The Political Science major is concerned with exploring the exercise of power in its myriad forms and consequences. Students in the major are encouraged to explore central issues, such as the ethical problems attendant to the exercise of power; the history of important political ideas, such as liberty, justice, community, and morality; the impact of historical, economic, and social forces on the operation of politics; the functioning and distinctive features of the US political system; the diversity of political systems and the significance of these differences; and the interactions among international actors and the causes of war and peace. Undergraduate courses in political science vary from large lectures of 325 students to small seminars of 18 students. The courses are challenging, often emphasizing critical reading and analytical writing.
Declaring the Major
To declare the major, students must have completed the minimum eligibility and must attend a declaration-orientation session. For information regarding minimum eligibility, please see the Major Requirements tab on this page. Transfer students may go to assist.org for a list of California community college courses that satisfy University and major requirements. Upper division courses in the major are restricted to declared Political Science majors in Phase 1 of registration and usually fill before Phase 1 ends, so students should declare, if eligible, before the start of Phase 1 of registration.
Students must attend a Major Declaration Session to declare the major:
Pick a date from the calendar on the website linked below. Students will be eligible to attend a Major Declaration Session after they have completed the final for their second introductory Political Science course.
Gather transcript(s) and make copies of them to submit. See more on transcripts below.
Come early to secure a spot! The first 25 students who arrive at each session will be accepted to attend the session (unless indicated otherwise). Sessions held early and late in the semester as well as during the registration period are usually full. A sign-up sheet is available an hour before the session; there is no need to arrive earlier than an hour before the posted time.
Do not come to a declaration session without all needed transcripts. This includes transcripts (unofficial transcripts are okay) for courses taken at community colleges, other universities, and UC Berkeley. For UC Berkeley courses, students can print out their Academic Summary on Cal Central. One copy of each transcript is all that is required. Academic Progress Reports and Transfer Credit Reports from CalCentral are not acceptable. The department keeps the transcript, so students should bring a copy they can spare. (Transcripts for courses that do not count for the major are not needed.)
A declaration session takes about an hour and includes an orientation to the major and Q&A after which declaration forms are completed (forms are supplied — students supply the transcripts).
For a schedule of Major Declaration Sessions, please see the department website.
Honors Program
Declared Political Science majors with a 3.5 grade-point average (GPA) in the major and a 3.3 overall GPA who have senior standing and have completed at least two letter-graded upper division political science courses at Berkeley are eligible to apply for the honors program. The honors program consists of a two-semester seminar, POL SCI H190A and POL SCI H190B (offered in fall/spring only), and culminates in the writing of an honors thesis. Students must also obtain the sponsorship of a member of the faculty who will guide the research. Applications can only be made online; please refer to the undergraduate program section of the website. Departmental honors are awarded upon completion of the honors seminar with a grade of B+ or better, a minimum GPA of 3.5 in the major, and a 3.3 in overall work at Berkeley.
In addition to the University, campus, and college requirements, listed on the College Requirements tab, students must fulfill the below requirements specific to their major program.
General Guidelines
All courses taken to fulfill the major requirements below must be taken for graded credit.
No more than two upper division courses may be used to simultaneously fulfill requirements for a student's major and an additional major program. No more than one upper division course may be used to simultaneously fulfill requirements for a student's major and minor programs, per the policy of the College of Letters & Science.
A minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 must be maintained in both upper and lower division courses used to fulfill the major requirements.
For information regarding residence requirements and unit requirements, please see the College Requirements tab.
Students must specialize in one of the five primary subfields by completing the introductory course and taking two upper division courses in that subfield (see above).
Upper Division Requirements
Students must complete a total of eight upper division courses within the Political Science Department from those numbered POL SCI 102-POL SCI 189, POL SCI 191, and POL SCI C196A (the UCDC program) but excluding PS 110B and PS 179. Upper division courses fulfilling the distribution and subfield specialization count toward these eight required upper division courses. Graduate-level political science courses may also count toward the upper division course requirements.
College Requirements
Undergraduate students must fulfill the following requirements in addition to those required by their major program.
For a detailed lists of L&S requirements, please see Overview tab to the right in this guide or visit the L&S Degree Requirements webpage. For College advising appointments, please visit the L&S Advising Pages.
All students who will enter the University of California as freshmen must demonstrate their command of the English language by fulfilling the Entry Level Writing requirement. Fulfillment of this requirement is also a prerequisite to enrollment in all reading and composition courses at UC Berkeley and must be taken for a letter grade.
The American History and American Institutions requirements are based on the principle that all U.S. residents who have graduated from an American university should have an understanding of the history and governmental institutions of the United States.
All undergraduate students at Cal need to take and pass this campus requirement course in order to graduate. The requirement offers an exciting intellectual environment centered on the study of race, ethnicity and culture of the United States. AC courses are plentiful and offer students opportunities to be part of research-led, highly accomplished teaching environments, grappling with the complexity of American Culture.
College of Letters & Science Essential Skills Requirements
The Quantitative Reasoning requirement is designed to ensure that students graduate with basic understanding and competency in math, statistics, or computer/data science. The requirement may be satisfied by exam or by taking an approved course taken for a letter grade.
The Foreign Language requirement may be satisfied by demonstrating proficiency in reading comprehension, writing, and conversation in a foreign language equivalent to the second semester college level, either by passing an exam or by completing approved course work taken for a letter grade.
In order to provide a solid foundation in reading, writing, and critical thinking the College of Letters and Science requires two semesters of lower division work in composition in sequence. Students must complete parts A & B reading and composition courses in sequential order by the end of their fourth semester for a letter grade.
College of Letters & Science 7 Course Breadth Requirements
The undergraduate breadth requirements provide Berkeley students with a rich and varied educational experience outside of their major program. As the foundation of a liberal arts education, breadth courses give students a view into the intellectual life of the University while introducing them to a multitude of perspectives and approaches to research and scholarship. Engaging students in new disciplines and with peers from other majors, the breadth experience strengthens interdisciplinary connections and context that prepares Berkeley graduates to understand and solve the complex issues of their day.
Unit Requirements
120 total units
Of the 120 units, 36 must be upper division units
Of the 36 upper division units, 6 must be taken in courses offered outside your major department
Residence Requirements
For units to be considered in "residence," you must be registered in courses on the Berkeley campus as a student in the College of Letters & Science. Most students automatically fulfill the residence requirement by attending classes at Cal for four years, or two years for transfer students. In general, there is no need to be concerned about this requirement, unless you graduate early, go abroad for a semester or year, or want to take courses at another institution or through UC Extension during your senior year. In these cases, you should make an appointment to meet an L&S College adviser to determine how you can meet the Senior Residence Requirement.
Note: Courses taken through UC Extension do not count toward residence.
Senior Residence Requirement
After you become a senior (with 90 semester units earned toward your B.A. degree), you must complete at least 24 of the remaining 30 units in residence in at least two semesters. To count as residence, a semester must consist of at least 6 passed units. Intercampus Visitor, EAP, and UC Berkeley-Washington Program (UCDC) units are excluded.
You may use a Berkeley Summer Session to satisfy one semester of the Senior Residence requirement, provided that you successfully complete 6 units of course work in the Summer Session and that you have been enrolled previously in the college.
Modified Senior Residence Requirement
Participants in the UC Education Abroad Program (EAP), Berkeley Summer Abroad, or the UC Berkeley Washington Program (UCDC) may meet a Modified Senior Residence requirement by completing 24 (excluding EAP) of their final 60 semester units in residence. At least 12 of these 24 units must be completed after you have completed 90 units.
Upper Division Residence Requirement
You must complete in residence a minimum of 18 units of upper division courses (excluding UCEAP units), 12 of which must satisfy the requirements for your major.
Plan of Study
Students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Political Science major requirements before making a program plan. For more detailed information regarding the courses listed below (e.g., elective information, GPA requirements, etc.), see the College Requirements and Major Requirements tabs.
Freshman
Fall
Units
Spring
Units
POL SCI 1, 2, or 5 (Social and Behavioral Studies Breadth)
Upper Division Political Science: 1 of 2 Specialization Requirements
4
Upper Division Political Science: 2 of 2 Specialization Requirements
4
Upper Division Political Science: 1 of 2 Distribution Requirements
4
Upper Division Political Science: 1 of 4 Electives
4
Upper Division Non-Political Science Elective
3
Upper Division Non-Political Science Elective
3
Lower or Upper Division Elective
4
Lower or Upper Division Elective
4
15
15
Senior
Fall
Units
Spring
Units
Upper Division Political Science: 2 of 2 Distribution Requirements
4
Upper Division Political Science: 3 of 4 Electives
4
Upper Division Political Science: 2 of 4 Electives
4
Upper Division Political Science: 4 of 4 Electives
4
Lower or Upper Division Elective
4
Lower or Upper Division Elective
4
Lower or Upper Division Elective
3
Lower or Upper Division Elective
3
15
15
Total Units: 120
1
This is a sample program plan. This plan assumes that the student has completed the Entry Level Writing, American History and Institutions, Quantitative Reasoning, and Foreign Language requirements prior to admission.
2
Students are strongly advised to work with an academic adviser to determine a personal program plan. Your program plan will differ depending on previous credit received, your course schedule, and available offerings.
3
Students could also do the Honors program in their last year, but may need to adjust their 4-year plan accordingly to accommodate the extra workload of their senior thesis by taking electives or concentration classes in the summer OR by taking more units than indicated in the first six semesters.
