Why and how does democracy flourish -- or decline? Just what is democracy? How do emotions shape our political behavior?Would less government lead to more social justice? What is social justice? How does smuggling (of drugs, guns, and people) reshape international relations? How does climate change affect politics? Do states or multinational corporations call the shots in the global economy?
Political science is about questions like these. You can grapple with every one of them -- and many more -- in the classrooms of the Brown Political Science Department. We study how people -- nations, regions, cities, communities -- live their common lives. How people solve (or duck) their common problems. How people govern themselves. How they think, talk, argue, fight, and vote. We seek to develop understandings of institutions, ideas, practices, and relations that constitute public life, and modes of inquiry that promote citizenship.
Ten courses are required overall from within the Department of Political Science. If you satisfy the methods requirement outside the department then you will need to add another POLS course. If you double count a course for two requirements, then you will also need to add a POLS course. You must always take ten distinct courses from the Department of Political Science.
Requirements:
| Two introductory courses from the following: | 2 | |
| Introduction to the American Political Process | ||
| Introduction to Political Thought | ||
| Introduction to Comparative Politics | ||
| Introduction to International Politics | ||
| One course in Political Theory taught by a Political Science theory professor 1 | 1 | |
| One methods course from Political Science: 2 | 1 | |
| Foundations of Political Analysis | ||
| Political Research Methods | ||
| One Senior Capstone course taken from the POLS 1820 / 1821 / 1822 / 1823 / 1824 / 1825 offerings, or the independent studies sequence POLS 1970 / 1971, or the honors sequence POLS 1910 / 1920. The capstone course must be taken at Brown during the senior year. However, with exceptional circumstances and with permission and approval of the course from the DUS, a non-Brown course may fulfill this requirement. | 1 | |
| Five additional courses from within Political Science and/or taught by a Political Science faculty member 1 | 5 | |
| Total Credits | 10 | |
- 1
Faculty information can be found here:
https://polisci.brown.edu/people/faculty-by-subfieldhttps://polisci.brown.edu/people/faculty-by-subfield
- 2
A comparable course from an outside department (APMA 0650, ANTH 1940, CLPS 0900, ECON 1620, ECON 1630, EEPS 1320, PHP 1501, SOC 1100 or SOC 1120) may also be used. If the methods requirement is fulfilled by an outside department course, it will not count as one of the 10 required courses.
Honors
The Honors Program involves writing a year-long senior thesis in close conjunction with a faculty member. Students with an outstanding academic record apply in the late spring of their junior year. Students must complete the methods requirement prior to applying to the Honors program. During their senior year students complete an honors research project and take POLS 1910 and POLS 1920. POLS 1910 and POLS 1920 will count as one credit towards the ten required Political Science courses for the concentration.