects of international capital mobility? How is resulting conflict and instability managed, on both a national and international level? H. James SPI 481 - Special Topics in Institutions and Networks (also SOC 481/URB 481) Not offered this year SA Special Topics in Institutions and Networks will house courses related to communications, media influence and information networks, international organizations and global governance, law and legal systems, political systems and social networks. B. Bradlow CEE 334 - Global Environmental Issues (also ENE 334/ENV 334/SPI 452) Spring SEN This course examines a set of global environmental issues including population growth, ozone layer depletion, climate change, air pollution, the environmental consequences of energy supply and demand decisions and sustainable development. It provides an overview of the scientific basis for these problems and examines past, present and possible future policy responses. Individual projects, presentations, and problem sets are included. Prerequisites: AP Chemistry, CHM 201, or permission of instructor. Two lectures, one precept. D. Mauzerall COS 351 - Information Technology and Public Policy (also SOC 353/SPI 351) Not offered this year SA This course surveys recurring, high-profile issues in technology policy and law. Each session will explore a challenging topic, including consumer privacy, data security, electronic surveillance, net neutrality, online speech, algorithmic fairness, cryptocurrencies, election security, and offensive operations. The seminar will also cover foundational technical concepts that affect policy and law, including internet architecture, cryptography, systems security, privacy science, and artificial intelligence. Materials and discussion will draw extensively from current events and primary sources. Staff ENV 304 - Disease Ecology, Economics, and Policy (also ECO 328/EEB 304/SPI 455) Fall SEN The dynamics of the emergence and spread of disease arise from a complex interplay among disease ecology, economics, and human behavior. Lectures will provide an introduction to complementarities between economic and epidemiological approaches to understanding the emergence, spread, and control of infectious diseases. The course will cover topics such as drug-resistance in bacterial and parasitic infections, individual incentives to vaccinate, the role of information in the transmission of infectious diseases, and the evolution of social norms in healthcare practices. One three-hour lecture, one preceptorial. C. Metcalf GEO 366 - Climate Change: Impacts, Adaptation, Policy (also ENE 366/ENV 339/SPI 451) Not offered this year SEN An exploration of the potential consequences of human-induced climate change and their implications for policy responses, focusing on risks to people, societies, and ecosystems. As one example: we examine the risk to coastal cities from sea level rise, and measures being planned and implemented to enable adaptation. In addition, we explore local, national, and international policy initiatives to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. The course assumes students have a basic background in the causes of human-induced climate change and the physical science of the climate system. Two 90-minute lectures, one preceptorial M. Oppenheimer GHP 350 - Critical Perspectives in Global Health Policy (also SPI 380) Fall SA Introduces disease and healthcare problems worldwide and examines efforts to address them. Via an interdisciplinary approach, identifies the main actors, institutions, knowledge, and values at play in the "global health system", and explores the environmental, social, political, and economic factors that shape patterns and variations in disease and health across societies. Topics include: development and governance of disease; technological change and public health; human rights and social justice; measuring health outcomes; and the shifting role of states, civil society, and public-private partnerships in healthcare delivery. Two lectures. J. Biehl GHP 351 - Epidemiology: Unpacking Health with Classic Tools, Ecology and Evolution (also EEB 351/SPI 381) Spring Focuses on the distribution and determinants of disease. Diverse methodological approaches for measuring health status, disease occurrence, and the association between risk factors and health outcomes will be presented via classic and contemporary studies of chronic and infectious illness and disease outbreaks. Emphasis on: causal inference, study design and sampling, bias and confounding, the generalizability of research, health policy and research ethics. Prerequisite: an approved basic statistics course. Two 90-minute lectures, one preceptorial. C. Metcalf HIS 393 - Race, Drugs, and Drug Policy in America (also AAS 393/AMS 423/SPI 389) Not offered this year HA From "Chinese opium" to Oxycontin, and from cocaine and "crack" to BiDil, drug controversies reflect enduring debates about the role of medicine, the law, the policing of ethnic identity, and racial difference. This course explores the history of controversial substances (prescription medicines, over-the-counter products, black market substances, psychoactive drugs), and how, from cigarettes to alcohol and opium, they become vehicles for heated debates over immigration, identity, cultural and biological difference, criminal character, the line between legality and illegality, and the boundaries of the normal and the pathological. K. Wailoo MOL 425 - Infection: Biology, Burden, Policy (also GHP 425/SPI 355) Not offered this year SEN This course will examine fundamental determinants of human microbe interaction at the biological and ecological levels. The focus will be on major global infectious diseases, their burden of illness and policy challenges for adequate prevention and control. Each infectious agent will be discussed in terms of its biology, mechanisms of pathogenesis, and epidemiology, as well as strategies for its control. Specific emphasis will be placed on the public health aspects of each disease. Prerequisite: MOL 101, MOL 214, or permission of instructor. One three-hour lecture. T. Shenk POL 220 - American Politics (also SPI 310) Fall SA An introduction to the national institutions