Accelerated Program Plans
For students considering graduating in less than four years, it's important to acknowledge the reasons to undertake such a plan of study. While there are advantages to pursuing a three-year degree plan such as reducing financial burdens, they are not for everyone and do involve sacrifices; especially with respect to participating in co-curricular activities, depth of study, and summer internships, which typically lead to jobs upon graduation. All things considered, please see the tables for three and three and a half year degree options.
Exposure to the core subfields of political science:
American politics
Comparative politics
Political theory
International relations
Opportunities to explore areas that crosscut traditional political science subfield boundaries:
Political behavior
Public law and jurisprudence
Public policy and organization
Empirical theory and quantitative methods
Specialization in one subfield of political science: minimum of three courses taken in either one of the four core subfields (American politics, comparative politics, political theory, international relations) or one of the other departmental areas that generally crosscut traditional subfield boundaries (political behavior, public law and jurisprudence, public policy and organization, empirical theory and quantitative methods).
Skills
Methodological skills
Ability to understand and deploy the methods that political scientists use to answer questions about the operation of politics: causal inference, qualitative analysis, statistical analysis, experimentation, game theory, and modeling.
Capacity to use critical thinking and evidence to understand and evaluate rival theories.
Research and presentation skills
Writing skills: Ability to formulate a well-organized argument supported by evidence.
Oral presentation skills: Ability to present a compelling oral argument supported by evidence to a group or public audience.
Research skills: Ability to conduct political science research using materials such as primary, secondary, and online sources or databases in support of an original argument.
Major Map
Major maps are experience maps that help undergraduates plan their Berkeley journey based on intended major or field of interest. Featuring student opportunities and resources from your college and department as well as across campus, each map includes curated suggestions for planning your studies, engaging outside the classroom, and pursuing your career goals in a timeline format.
Use the major map below to explore potential paths and design your own unique undergraduate experience:
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Summer 2024 Second 6 Week Session
An introductory analysis of the structure and operations of the American political system, primarily at the national level. Introduction to American Politics: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for POL SCI 1 after completing XPOLSCI 1. A deficient grade in POL SCI 1 may be removed by taking XPOLSCI 1.
Requirements this course satisfies: Satisfies the American Institutions requirement
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week 8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture and 4 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Summer 2017 Second 6 Week Session, Summer 2016 Second 6 Week Session
Politics is the art and noise of collective governance under conditions of scarce resources, conflicting interests, diverse beliefs, uncertain outcomes, and unequal power. In 1AC, we learn about the institutions, ideologies, and processes that constitute politics in the U.S. In fulfilling the AC requirement, we further examine how power, equality, and diversity are configured and contested in our politics. The course emphasizes active research- and group-based learning. Introduction to American Politics: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Credit Restrictions:POL SCI N1AC will still fulfill all the requirements that PS1 fulfills (e.g., major, American Institutions) but now also fulfills the "American Cultures" campus requirement. Students who wish to repeat PS1 and replace their grade must specifically retake PS1, not PS N1AC. PS N1AC will not replace the grade for PS1.
Requirements this course satisfies: Satisfies the American Cultures and American Institutions requirements.
Hours & Format
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023
This course deals with the basic problems and processes that all political systems face and examines their particular expression in Western, Communist, and Third World settings. Introduction to Comparative Politics: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for POL SCI 2 after completing POL SCI S2, POL SCI S2X, or XPOLSCI 2. A deficient grade in POL SCI 2 may be removed by taking XPOLSCI 2.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Summer 2018 Second 6 Week Session, Summer 2017 Second 6 Week Session
This course aims to furnish students with the tools necessary to study political processes and outcomes in comparative perspective. It is divided into three parts. The first introduces the basic concepts and methods of comparative analysis and examines our principal unit of analysis: the state. The second surveys the range of political regimes under which people live around the world. The third examines three key variables that both influence political outcomes and are influenced by political processes: institutions, identity, and agency. Throughout the course we will use a wide variety of country examples, but will not focus exclusively on any particular set of countries. Introduction to Comparative Politics: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for Political Science N2 after taking Political Science 2. Students will receive no credit for Political Science 2 after completing Political Science N2. A deficient grade in Political Science 2 may be removed by taking Political Science N2.
Hours & Format
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for Political Science N3 after completing Political Science 3. Students will receive no credit for Political Science 3 after completing Political Science N3.A deficient grade in Political Science 3 may be removed by taking Political Science N3.
Hours & Format
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Summer 2024 8 Week Session, Summer 2023 8 Week Session, Summer 2022 8 Week Session
This course provides an overview of some of the methods employed in political science research. Its purpose is to familiarize you with the scientific study of politics, and to teach you how to pose and answer
empirical research questions using appropriate evidence and arguments. Along the way we will learn about how to formulate and evaluate theories, how to design research to discover whether a
particular theory holds up empirically, and some basic research strategies. By the end of the course you should have the tools to critically evaluate the kinds of social science arguments found in everyday life and be able to conduct your own independent research. Introduction to Empirical Analysis and Quantitative Methods,: Read More [+]
Objectives & Outcomes
Course Objectives: After successfully completing this course, you will be able to:
* Distinguish among different types of social science methodologies
* Solve basic 2x2 games
* Describe the logic of the experimental method
* Interpret basic descriptive statistical results
* Formulate and test hypotheses
* Explain and apply bivariate OLS regression
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: There are no prior course requirements other than high school level mathematics
Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for Political Science W3 after completing Political Science 3 or Political Science N3. A deficient grade in Political Science 3 or POL SCI N3 may be removed by taking Political Science W3.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of web-based lecture and 2 hours of web-based discussion per week
Summer: 8 weeks - 6 hours of web-based lecture and 2 hours of web-based discussion per week
Online: This is an online course.
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023
An approach to the understanding of politics through the perspectives and language of the political theorist. Introduction to Political Theory: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture and 5 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022
This course is designed to introduce students to the major theoretical approaches to international politics, to explore important historical and contemporary questions and debates in international affairs, and to teach students to think critically about international relations. It is a prerequisite for most upper division international relations courses in Political Science. Introduction to International Relations: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-3 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Summer 2001 10 Week Session, Summer 2000 10 Week Session, Summer 1999 10 Week Session
This course will study the historical processes of racial formation and transformation in California. Students will develop an understanding of the dynamic nature of racial and ethnic cultures and identities, and use these tools to better understand their own cultural position. Two periods are studied: 1848-1882 and 1964-1988. The course will consider the experiences of Asian Americans, Chicano/Latinos, African Americans, European Americans, and Native Americans. Race, Culture, and Politics in the Golden State: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor
Requirements this course satisfies: Satisfies the American Cultures requirement
Hours & Format
Summer: 6 weeks - 6 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2005
The Berkeley Seminar Program has been designed to provide new students with the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member in a small-seminar setting. Berkeley Seminars are offered in all campus departments, and topics vary from department to department and semester to semester. Freshman Seminars: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2009, Fall 2008, Spring 2006
Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester. Freshman/Sophomore Seminar: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Priority given to freshmen and sophomores
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2-4 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2024
Dêmokratia, democratia, democracy. What did this term mean to the ancient Greeks who coined it, to the Romans who borrowed it, to the early modern Europeans who discussed it—and what does it mean today? Who or what was the original dêmos, how did it rule, and how different is the interpretation of “rule by the people” that now predominates? Starting with the first attestations of da-mo in the 12 th century BC and ending with the recent attempts by Iceland and Chile to reform their constitutions by crowdsourcing and a citizen convention respectively, this course offers a chronological exploration of the idea and practice of democracy, intended to broaden our imaginative horizons with respect to what democracy has been, is, and could become. Pathways: Democracy Ancient and Modern: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.
Terms offered: Fall 2021, Spring 2004
Sophomore seminars are small interactive courses offered by faculty members in departments all across the campus. Sophomore seminars offer opportunity for close, regular intellectual contact between faculty members and students in the crucial second year. The topics vary from department to department and semester to semester. Enrollment limited to 15 sophomores. Sophomore Seminar: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: At discretion of instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 5 weeks - 3-6 hours of seminar per week 10 weeks - 1.5-3 hours of seminar per week 15 weeks - 1-2 hours of seminar per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 2.5-5 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023
We will focus on the theoretical side of political science. The main goals here are to understand what makes a good political science theory, and to give a brief overview of how game theory and related tools make up a powerful way to construct theories. This side of the class will be less data-focused, we will also see how the programming tools you learn in Data 8 can be used in this part of the scientific process. We will pivot to the empirical side in the second part of the class, we will cover how political scientists and other social scientists think about the challenges of causal inference, and the tools we use to overcome them. The Scientific Study of Politics: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Students must have already taken DATA8 or take it concurrently with PS 88
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.
