Bulletin Archive
This archived information is dated to the 2008-09 academic year only and may no longer be current.
For currently applicable policies and information, see the current Stanford Bulletin.
This archived information is dated to the 2008-09 academic year only and may no longer be current.
For currently applicable policies and information, see the current Stanford Bulletin.
To receive a B.A. in Political Science, a student must:
International Relations (1, 110-119, 210-219, 310-319)
American Politics (2, 120-129, 220-229, 320-329)
Political Theory (3, 130-139, 230-239, 330-339)
Comparative Politics (4, 140-149, 240-249, 340-349)
Methodology (150-159, 350-359)
POLISCI 1. Introduction to International Relations
POLISCI 2. American National Government and Politics
POLISCI 3. Introduction to Political Philosophy
POLISCI 4. Introduction to Comparing Political Systems
POLISCI 151A. Doing Political Science,
or POLISCI 151B. Data Analysis for Political Science
Courses counting toward the 70-unit requirement must be taken for a letter grade, although units in excess of the required 70 may be taken on a credit/no credit basis. A minimum grade of 'C' is required for courses to count towards major requirements.
AFRICAST 107/207. Community Reconstruction and Development in Post- Apartheid South Africa
AFRICAST 111/211. Education for All? The Global and Local in Public Policy Making in Africa
AFRICAST 112/212. AIDS, Literacy, and Land: International Aid and the Problems of Development in Africa
EASTASN 189K/289K. Comparative Politics Perspective of the Two Koreas since 1945
ECON 1A,1B. Introductory Economics A,B
EDUC 260X. Understanding Statistical Models and their Social Science Applications (Same as HRP 239, STATS 209.)
ETHICSOC 181M. The Ethics of Risk
ETHICSOC 185M. Contemporary Moral Problems
HISTORY 150A. Colonial and Revolutionary America
HUMBIO 171. The Death Penalty: Human Biology, Law, and Policy
HUMBIO 172A/B. Children, Youth, and the Law
INTNLREL 140B. Theories of International Law
INTNLREL 206. Palestinian Nationalism, Past and Present
INTNLREL 207. Tribe, State, and Society in the Modern Middle East
IPS 206B. Organizations (Same as PUBLPOL 204B.)
IPS 243. The History, Science, Technology, and Politics of Missile Defense
MS&E 193/193W/293. Technology and National Security
OSPBEIJ 47. Institutional Change in Reform China
OSPBEIJ 66. Essentials of China's Criminal Justice System
OSPBER 115X. The German Economy: Past and Present
OSPBER 126X. A People's Union? Money, Markets, and Identity in the EU
OSPBER 15. Shifting Alliances? The European Union and the U.S.
OSPFLOR 106V. Italy: From Agrarian to Postindustrial Society
OSPFLOR 61. Europe and U.S. Foreign Policy
OSPFLOR 78. An Extraordinary Experiment: Politics and Policies of the New European Union
OSPFLOR 97. Human Rights, Justice and Terrorism: Is the World Community Prepared to Prevent a Catastrophe?
OSPKYOTO 215X. The Political Economy of Japan
OSPKYOTO 24. Japan in Contemporary International Affairs
OSPMOSC 72. Space, Politics, and Modernity in Russia
OSPMOSC 74. Post-Soviet Eurasia and SCO: Society, Politics, Integration
OSPOXFRD 18. Making Public Policy: An Introduction to Political Philosophy, Politics, and Economics
OSPOXFRD 24. British and American Constitutional Systems in Comparative Perspective
OSPOXFRD 35. Modern UK and European Government and Politics
OSPOXFRD 62. Heretics to Headscarves
OSPOXFRD 63. Locke and his Legacy
OSPPARIS 122X. Challenges of Integration in the European Union
OSPPARIS 211X. Political Attitudes and Behavior in Contemporary France
OSPPARIS 57. Human Rights in Comparative Perspective
OSPSANTG 116X. Modernization and its Discontents: Chilean Politics at the Turn of the Century
OSPSANTG 129X. Latin America in the International System
OSPSANTG 221X. Political Transition and Democratic Consolidation: Chile in Comparative Perspective
PUBLPOL 102. Organizations and Public Policy
PUBLPOL 183. Philanthropy and Social Innovation
REES 105/205. Central and East European Politics
REES 320. State and Nation Building in Central Asia
The honors program offers qualified students an opportunity to conduct independent research, write a thesis summarizing their findings, and make a presentation of their work. During the process of research, analysis, thinking, drafting, rethinking, and redrafting, students work closely with a faculty adviser and their fellow students.
Applicants must have a 3.5 grade point average (GPA) in Political Science courses, and an adviser who must be a member of the academic council. Students are required to declare their intention to pursue honors on the Major Proposal form. Applications can be obtained from the department office.
Students pursuing honors must complete the following by the end of Spring Quarter of their junior year: Methods requirement (POLISCI 150A,B,C, 151A, 151B, STATS 60, or ECON 102A), WIM requirement, and a completed research paper from an advanced undergraduate seminar or directed reading. Students are required to enroll in one quarter of POLISCI 299Q, Junior Research Seminar, in the junior year. This credit/no-credit course is designed to help students find a manageable thesis topic and adviser.
Students who are accepted into the program should plan to make the thesis the focus of their senior year. They should enroll in POLISCI 299A,B,C, which covers research and writing directed by the student's adviser. In addition, students must enroll in POLISCI 299R, a 3-unit Autumn Quarter seminar designed to develop research and writing skills. In the Winter Quarter, students must enroll in POLISCI 299S which is a credit/no credit tutorial in which students work with other students and tutors to finish their research.
Most students find themselves in one of two groups: (1) those who already have substantial background in their thesis topic, and can expect to complete the honors program in two or three quarters for a total of 10-15 units completed in POLISCI 299A,B,C; or (2) those who have little or no previous work on the topic, and can expect to complete the program in three quarters with 15 units of work.
To complete the honors program, students must:
Students cannot apply units from the POLISCI 299Q, Junior Research Seminar, POLISCI 299R, Senior Research Seminar, or POLISCI 299S, Senior Honors Tutorial, toward the 70-unit requirement for the major. However, students can apply up to 10 units from POLISCI 299A,B,C Senior Project, toward the 70-unit requirement.
There are several annual prizes for undergraduate students: the Arnaud B. Leavelle Memorial Prize for the best paper in the History of Political Thought sequence (POLISCI 130A,B,C), a cash prize for the best thesis written in political theory, the Lindsay Peters, Jr., Memorial Prize for the outstanding student each year in POLISCI 2, and Cottrell Prizes for outstanding students in POLISCI 1, 3, and 4.
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