and political processes of American government. Topics include the Constitution, the American political tradition, public opinion, interest groups, political institutions, civil rights, civil liberties, and public policy. Two lectures, one preceptorial. S. Staszak POL 230 - Introduction to Comparative Politics (also SPI 325) Fall SA This course will focus on the process of democratic transition and consolidation in a comparative and historical manner. In particular, we will analyze the democratic revolution that has swept the globe during the last 30 years by examining the communist and authoritarian backgrounds of newly democratized countries, the factors influencing the emergence of democracy, the problems associated with building stable democratic systems, and finally, the prospects for a regime shift in parts of the world still under autocratic rule. Two lectures, one preceptorial. A. Wiedemann POL 240 - International Relations (also SPI 312) Spring SA A comprehensive introduction to the major issues of contemporary international relations. The course presents competing theoretical perspectives and reviews the historical record to explore such puzzles as the causes of war, explanations of cooperation, the behavior of states, and the proper ethical standards for judging international relations. Two lectures, one preceptorial. C. Blair POL 345 - Introduction to Quantitative Social Science (also SOC 305/SPI 211) Fall QCR Would universal health insurance improve the health of the poor? Do patterns of arrests in US cities show evidence of racial profiling? What accounts for who votes and their choice of candidates? This course will teach students how to address these and other social science questions by analyzing quantitative data. The course introduces basic principles of statistical inference and programming skills for data analysis. The goal is to provide students with the foundation necessary to analyze data in their own research and to become critical consumers of statistical claims made in the news media, in policy reports, and in academic research. Z. Yu POL 351 - The Politics of Development (also LAS 371/SPI 311) Spring SA A comparative study of politics in selected developing countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Topics include colonialism, nationalism, class and ethic conflict, political instability, military coups, revolutionary change, and development strategies such as land reforms, green revolution, import substitution, and management of external dependencies. Two lectures, one preceptorial. T. Goyal POL 352 - Comparative Political Economy (also SPI 321) Spring SA Explores the dynamic relationship in theory between market-formation and reform on the one hand, and economic ideas and cultural values on the other. The course examines classical and contemporary works in comparative political economy. Two lectures, one preceptorial. J. Londregan POL 362 - Chinese Politics (also EAS 362/SPI 323) Fall SA Traditional politics; the rise of warlords, nationalists, and radicals; causes of the "Liberation," land reform, Hundred Flowers, Great Leap Forward, Cultural Revolution, and Four Modernizations; policies of Mao and Deng for development, health, law, and rights. Two lectures, one preceptorial. R. Truex POL 367 - Latin American Politics (also LAS 367/SPI 367) Not offered this year SA A study of the governments and politics of Latin America. The political systems of the Latin American countries will be examined, as well as the common political problems and processes of the area. Special attention will be given to the role of revolution, military rule, and constitutional democracy in Latin American political development. Two lectures, one preceptorial. Staff POL 380 - Human Rights (also SPI 319) Spring SA A study of the politics and history of human rights. What are human rights? How can dictatorships be resisted from the inside and the outside? Can we prevent genocide? Is it morally acceptable and politically wise to launch humanitarian military interventions to prevent the slaughter of foreign civilians? What are the laws of war, and how can we punish the war criminals who violate them? Cases include the Ottoman Empire, Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, Bosnia, and Rwanda. Two lectures, one preceptorial. G. Bass POL 388 - Causes of War (also SPI 388) Fall SA Why do states and peoples go to war? Conversely, how can war be avoided? This course surveys some of the most important explanations--including human nature, the anarchic international system, domestic politics, economics, technology, nationalism, and terrorism--and evaluates them in light of historical wars, and of crises resolved short of war. The course will examine cases ranging from the Peloponnesian War to the ongoing American-led war against terrorism. Two lectures, one preceptorial. G. Bass POL 430 - Seminar in Comparative Politics (also SPI 424) Not offered this year SA Investigation of a major theme in comparative politics. Reading and intensive discussion of selected issues in the literature. One three-hour seminar. Staff POL 432 - Seminar in Comparative Politics (also SPI 426) Spring SA Investigation of a major theme in comparative politics. Reading and intensive discussion of selected issues in the literature. One three-hour seminar. S. van Noort SOC 201 - American Society and Politics (also SPI 339) Not offered this year SA An introduction to changing patterns of family structure, community life, economic relations, voluntary associations, moral beliefs and values, social and political movements, and other aspects of civil society and politics in the United States. Two lectures, one preceptorial. P. Starr URB 201 - Introduction to Urban Studies (also ARC 207/SOC 203/SPI 201) Spring SA This course will examine different crises confronting cities in the 21st century. Topics will range from immigration, to terrorism, shrinking population, traffic congestion, pollution, energy crisis, housing needs, water wars, race riots, extreme weather conditions, war and urban operations. The range of cities will include Los Angles, New Orleans, Paris, Logos, Caracas, Havana, New York, Hong Kong, and Baghdad among others. M. Boyer