Terms offered: Prior to 2007
Berkeley Connect is a mentoring program, offered through various academic departments, that helps students build intellectual community. Over the course of a semester, enrolled students participate in regular small-group discussions facilitated by a graduate student mentor (following a faculty-directed curriculum), meet with their graduate student mentor for one-on-one academic advising, attend lectures and panel discussions featuring department faculty and alumni, and go on field trips to campus resources. Students are not required to be declared majors in order to participate. Berkeley Connect: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of directed group study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Fall 2006, Fall 2005, Spring 2005
Supervised Independent Study and Research for lower division students, pursuant to the Regulations of the Berkeley Division, Section A230. Supervised Independent Study: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Completion of two Political Science courses and a 3.3 GPA
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Summer: 10 weeks - 1.5-6 hours of independent study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022
Analysis of principal institutions, functions, and problems of the Presidency and the federal executive branch. Special attention will be given to topics of presidential leadership, staffing, executive-legislative relations, and policy formation. Comparative reference to executive processes in other political systems. The American Presidency: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Spring 2023
Nomination and election, constituent relations, the formal and informal structures of both houses, relations with the executive branch, policy formation, and lobbying. Congress: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 1 or consent of instructor
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-3 hours of lecture and 1-3 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2009, Fall 2006, Spring 2006
This course will explore the Congress--the first branch under the Consititution--and its role in our political system. It will leverage our environment in Washington by featuring frequent guest speakers and seeking connections to current policy and political debate. In addition to surveying the pathways of lawmaking, we will ask how Congress and its members relate to the other branches of government, to the press, and to the public. The Congress: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Admittance to UC Berkeley-Washington Program. For details see http://ucdc.berkeley.edu
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2-3 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2010, Fall 2009, Fall 2008
The institutional environment within which American politics takes place. Concept and history of parties in the American context: their nature and function, origin and development. Party organization and structure. State, national, and local party systems and their variations. Nominations and elections. Political Parties: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2013, Spring 2012, Spring 2011
The nature of politics, the education of politicians, the structure of ambition, and the ethical values of social behavior in the political world. Sessions with elected officials and party workers on their vocation. The Politician: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024
An inside look at how political campaigns operate from the viewpoint of the media, taught by the people who run them. Class material will be directed towards students who are interested in direct involvement in campaign politics or who are looking for a greater understanding of the political process. Students will be required to develop a complete written campaign strategy document in order to fulfill class requirements. Students will be expected to follow political and campaign news via the media and be prepared to discuss those developments in class. American Politics: Campaign Strategy - Media: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Summer 1999 10 Week Session, Summer 1998 10 Week Session, Summer 1997 10 Week Session
See department web site for specific course offerings. Special Topics in American Politics: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-3 hours of lecture and 0-2 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8-8 hours of lecture and 0-5 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternate method of final assessment during regularly scheduled final exam group (e.g., presentation, final project, etc.).
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Summer 2024 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2023 First 6 Week Session
See department web site for specific course offerings. Special Topics in American Politics: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Summer 2021 Second 6 Week Session, Summer 2012 10 Week Session, Summer 2012 First 6 Week Session
See department web site for specific course offerings. Special Topics in American Politics: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022
The purpose of this course is to provide Cal-in-Sacramento interns and other interested UC Berkeley students with a rudimentary understanding of our state government. We will focus on the state legislature and executive branch, exploring both the policy-making process and the politics in Sacramento, which we will learn are quite closely related to one another. Cal-in-Sacramento: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Limited to summer Cal-in-Sacramento interns
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit under special circumstances: Course may be repeated for credit with consent of department.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of seminar and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022
In this class, the revolution against traditional political authority embodied in Jefferson's and Thomas Paine's attack on the British crown, the rise of slavery, and the conflict with Native America are seen as coherent parts of a cultural and social development that emerges in 18th- and 19th-century America. Using both original antebellum materials, including biographies, history, and literature, and contemporary images from American popular culture such as film, news and magazine articles, and music, we will compare and contrast the experiences of antebellum Native Americans, Euopean immigrants, and African slaves as a connection between the past and the present emerges. The Politics of Displacement: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 4 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2019, Fall 2017
Major theories from the ancient Greeks to the modern period. Ancient and medieval political thought, including Plato, Aristotle, and St. Augustine. History of Political Theory: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2023 Second 6 Week Session, Fall 2022
Early modern political thought up to the French Revolution, including Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau. History of Political Theory: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2021, Spring 2019
Nineteenth and twentieth century political thought, including Burke, Utilitarianism, Marx, and contemporary theory. History of Political Theory: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture and 5 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Spring 2010, Fall 2008
This is a survey course that will examine developments in 20th-century European Political Theory. It will focus on theorists' contributions and reactions to various major political and intellectual shifts, including Marxism (as "Western Marxism" and Critical Theory, as well as institutionalized Soviet communism in its heyday); psychoanalysis; and fascism. History of European Political Theory: The 20th Century: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Prior to 2007
The first part of the course will cover the history of Roman law and substantive doctrines of Roman private law – Persons, Guardianship, Property, Successions per universitatem, Obligations ex contractu and ex delicto, and Actions. The second part of the course will then examine the ‘Second Life of Roman Law’ – the reception of Justinianic Roman law in modern legal and political thought, its integration into medieval and modern legal systems (e.g., canon law, Roman-Dutch Law, Scots Law, the French Code Napoleon, the German Civil Code), in Latin America, Africa, and East Asia (as well as Louisiana). Roman Law: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: It is strongly recommended that Students have completed the equivalent of an introductory course in a relevant subfield of Political Science, PS 112A or PS 112B (or an equivalent)
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.
Terms offered: Summer 2019 Second 6 Week Session, Summer 2018 Second 6 Week Session
Major theories from the ancient Greeks to the modern period. Ancient and medieval political thought, including Plato, Aristotle, and St. Augustine. History of Political Theory: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for Political Science N112A after taking Political Science 112A. Students will receive no credit for Political Science 112A after completing Political Science N112A. A deficient grade in Political Science 112A may be removed by taking Political Science N112A.
Hours & Format
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2016, Fall 2014, Spring 2013
What is governance? How should we explain its emergence? What are its implications for public policy and democracy? This course uses debates about contemporary governance to examine four approaches to political science and political theory. The approaches are rational choice theory, institutionalism, Marxism, and poststructuralism. The course looks at the narrative that each approach provides of the origins and workings of governance since 1979, and at the way these narratives embody theoretical commitments about rationality and power, structure and agency, and democracy. It thus promotes an awareness of the way questions about contemporary governance are inextricably linked to philosophical and normative commitments. Theories of Governance: Late 20th Century: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Spring 2020, Summer 2004 10 Week Session, Spring 2004
Intensive study of one topic, problem, or intellectual movement in political theory. See department web site for specific course offerings. Special Topics in Political Theory: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-3 hours of lecture and 0-2 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8-8 hours of lecture and 0-2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternate method of final assessment during regularly scheduled final exam group (e.g., presentation, final project, etc.).
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Spring 2017
Intensive study of one topic, problem, or intellectual movement in political theory. See department web site for specific course offerings. Special Topics in Political Theory: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2022, Fall 2021
Intensive study of one topic, problem, or intellectual movement in political theory. See department web site for specific course offerings. Special Topics in Political Theory: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2021, Spring 2019
Intensive study of one topic, problem, or intellectual movement in political theory. See department web site for specific course offerings. Special Topics in Political Theory: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-3 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Prior to 2007
Intensive study of one topic, problem, or intellectual movement in political theory. See department web site for specific course offerings. Special Topics in Political Theory: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-3 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8-8 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Prior to 2007
Intensive study of one topic, problem, or intellectual movement in political theory. See department web site for specific course offerings. Special Topics in Political Theory: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Prior to 2007
Intensive study of one topic, problem, or intellectual movement in political theory. See department web site for specific course offerings. Special Topics in Political Theory: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2014
Intensive study of one topic, problem, or intellectual movement in political theory. See department web site for specific course offerings. Special Topics in Political Theory: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Prior to 2007
Intensive study of one topic, problem, or intellectual movement in political theory. See department web site for specific course offerings. Special Topics in Political Theory: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Prior to 2007
Intensive study of one topic, problem, or intellectual movement in political theory. See department web site for specific course offerings. Special Topics in Political Theory: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2022
Intensive study of one topic, problem, or intellectual movement in political theory. See department web site for specific course offerings. Special Topics in Political Theory: Read More [+]
Terms offered: Prior to 2007
Intensive study of one topic, problem, or intellectual movement in political theory. See department web site for specific course offerings. Special Topics in Political Theory: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2023
Intensive study of one topic, problem, or intellectual movement in political theory. See department web site for specific course offerings. Special Topics in Political Theory: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Summer 2012 10 Week Session, Summer 2012 Second 6 Week Session
Intensive study of one topic, problem, or intellectual movement in political theory. See department web site for specific course offerings. Special Topics in Political Theory: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Prior to 2007
Intensive study of one topic, problem, or intellectual movement in political theory. See department web site for specific course offerings. Special Topics in Political Theory: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2022 Second 6 Week Session, Fall 2020
Intensive study of one topic, problem, or intellectual movement in political theory. See department web site for specific course offerings. Special Topics in Political Theory: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Summer 2014 Second 6 Week Session
This course explores ideas of individual ethics and political community, the ethics of political rule, freedom and slavery, popular sovereignty and democracy, and equality and inequality in political thought. Readings will be drawn from both canonical and contemporary authors, including Sophocles, Douglass, Machiavelli, Locke, Rousseau, and Tocqueville. This is an introductory course, which emphasizes both thematic and historical approaches to political theory.,Terms offered: Spring 2025, Summer 2014 Second 6 Week Session
Intensive study of one topic, problem, or intellectual movement in political theory. See department web site for specific course offerings. Power, Freedom, and Democracy,Special Topics in Political Theory: Read More [+]
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Summer 2014 Second 6 Week Session
This course explores ideas of individual ethics and political community, the ethics of political rule, freedom and slavery, popular sovereignty and democracy, and equality and inequality in political thought. Readings will be drawn from both canonical and contemporary authors, including Sophocles, Douglass, Machiavelli, Locke, Rousseau, and Tocqueville. This is an introductory course, which emphasizes both thematic and historical approaches to political theory.,Terms offered: Spring 2025, Summer 2014 Second 6 Week Session
Intensive study of one topic, problem, or intellectual movement in political theory. See department web site for specific course offerings. Power, Freedom, and Democracy,Special Topics in Political Theory: Read More [+]
Terms offered: Prior to 2007
Intensive study of one topic, problem, or intellectual movement in political theory. See department web site for specific course offerings. Special Topics in Political Theory: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Summer 2017 Second 6 Week Session
Intensive study of one topic, problem, or intellectual movement in political theory. See department web site for specific course offerings. Special Topics in Political Theory: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2022
Intensive study of one topic, problem, or intellectual movement in political theory. See department web site for specific course offerings. Special Topics in Political Theory: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.
Terms offered: Prior to 2007
Intensive study of one topic, problem, or intellectual movement in political theory. See department web site for specific course offerings. Special Topics in Political Theory: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Summer 2016 10 Week Session, Summer 2016 Second 6 Week Session
Intensive study of one topic, problem, or intellectual movement in political theory. See department web site for specific course offerings. Special Topics in Political Theory: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Prior to 2007
Intensive study of one topic, problem, or intellectual movement in political theory. See department web site for specific course offerings. Special Topics in Political Theory: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2022
This course explores the varieties of political experience and ideas in the ancient Greek world,
focusing on the Classical era. We’ll consider different regime types (kingship, tyranny,
democracy, oligarchy), places (Athens, Sparta, Crete, Syracuse, and beyond Hellas, Persia,
Carthage, and Egypt), political forms (city-state, nation, alliance, empire), institutions (assembly,
council, courts, offices) and persons (political leader or “demagogue,” citizen, woman, foreign
resident, slave). The readings are broadly chronological and include a wide variety of sources:
epic and elegiac poetry, tragic and comic drama, history, inscriptions, speeches, pamphlets, and
philosophy. Ancient Greek Politics and Political Thought: Read More [+]
Objectives & Outcomes
Course Objectives: Familiarity with a wide variety of interesting and important examples of ancient Greek political ideas and practices; a sense of their similarities to and differences from related aspects of modern political thought and practice; ability to analyze some ancient Greek political texts closely and to discuss how they fit into the bigger intellectual and historical picture.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Prior to 2007
Intensive study of one topic, problem, or intellectual movement in political theory. See department web site for specific course offerings. Special Topics in Political Theory: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Prior to 2007
Intensive study of one topic, problem, or intellectual movement in political theory. See department web site for specific course offerings. Special Topics in Political Theory: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2013
Intensive study of one topic, problem, or intellectual movement in political theory. See department web site for specific course offerings. Special Topics in Political Theory: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2018, Spring 1998
Major perspectives in social and economic thought, e.g., natural law,natural right, laissez faire,"possessive individualism,"contractualism, pluralism, and social equality as they affect contemporary discussion of "higher law," fairness, civic competence, and distributive justice. Theories of Justice: Read More [+]
Terms offered: Spring 2023
Dêmokratia, democratia, democracy. What did this term mean to the ancient Greeks who coined it, to the Romans who borrowed it, to the early modern Europeans who discussed it—and what does it mean today? Who or what was the original dêmos, how did it rule, and how different is the interpretation of “rule by the people” that now predominates? Starting with the first attestations of da-mo in the 12th century BC and ending with Iceland’s recent attempt to crowdsource its constitution, this course offers a chronological exploration of the idea and practice of democracy intended to broaden our imaginative horizons with respect to what democracy has been, is, and could become. Democracy Ancient and Modern: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.
Terms offered: Spring 2024
Jurisprudence is the formal academic study of the theory of law. For centuries, law students in the Western world were traditionally introduced to the topic of Jurisprudence through the study of classical Roman law - the most important legal system and the ancestor to most major modern legal systems in the world today. Following this tradition, students in this course will be introduced to Jurisprudence by following the classical approach in Part I of the course. Part II will then investigate the major modern schools of Jurisprudence. Jurisprudence: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.
Terms offered: Fall 2011, Summer 2007 10 Week Session, Summer 2006 10 Week Session
The course will examine three American cultural forms. The focus of the course is to be comparative; readings will center around first-person accounts, written by members of the ethnic groups most immediately involved in each of the cultural forms. The theme is that of identity, seen politically as well as culturally: examining how the various ethnic groups involved came to forge a collective identity for themselves. The three groups studied will vary by instructor. See departmental listings for more specific information. Three American Cultures: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Requirements this course satisfies: Satisfies the American Cultures requirement
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture per week 8 weeks - 5.5 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2021, Summer 2021 First 6 Week Session, Fall 2020
The European Union is the world's most advanced experiment in governance beyond the level of the traditional nation-state. Through the European Union, the main members countries have pooled their national sovereignty and created new ways political authority, economic competition, social cohesion, and cultural identity. While specialists in comparative politics focus on the separate countries, scholars in international relations emphasize the construction of supranational institutions and transnational identities. This course seeks to synthesize the comparative and international approaches by examining the economic, political, and cultural aspects of integration. Politics of European Integration: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-3 hours of lecture and 0-2 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8-8 hours of lecture and 0-2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternate method of final assessment during regularly scheduled final exam group (e.g., presentation, final project, etc.).
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2022, Spring 2021
The goal of this class is to familiarize students with the various ways in which actors can manage and resolve their conflicts. Conflict management in both international and civil conflicts will be discussed. Students will learn about negotiation, mediation, arbitration and adjudication, sanctions, military intervention, peacekeeping, nation-building, and the design of peace agreements. We will also talk about the role of the United Nations, regional organizations, and major powers like the U.S. in conflict management. While the main goal of the class is to familiarize students with central concepts and theories of conflict management, we will also take a look at cases that illustrate when, how and why different strategies work. Conflict Management: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 120A highly recommended
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-3 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternate method of final assessment during regularly scheduled final exam group (e.g., presentation, final project, etc.).
Terms offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing! Is this necessarily true? Wars are brutal and horrific events, but are they all necessarily the result of miscalculation, accident, or fanaticism? Can war serve a rational purpose? Are wars governed by rules and do states care about these rules? This course is designed for upper-level undergraduate students. War!: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 8 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 1.5 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022
This class begins with a historical overview of war in the region. The second part of the class introduces theories that complement and elaborate on theories from PS124A: arguments about the relationship between war and resources,religion, authoritarianism, civil military relations, territorial disputes, sovereignty, and power. In the third part of the course, we will explore current policy concerns related to conflict in the region: Nuclear proliferation, terrorism, the civil war in Syria, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, drone warfare, and the U.S. role in the region. War in the Middle East: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites:POL SCI 124A (“War!”) is a prerequisite for this class. Political Science 124A
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2023, Fall 2021
Should nations intervene in other countries to prevent human rights abuses or famine? On what principles should immigration be based? Should wealthy states aid poorer states, and if so, how much? Who should pay for global environmental damage? Answers to these moral questions depend to a great degree on who we believe we have an obligation to: Ourselves? Nationals of our country? Residents of our country? Everyone in the world equally? We will examine different traditions of moral thought including skeptics, communitarians, cosmopolitans, and use these traditions as tools to make reasoned judgments about difficult moral problems in world politics. Ethics and Justice in International Affairs: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-3 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022
It is increasingly recognized that for societies to move on after widespread human rights and humanitarian abuses some kind of reconciliation process is necessary. What does reconciliation mean at the national vs. personal level? What institutions and processes work best to encourage reconciliation? What role do truth commissions and trials play in this process? Are these processes best dealt with nationally or should they be led by an international body? This course will start by examining the concept of reconciliation and then look at case studies including Germany and Japan after WWII, Cambodia after the Khmer Rouge, Argentina and the Dirty War, Chile after Pinochet, South Africa and Apartheid, the Rwandan genocide, and war in Yugoslavia Reconciliation After Atrocities: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.
Terms offered: Spring 2022
This course will examine the origins and forms of what a legal scholar once called an “odious scourge”: genocide. For years, genocide mainly referred to the Nazi attempt to exterminate the Jews during World War II. However, since the end of the Cold War
events in Eastern Europe, Central Africa, and elsewhere have drawn scholars’ attention to genocide as a political phenomenon that may be studied across regions and time periods. Although ethical and policy concerns will underlie the discussion, as they do whenever genocide is the topic of study, our main objective will be to examine the determinants of genocide and related forms of mass violence. The Comparative Study of Genocide: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2024, Fall 2022
This course is an introduction to the central concepts, laws, and debates in the field of international human rights. In the first half of the course, we will examine fundamental questions in the field, such as: What are human rights? What are the philosophical, religious, and historical foundations of human rights? What are the main international human rights agreements? What are some problems with those agreements? What are the main international institutions that handle human rights? How are human rights enforced outside of the U.N. system? What are regional human rights systems? Are human rights universal? And what role do non-governmental organizations play in this field? The Politics of Human Rights: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2022, Fall 2020
The goal of this upper-level seminar is to familiarize students with the scientific approach to studying international conflict, provide them with a deep understanding of the basic factors that exacerbate or mitigate international conflict, and sharpen students' analytical and research skills. The Scientific Study of International Conflict: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-3 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2021 First 6 Week Session, Fall 2020
This course is designed to help you: (1) understand the existing theory and evidence about (a) the causes, strategies, and outcomes of civil conflict, and (b) the ways in which international actors intervene, (2) broaden your theoretical and empirical framework in international relations more generally, (3) think critically about the existing work in the field, and (4) begin to consider engaging in research on civil conflict and international intervention.
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Spring 2023
Economic concepts in the study of international political behavior. Political concepts influencing the choice of economic policies. International Political Economy: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: College-level economics course (macro, micro, trade, etc) required. Students who have NOT taken any economics should NOT take the class
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1.5 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2014, Spring 2012, Spring 2011
This course covers the history and analysis of Chinese foreign policy since the inception of the People's Republic of China 1949. Some attention is devoted to pre-1949 Far Eastern international relations, but only as a background to the study of the contemporary period. Emphasis is placed on Sino-American and Sino-Soviet relations, on the domestic determinants of Chinese foreign policy, on the changing nature of China's relations with her Asian neighbors, and on important substantive issues. Chinese Foreign Policy: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2009, Spring 2008, Spring 1996
Chinese foreign policy from the inception of the People's Republic of China in 1949 to the present. This course aims at providing the student with a sufficient factual base, alternative theoretical approaches and some of the methodological tools useful in studying Chinese foreign policy. Chinese Foreign Policy: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Fall 2020, Spring 2020
This course focuses on the sensible application of econometric methods to empirical problems in economics and public policy analysis. It provides background on issues that arise when analyzing non-experimental social science data and a guide for tools that are useful for empirical research. By the end of the course, students will have an understanding of the types of research designs that can lead to convincing analysis and be comfortable working with large scale data sets. Applied Econometrics and Public Policy: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 140 or 141 or consent of instructor
Credit Restrictions: Students who completed Econ C142 receive no credit for Econ N142.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-3 hours of lecture and 1-0 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 8 weeks - 6-6 hours of lecture and 2-0 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternate method of final assessment during regularly scheduled final exam group (e.g., presentation, final project, etc.).
Terms offered: Spring 2023, Spring 1996
Social scientists and policymakers increasingly use large quantities of data to make
decisions and test theories. For example, political campaigns use surveys, marketing
data, and previous voting history to optimally target get out the vote drives.
Governments deploy predictive algorithms in an attempt to optimize public policy
processes and decisions. And political scientists use massive new data sets to measure
the extent of partisan polarization in Congress, the sources and consequences of media
bias, and the prevalence of discrimination in the workplace. Each of these examples,
and many others, make use of statistical and algorithmic tools that distill large quantities
of raw data into useful quantities of interest.
Course Objectives: This course introduces techniques to collect, analyze, and utilize large collections of
data for social science inferences. The ultimate goal of the course is to introduce
students to modern machine learning techniques and provide the skills necessary to
apply the methods widely.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Students must have taken PS 3 and Data 8 (or have equivalent coursework)
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2024
This course will cover a broad range of topics on the use of predictive and related algorithms in public policy. This will include specific case studies, how data are used in these tools, their possible benefits relative to status quo procedures as well as their limitations, and the potential harms and ethics surrounding their use (e.g. issues of algorithmic bias).
The course will include instruction on both concepts and methods. Students will learn about the use of algorithms in public policy (and related topics) through a conceptual and the-oretical lens, through illustrative case studies, and through data science applications and exercises. Berkeley Changemaker: Algorithms, Public Policy, and Ethics: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Students must have taken PS 3 or Data 8 (or have equivalent coursework)
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required, with common exam group.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2023, Spring 2023
A non-technical introduction to game theory. Basic principle, and models of interaction among players, with a strong emphasis on applications to political science, economics, and other social sciences. Game Theory in the Social Sciences: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Credit Restrictions: Students receive no credit for PS C135/PEIS C135/ECON C110 after taking ECON 104. If PS C135/ECON C110/PS W135/ECON N110 is taken and with a passing grade, students can't take the other versions of the course for additional credit.If PS C135/ECON C110/PS W135/ECON N110 is taken and not passed, students can take the other versions to replace grade.
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit under special circumstances: PS C135/ECON C110,PS W135 and ECON N110 are similar in content. See Restriction Description.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-3 hours of lecture and 0-1 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Formerly known as: Economics C110, Political Economy of Industrial Soc C135, Political Science C135
Terms offered: Summer 2024 8 Week Session, Summer 2023 8 Week Session, Summer 2022 8 Week Session
This course provides an introduction to game theory and its application in social science, especially political science and economics. The purposes of the course are to give students a sense of the field of game theory and how political scientists use it in making arguments about how government and politics work, to develop students' intuition about strategic situations in everyday life, and to develop students' analytical capabilities generally. Upon completion of the course, students will be able to depict social situations as simple game theoretic models, analyze those models to understand how the behaviors of the individuals involved are mutually reinforcing, and apply computer-based tools to evaluate under conditions of uncertainty. Game Theory in the Social Sciences: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for Political Science W135 after completing Political Science C135/Economics C110 or Economics N110. A deficient grade in Political Science C135/Economics C110 or Economics N110 may be removed by taking Political Science W135.
Hours & Format
Summer: 8 weeks - 6 hours of web-based lecture and 2 hours of web-based discussion per week
Online: This is an online course.
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2005, Spring 2004
This course provides a deep dive into comparative political science. It takes the form of a “great books” course that focuses on outstanding, recently published texts. We will investigate how the authors formulated their research questions, conducted their field research, developed their causal explanations, found inspiration to persevere, and dealt with methodological challenges. We will also delve into the substantive issues that the books tackle, which include some of the most urgent issues in global politics. Each book we will study is an exemplary, inspiring work, and taken together the texts cover a vast range of substantive topics and geographical regions. Advanced Comparative Politics: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2008, Fall 2007, Fall 2006
Theories of revolutionary violence, rebellion, and revolution. Strategies of revolution, terrorism, sources of revolutionary action. Revolutionary Change: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2025
Why do people rise up, and what outcomes emerge when governments are overthrown and new forces take power? Drawing on studies of events in Russia, Cuba, Mexico, Bolivia, Guatemala, and a range of other cases, we will ask why revolutions emerge in some settings and not others, why people do (and do not) mobilize for change in their societies, and why some uprisings succeed in taking power while others are defeated. We will then ask about the changes that revolutions bring in the social, economic, and political realms do we see greater freedom and equality in post-revolutionary society, or do revolutions fall short of their promises? And what explains the consequences that we observe? Causes and Consequences of Revolutions: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Not yet offered
Many are concerned with the state of democracy in the United States and throughout the world. To better understand these concerns, we will study how global democracy has changed over time through questions including - How should democracy be defined and measured? What are the causes of democratization and democratic erosion? Do factors like inequality, polarization, and immigration pose a major threat to democratic progress? How will recent technological developments like social media and AI affect the future of democracy?
“Data intensive course”. While the main emphasis is on deepening our understanding of democracy and democratic change, most assignments will have at least some component of collecting, analyzing, and/or interpreting data. Democracy: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Prerequisite of PS 3 or PS 88
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.
Terms offered: Fall 2023, Spring 2000, Spring 1999
This course provides a political economy framework to understand the origins and persistence of global gender inequality. We will look at variation in gender equality indicators to systematically address how women’s socio-economic status and political power have varied across time (in historical perspective) and place (in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas). We will employ three analytical lenses to help us interpret what we see: biology, markets, and power. Throughout the course, we will pay particular attention to the way gender intersects with other identities, such as race, ethnicity, gender identity and sexuality, class, and partisanship. The Political Economy of Gender: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2004
This course will examine how government, firms, and individuals interact to govern markets by surveying debates over specific substantive issues in the advanced industrial countries, especially the United States. Topics include labor regulation, antitrust policy, financial regulation, and intellectual property rights. Market Governance in the Digital Age: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: One economics course (such as Economics 1 or 2) and one Political Economy course (such as Political Science 126A or Political Economy 101) strongly recommended
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 4 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.
Terms offered: Fall 2021, Fall 2020, Fall 2019
This course examines the interaction between politics and markets, both in theory and in practice, explicitly linking classic works on political economy with current policy debates. We study how political systems and markets are organized in a wide range of different national settings, looking at both history and contemporary issues. Topics include: 1) early industrialization in Britain and the United States, 2) late industrialization in continental Europe and Japan, 3) the varieties of capitalism in contemporary industrialized countries, 4) the newly industrializing economics of Latin America and East Asia, 5) the problems of development, and 6) the transition from communism to a market economy in Eastern Europe and China. The Varieties of Capitalism: Political Economic Systems of the World: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 4 hours of lecture and 1.5 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2015, Summer 2008 10 Week Session, Summer 2008 Second 6 Week Session
This course will examine international migration from a historical and comparative perspective, looking at why people migrate, how citizens respond to the migration, and how states respond to migration. The first part of the course looks at the changing relationship between the state, immigrants, and citizenship. Turning to case studies, we will examine five different types of receiving states, each confronted with a different form of migration: a traditional immigrant state, a post-colonial state, a non-traditional immigrant state that imports migrant workers, a highly industrialized latecomer state, and a newly industrialized state. Immigrants, Citizenship, and the State: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 4-4 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8-8 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2013
In the present era political, economic, and social organization powerfully influence national capacity to assure economic success, real and rising incomes for the population, and political success, basic survival, and the projection of its purposes and values. This course looks at the continual process of international competition and transformation, and examines which factors separate the winners from the losers. We will gain leverage into these questions by examining critical moments in the 20th and 21st centuries and analyze according to national responses. What choices signal success? Can the failures be avoided? The course will discuss whether globalization is shunting aside national political choice, or whether globalization is in fact a sequence of national and regional stories played out on a larger stage. We will consider how economic constraint structures political choice and national response to the global economy. But we will also examine how political developments shape market dynamics and national innovations. We will learn about all sorts of things from the politics of French fashion to why Japanese make good cars. National Success and Failure in the Age of a Global Economy: from Pleats to Cleats: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2025
In this course, we will think critically about the history of clothing in the world, how choices about clothing have shaped political, economic, and social outcomes across the world, and how the choices we make every day when we get dressed relate to the broader world around us. In doing so, we will explore the role(s) of clothing in global history, the history of industrialization, the political uses of clothing, and current interactions between the political economy of fashion and the environment. Students should come to the course ready to engage critically with their everyday decisions and the wider implications of these choices. The Politics of What We Wear: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternate method of final assessment during regularly scheduled final exam group (e.g., presentation, final project, etc.).
Terms offered: Fall 2024
This class will introduce students to the complex phenomenon of human trafficking (also referred to as a form of modern day slavery) as defined in the United Nations Anti-Trafficking Protocol as well as the US Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) and its subsequent reauthorizations. In this class, we will discuss trafficking in human beings in its historical, legal, economic, political and social contexts, identifying the scope of the global problem, different forms of human trafficking, regional trends and practices, including trafficking in the United States, and the different actors involved at all levels. Human Trafficking: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: PS120A highly recommended
Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for POL SCI 138M after completing POL SCI 123C.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023
This course will examine the origins and forms of what a legal scholar once called an “odious scourge”: genocide. For years, genocide mainly referred to the Nazi attempt to exterminate the Jews during World War II. However, since the end of the Cold War events in Eastern Europe, Central Africa, and elsewhere have drawn scholars’ attention to genocide as a political phenomenon that may be studied across regions and time periods. Although ethical and policy concerns will underlie the discussion, as they do whenever genocide is the topic of study, our main objective will be to examine the determinants of genocide and related forms of mass violence. The Comparative Study of Genocide: Read More [+]
Terms offered: Spring 2024
This course starts by exploring such migration reasons and the scholarly understanding of the politics of immigration. We then move to discussing the processes of immigrant incorporation—do immigrants and their children enter the mainstream societal institutions, what are the policies that promote the social, economic and political participation of immigrants, and what are the conditions that hinder immigrants participation; including nativistic reactions to immigration and demographic change. The course ends with a discussion of policy interventions designed to ameliorate the conditions hindering immigrants’ incorporation. The Politics of Immigration: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2016, Summer 2013 10 Week Session, Summer 2013 Second 6 Week Session
Politics of economic development in developing countries. Comparative analysis of the theories and practice of development in the light of contemporary experience. Political strategies of agrarian, industrial, educational, and regional development and their impact on autonomy, welfare, justice, and human development. Development Politics: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1.5 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture and 2.5 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2021, Fall 2020, Spring 2020
Over half of the world's population is now urban. As urban populations swell, metropolitan areas in both the developed and the developing world struggle to provide basic services and address the negative externalities associated with rapid growth. Sanitation, transportation, pollution, energy services, and public safety typically fall to sub-national governments. Yet local sub-national institutions face difficulties as they tackle these challenges because development tends to spill over political boundaries and resources are limited. Such difficulties are particularly acute in the developing world due to tighter resource constraints, weak institutions, and the comparative severity of the underlying problems. Urban and Subnational Politics in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-3 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Prior to 2007
This course tackles a series of big questions about economic growth and development. What hinders progress towards wealth and wellbeing in the Global South? What models of development are available to these states and what role does the Global North play in shaping their opportunities for growth? How do leadership, corruption, and violence impede these processes? And what prospects and challenges do climate change, technology and migration hold for citizens of the countries? Political Economy of the Global South: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Fall 2013
Over half of the world's population is now urban. As urban populations swell, metropolitan areas in both the developed and the developing world struggle to provide basic services and address the negative externalities associated with rapid growth. Sanitation, transportation, pollution, energy services, and public safety typically fall to sub-national governments. Yet local sub-national institutions face difficulties as they tackle these challenges because development tends to spill over political boundaries and resources are limited. Such difficulties are particularly acute in the developing world due to tighter resource constraints, weak institutions, and the comparative severity of the underlying problems. Moreover, democratization and decentralization suggest that urban governance and service delivery may have become more democratic, but present challenges with respect to priority setting, coordination, and corruption. Urban and Sub-national Politics in Developing Countries: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023
The course will cover ethnic politics, broadly conceived with a particular focus on social movements, protests, civil disobedience and political violence. Related topics may include immigration, crime and the state, and urban politics. We will consider a range of questions including, how do stories influence our sense of self, community and nation? How do filmmaking techniques influence which people and issues become salient? How do aesthetic and narrative choices affect attitudes about the social order and who is deserving of power? Through close readings of films, social science, and media studies scholarship, this course will enable students to study key political science concepts, the institution of cinema, and how stories make meaning. Projecting Power: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.
Terms offered: Prior to 2007
The rise of right-wing populists marks contemporary politics. In this course, we discuss how populists achieve enough support to win power, particularly when entrenched political parties oppose them. To understand the rise of populists, we delve into the origins of political parties, their support base, and their organization. We then discuss the influence of a crisis of representation on the electoral success of populists in democratic contests. Is their success linked a large segment of the population feels underrepresented by the existing political parties?
Course must be taken simultaneously with PS N149G. Selected Topics in Comparative Politics: Political Parties and Party Systems: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for POL SCI N140G after completing POL SCI 140G. A deficient grade in POL SCI N140G may be removed by taking POL SCI 140G.
Hours & Format
Summer: 4 weeks - 10 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2022, Fall 2021, Fall 2018
This course presents a broad introduction to contemporary politics and society in Russia. What was the Soviet Union, and why did democracy fail in Russia after the USSR fell apart? What kind of regime has Vladimir Putin constructed, and what are the limits of his power? How did Russia reemerge as a global power and how does it challenge the West and democracy around the world? How may we understand the nature of Russian nationalism and the quest for a secure national identity? How does the Russian economy work? What do we know about public opinion and the lives of ordinary Russians? Does the recent rise in social protest and state repression portend major political change? The course is recommended for juniors and seniors but is open to all Russian Politics: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2022, Summer 2022 First 6 Week Session, Fall 2020
Modern politics and government in the states of Eastern Europe presented within a broader cultural, historical, and sociological framework. Problems of economic underdevelopment and national fragmentation. Comparisons of the pre-Communist, Communist, and post-Communist periods. Politics and Government in Eastern Europe: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8-9 hours of lecture and 2-2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2021, Summer 2017 Second 6 Week Session, Summer 2016 Second 6 Week Session
The Middle East in world affairs, international relations and domestic policies of contemporary states in the Middle East; policies and strategy of major powers; supranational movements, regional political and security organizations. The area comprises Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Israel, and the Arab countries. Middle East Politics: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-3 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2018, Fall 2017, Fall 2016
The structure and evolution of political institutions in China, and China's relations with neighboring states such as North Korea and South Korea. Emphasis upon such topics as nationalism, political modernization, and ideology. Northeast Asian Politics: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-3 hours of lecture and 1-1.5 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2020, Fall 2019, Spring 2017
The structure and evolution of political institutions in Japan. Emphasis upon such topics as political parties, the bureaucracy, social change, and contemporary policy issues. Japanese Politics: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1-1.5 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2016, Fall 2015, Spring 2015
An overview of Chinese politics since the fall of the Qing Dynasty. Emphasis on the People's Republic of China and post-Mao reforms. Chinese Politics: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1.5 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2017, Fall 2016
China's extraordinary growth has in some respects confirmed the power of free markets, but at the same time, it has challenged social scientists to think more deeply about the foundations and limits of the market economy. Furthermore, China's ever-increasing economic freedom and prosperity has been accompanied by only limited steps toward greater political freedom, running counter to one of the most consistent patterns of comparative politics and history. This class will cross conventional boundaries between political and economic analysis in order to address these issues. The Political Economy of China: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Summer 2002 10 Week Session
This course offers the opportunity to learn about contemporary Chinese politics and society while visiting both famous and ordinary places to see and hear first hand how the Chinese people have experienced over five decades of dramatic change. The course has two components. The first week will be spent on the Berkeley campus and will involve an intensive introduction to the major strands of scholarly work on Chinese politics since the Communist revolution. During this time, students will also have a chance to become familiar with the basic outlines of recent Chinese history. The remaining 3 weeks of the course will be held in the Peoples Republic of China with an emphasis on experiential learning. Lecture and discussions will be on-going during and following field work and tours. In addition to lecture and discussions, two essays will be required. Chinese Politics and Society: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Summer: 6 weeks - 15-20 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Fall 2017
This course is designed primarily for students interested in exploring in depth the relationship between U.S. foreign policy and developments in East Asia. This course will explore the historical and contemporary foreign policies of the United States toward Asia with an eye toward analyzing the ways in which Asia has been shaped by American, and in turn American policies have been shaped by events in Asia. American Foreign Policy Toward Asia: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 4-4 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2015, Fall 2014, Fall 2013
An overview of modern Korea divided into the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The course will compare the two Koreas in terms of political, social and economic institutions, culture, political elites and modernization strategy. Politics of Divided Korea: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2020, Fall 2018
A comparative analysis of development and change in the political systems of contemporary South Asia. South Asian Politics: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Credit Restrictions: Political Science 145A and Political Science W145A are similar in content. Students will receive no credit for Political Science 145A after completing Political Science W145A. A deficient grade in Political Science W145A may be removed by taking Political Science 145A.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Spring 1998, Spring 1997
A comparative analysis of development and change in the political systems of contemporary South Asia. South Asian Politics: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Summer 2024 8 Week Session, Summer 2023 8 Week Session, Summer 2022 8 Week Session
This class focuses mostly on the "domestic" politics of India. In addition to providing an overview of political developments in India since independence, this online course assesses the nature of democratic participation and representation in contemporary India - the world's largest democracy. Understanding Political Developments in India: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Credit Restrictions: Political Science W145A and Political Science 145A are similar in content. Students will receive no credit for Political Science W145A after completing Political Science 145. A deficient grade in Political Science 145 may be removed by taking Political Science W145A.
Hours & Format
Summer: 8 weeks - 6 hours of web-based lecture and 2 hours of web-based discussion per week
Online: This is an online course.
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021
Introduction to politics in the states of contemporary sub-Saharan Africa. Comparative study of political institutions and regime transitions; economic crisis and development; political violence and civil conflict. African Politics: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Summer 2010 10 Week Session
The course begins at the global level and moves to the local level in examining the nexus of politics, environment, and culture where conflicts ensue. These conflicts can lead to violence and hardship. They can also result in creative adaptations and solutions based in political and administrative institutions and processes that build peace. The first three weeks of the course examine global trends and institutions; the last three weeks examine the specific dynamics involving land and resource conflict in Kenya. Throughout the course, students will be introduced to social science and environmental science perspectives. Students will be exposed to the analytical tools of political economy, history, and political ecology. The class will consist of students from the University of California, Berkeley and Kenyatta University. It will be led by faculty from both institutions. Environment, Culture, and Peacebuilding: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Summer: 6 weeks - 15 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2022, Fall 2019
French political life has long gravitated around a "Republican model" marked by an unmediated relationship between the citizen and the state, socialization into French values through secular public education, a special vocation for France on the international stage, and an activist state. Recent developments have called the Republican model into question. This course will examine the transformation of France's Republican model - its origins, operations, and responses to contemporary challenges. Contemporary French Politics: The Republican Model in Transition: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-3 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2023, Spring 2022, Fall 2020
Comparision of welfare states in Western Europe and North America. Origins of welfare states. Varieties of welfare states. Relationship between welfare states and the economy. Impact of changing social, economic, and family structure states. Contemporary welfare reform. The Welfare State in Comparative Perspective: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1.5 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Prior to 2007
This course provides an introduction to German history, from ancient times to the post-reunification period. Special emphasis will be placed on the history of the city of Berlin. Except for a few preparatory activities in Berkeley, the course will be conducted in Berlin, offering lectures as well as hands-on visits to important places of German history. This is a four-week travel-study course. German History and Politics: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Summer: 6 weeks - 4 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2022, Spring 2021
Political institutions, groups and parties in Latin American countries. Basic characteristics of political processes in Latin America; problems of political development and modernization and political change. Comparative study of political systems, institutions, groups and political culture. Latin American Politics: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-3 hours of lecture and 1-3 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-3 hours of lecture and 0-2 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8-8 hours of lecture and 0-2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternate method of final assessment during regularly scheduled final exam group (e.g., presentation, final project, etc.).
Terms offered: Summer 2022 Second 6 Week Session, Fall 2012, Summer 2011 Second 6 Week Session
See department web site for specific course offerings. Special Topics in Area Studies: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for POL SCI 149K after completing POL SCI 141A, or POL SCI 129B. A deficient grade in POL SCI 149K may be removed by taking POL SCI 141A, or POL SCI 129B.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 0 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Prior to 2007
This course main goal is to help students to become familiar with contemporary Spanish and Catalan politics. Students will gain familiarity with the historical background and main institutional features of Spanish democracy, with a specific focus on the Catalan region and the issue of territorial integration within Spain. We will also cover some of the recent developments. Throughout the course we will use the Spanish case to motivate broader discussions on some key topics of comparative politics: civil wars, democratization, secessionism, terrorism and political violence and party system formation.
Course must be taken simultaneously with PS N140G. Special Topics in Area Studies: Contemporary Catalan and Spanish Politics: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for POL SCI N149G after completing POL SCI 149G. A deficient grade in POL SCI N149G may be removed by taking POL SCI 149G.
Hours & Format
Summer: 4 weeks - 10 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Summer 2016 First 6 Week Session, Fall 2015
The nature of the American legal system; the interrelationships of judges, lawyers, police, political officials, bureaucrats, press, and general public; the political and social aspects of the legal process. The American Legal System: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week 8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture and 1.5 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2008, Spring 2006
In contemporary democracies, law, courts, and other legal institutions (law enforcement agencies, regulatory bodies, administrative tribunals, the legal profession) play an ever-increasing role in the government of society. This course will examine the political science, legal and sociolegal literature on topics related to the design, staffing, and operation of legal institutions, the formulation of law, and the struggle for political power. See department web site for specific offerings. Selected Topics in Public Law: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2023, Summer 2020 Second 6 Week Session, Spring 2018
Fundamental principles of constitutional law, leading cases, causes, and consequences of legal decisions and their role in influencing, shaping, and constraining the American political system. Judicial Review and the Limits to National Power. Constitutional Law of the United States: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-4 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2010, Spring 2009, Spring 2008
Fundamental principles of constitutional law, leading cases, causes, and consequences of legal decisions and their role in influencing, shaping, and constraining the American political system. Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. Constitutional Law of the United States: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Political Science 157A or consent of instructor
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-4 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023
The nature of public opinion, attitude formation, electoral turnout and choice; political cleavages; the role of the mass public. Public Opinion, Voting and Participation: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 10 hours of lecture per week 8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Summer 2024 8 Week Session, Fall 2020, Spring 2019
What can psychology tell us about why believe what they believe about current events, vote the way they do, or even perpetrate atrocities? This class explores the sources of public opinion and political behavior through the application of psychological theories about personality, cognition, social influence, and identity. The course focuses on both underlying psychological theories and concepts and their political implications. This class will largely focus on applications in United States politics and society, but I will include examples from other countries as well. There are no prerequisites. Political Psychology and Involvement: Read More [+]
Terms offered: Summer 2020 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2019 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2018 First 6 Week Session
This course explores the sources of political beliefs and actions through the application of psychological theories about personality, learning, cognition, and group dynamics. The course begins by briefly considering a number of alternative analytic approaches to linking human nature and politics and then considers such problems as political ideology, persuasion, compliance, protest, violence, and leadership in terms of these approaches. The course considers both mass and elite political behavior. The readings include both quantitative materials drawn from survey research and experiments and more impressionistic and clinical studies. Psychology of Politics: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for Political Science N164A after taking Political Science 164A. Students will receive no credit for Political Science 164A after completing Political Science N164A. A deficient grade in Political Science 164A may be removed by taking Political Science N164A and vice versa.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Summer 2023 8 Week Session, Summer 2022 8 Week Session, Summer 2021 8 Week Session
What can psychology tell us about why believe what they believe about current events, vote the way they do, or even perpetrate atrocities? This class explores the sources of public opinion and political behavior through the application of psychological theories about personality, cognition, social influence, and identity. The course focuses on both underlying psychological theories and concepts and their political implications. This class will largely focus on applications in United States politics and society, but I will include examples from other countries as well. There are no prerequisites. Political Psychology and Involvement: Read More [+]
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2023, Fall 2016
This course examines the past and present of Latino politics in the US. The course reviews the history of conquest, colonization, and immigration that gave rise to the Latino population in the US, the differences and similarities in the contexts of reception of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican, and Central American, the cultural and institutional determinants of Latino identities, and the historical and institutional contexts shaping the contemporary political attitudes, behaviors, and representation of Latino voters.
Terms offered: Fall 2018
Students will explore, discuss, and understand the relationship between racial/ethnic group formation, group-based beliefs and behavior, and politics. Our focus is on the US today, but with an appreciation of how the racial politics of the here and now is rooted in history and human psychology. We cover Black Politics, Latinx Politics, Asian American Politics, Native American Politics and White Politics, general concepts of identity, immigration, citizenship, class, and intersectionality. We examine both how race and ethnicity affect politics, as well as how politics can shape the boundaries, definitions and behaviors of groups. These behaviors include voting, elite decisions, civic engagement, protests, and media content and usage. Racial and Ethnic Politics in the New American Century: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for POL SCI 167 after completing POL SCI 167AC.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2020, Fall 2015, Fall 2014
Some of the most enduring and violent conflicts in America center on race. The goal of this course is to explore, discuss, and better understand the relationship between perceptions of racial identity, attributions of racial difference, and politics, broadly defined. We focus on the recent and persistent debates about racism, identity, rights, representation, citizenship, conflict, and coalitions. A repeated theme of this course is the question whether racial order and inequality are essential to, or an exception from, the liberal democracy in the U.S. This is a lecture course with intensive readings, written assignments, and in-class discussion. Racial and Ethnic Politics in the New American Century: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for POL SCI 167AC after completing POL SCI 167.
Requirements this course satisfies: Satisfies the American Cultures requirement
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024
An inquiry into the political environment of the state--historical, economic, geographic, and social; its political institutions--government, parties, interest groups, and citizens; and the policies resulting from the interaction of environment and institutions. California Politics: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 4 hours of lecture and 1.5 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2006, Fall 2004, Spring 2004
This course examines the emergence and crisis of California's political economy. An analytical framework is developed that encompasses the secular growth and cyclical variability of California's income, expenditure, and revenue levels. California's economic growth and political development since 1875 will be analyzed. Specific topics covered include the Edmund G. (Pat) Brown era; Proposition 13 and the Ronald Reagan governorship; California's demographic transformation; challenges of minority economic development and political representation; the 2003 gubernatorial recall and the 2002-04 fiscal crisis. Course is part of the University of California Center Sacramento Program and is located in Sacramento. Political Economy of the California Crisis: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit with instructor consent.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Fall 2013, Spring 2012, Spring 2011
The roles of various levels of government--local, regional, state, and national--in politics and policy-making in metropolitan regions. Urban and Metropolitan Government and Politics: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022
The methods used to manage the power of the bureaucracy in the American political system. An introduction to theories of organizational behavior. The effects of administrative structure upon the creation and distribution of public benefits. Public Organization and Administration: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 10 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2020
This course explores the way societies try to address and solve difficult and seemingly intractable public problems. Can we attribute success or failure to institutions and their capacity to solve problems? Are problems difficult to solve because they are complex or because of a failure of political will? What are the characteristics of organizations or communities that are able to solve problems? How are public problems framed and how are they used to mobilize constituencies? The course draws on literature in public administration, public policy studies, and democratic theory to try to better understand some of the major social, political, environmental, and economic problems of our contemporary world. Public Problems: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022
H190A is the first of a two-semester research seminar designed to provide support and structure to political science seniors writing an honors thesis. To receive department honors, students must maintain the minimum GPA for honors and complete H190B with a B+ or better. For additional details, please consult the Undergraduate Advising Office or http://www.polisci.berkeley.edu. Honors Seminar: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Admission to the Political Science Honors Program. Must be a declared political science senior with a 3.5 GPA in the major and a 3.3 GPA overall. Eligible students must have taken Political Science 3 and at least two letter-graded upper division Political Science courses at Berkeley
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023
H190B is the second of a two-semester research seminar designed to provide support and structure to political science seniors writing an honors thesis. To receive department honors, students must maintain the minimum GPA for honors and complete H190B with a B+ or better. For additional details, please consult the Undergraduate Advising Office or http://www.polisci.berkeley.edu. Honors Seminar: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Political Science H190A. Must be a declared political science senior with a 3.5 GPA in the major and a 3.3 GPA overall. Eligible students must have taken Political Science 3 and at least two letter-graded upper division Political Science courses at Berkeley
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024
The seminars will generally be led by ladder-rank faculty members in the subfields of Political Theory, Area Studies, American Politics, International Relations, and Comparative Politics. These intense writing seminars will focus on the research area of the faculty member teaching the course. The seminars will provide an opportunity for students to have direct intellectual interactions with faculty members while also giving the students an understanding of faculty research. Junior Seminar: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Credit Restrictions: Students are allowed to take one seminar per semester.
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.
Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Fall 2022
This initiative is designed to help students learn about what it means to earn a PhD
in political science and how to prepare for and apply to PhD programs. The goal is to build a
community of undergraduate scholars who will be connected with each other and with faculty and
graduate students at Berkeley. Students will learn about political science research, ways to prepare
to be a competitive PhD applicant, and receive support, advice, and mentoring on the application
process. Students who are selected for the program will participate in a series of workshops throughout the semester, will be
advised on pursuing research opportunities as an undergraduate, and will have the opportunity
to receive mentoring from graduate students and faculty. Pipeline Initiative in Political Science (PIPS): Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit up to a total of 1 time.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1.5 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Alternative to final exam.
Terms offered: Spring 2025
This experiential course prepares technical, business-minded, and policy-oriented students to build and plan the implementation of a product, startup, or policy innovation from scratch. This course is meant for students who seek a challenging, interactive, team-based, and hands-on learning experience in entrepreneurship and technology. Students can expect to work in an interdisciplinary team to develop novel products and solutions to address existing problems in the realm of democracy and technology. Challenge Lab: Building Bridges between Democracy and Technology for a Better Society: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit with advisor consent.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 4 hours of seminar per week 15 weeks - 4 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.
Terms offered: Fall 2015, Fall 2014, Spring 2014
Independent study of an advanced topic resulting in a substantial research paper. Special Research Project: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consent of faculty sponsor and department chairman
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 1-4 hours of independent study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Spring 2007, Spring 2006, Spring 2005
This seminar will introduce students to the theory and practice of policy analysis and development as it relates to legislative action at the state level to maximize students' internship experience. The internship component of the course will provide students with a challenging opportunity to engage in experiential learning in some aspect of the political, policy-making, or governmental processes in California's state capital. This course will permit students to develop a systematic understanding of the public policy and political process in California and to develop analytical writing skills to produce a 25-30 page research paper developing and reflecting on this understanding. This course is part of the University of California Center Sacramento Program and is located in Sacramento. UC Sacramento Internship and Research Seminar: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor
Credit Restrictions: Unit credit will be based on the number of hours of the internship.
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit with instructor consent.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar and 24-36 hours of internship per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Fall 1997, Spring 1997, Fall 1996
This research seminar will explore the workings of Congress and its role in making public policy. It combines elective coursework with the original scholarship requirements of a UCDC research seminar and is designed for students in Congressional internships and those considering Congressional staff positions after graduation. In addition to studying the pathways of lawmaking, we will ask how Congress and its Members relate to the other branches of government, the press, and the public. Understanding the Congressional World: A Field Research Seminar: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Admission to UC Berkeley-Washington Program
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of seminar, 1 hour of colloquium, 3 hours of fieldwork, and 18 hours of internship per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021, Spring 2021, Fall 2020, Spring 2020, Fall 2019, Spring 2019, Fall 2018, Fall 2016, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2013, Fall 2012, Spring 2012
This course is the UCDC letter-graded core seminar for 4 units that complements the P/NP credited internship course UGIS C196B. Core seminars are designed to enhance the experience of and provide an intellectual framework for the student's internship. UCDC core seminars are taught in sections that cover various tracks such as the Congress, media, bureaucratic organizations and the Executive Branch, international relations, public policy and general un-themed original research. UCDC Core Seminar: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: C196B (must be taken concurrently)
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes. Students may enroll in multiple sections of this course within the same semester.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week
Summer: 10 weeks - 4.5 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021, Spring 2021, Fall 2020, Spring 2020, Fall 2019, Spring 2019, Fall 2018, Fall 2016, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2013
This course provides a credited internship for all students enrolled in the UCDC and Cal in the Capital Programs. It must be taken in conjunction with the required academic core course C196A. C196B requires that students work 3-4 days per week as interns in settings selected to provide them with exposure to and experienc in government, public policy, international affairs, media, the arts or other areas or relevance to their major fields of study. UCDC Internship: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: C196A (must be taken concurrently)
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 20 hours of internship per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Fall 2016, Spring 2016, Fall 2015, Spring 2015, Fall 2014, Spring 2014, Spring 2013
Students work in selected internship programs approved in advance by the faculty coordinator and for which written contracts have been established between the sponsoring organization and the student. Students will be expected to produce two progress reports for their faculty coordinator during the course of the internship, as well as a final paper for the course consisting of at least 35 pages. Other restrictions apply; see faculty adviser. Special Field Research: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit up to a total of 12 units.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar and 25 hours of internship per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of seminar and 60 hours of internship per week 8 weeks - 6 hours of seminar and 50 hours of internship per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Summer 2021 Second 6 Week Session, Fall 2015, Fall 2014
Supervised experience relevant to specific aspects of Political Science in off-campus organizations. Regular individual meetings with faculty sponsor and written reports required. Enrollment is restricted by departmental regulation. Field Study in Political Science: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consent of faculty sponsor and department chair
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0-2 hours of fieldwork per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 2.5-7.5 hours of fieldwork per week 8 weeks - 1.5-5.5 hours of fieldwork per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Not yet offered
Supervised experience relevant to specific aspects of Political Science in off-campus organizations. Regular individual meetings with faculty sponsor and written reports required. Enrollment is restricted by departmental regulation. Field Study in Political Science: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consent of Faculty Sponsor or Department Chair
Hours & Format
Summer: 8 weeks - 1.5-5.5 hours of fieldwork per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023
Submission of study proposal by faculty sponsor to the department chairman one month in advance of the semester to be offered. Group studies of selected topics which vary from year to year. Directed Group Study for Undergraduates: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-4 hours of directed group study per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 1-3 hours of directed group study per week 8 weeks - 1-4 hours of directed group study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024
Berkeley Connect is a mentoring program, offered through various academic departments, that helps students build intellectual community. Over the course of a semester, enrolled students participate in regular small-group discussions facilitated by a graduate student mentor (following a faculty-directed curriculum), meet with their graduate student mentor for one-on-one academic advising, attend lectures and panel discussions featuring department faculty and alumni, and go on field trips to campus resources. Students are not required to be declared majors in order to participate. Berkeley Connect: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of directed group study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 2.5-10 hours of independent study per week 8 weeks - 1.5-7.5 hours of independent study per week 10 weeks - 1.5-6 hours of independent study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Political Science/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.
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