Fields of Study
The department's curriculum represents three main subfields of contemporary political science in the United States: political theory, American politics, and comparative politics; and includes significant elements of a fourth, international relations. Students are trained in these fields, especially at the PhD level, via departmental field seminars and field examinations. Research and teaching in political science at The New School for Social Research are informed by historical, comparative, and theoretical frameworks that bring people together across subfields. Historical knowledge and understanding provide indispensable bases of judgment regarding contemporary issues and problems. We presume that big political questions have important comparative referents. As political life entails concerns about cultural horizons and forms of inequality, students are encouraged to learn and use a wide range of theoretical approaches, including feminist thought, critical theory, and cultural studies.

Most members of the faculty and many of our students pursue projects that cross subfields within political science. Important topics such as immigration and citizenship, gender and politics in democratic regimes, and the nature and prospects of international justice, along with the courses that result from such research projects, cannot be placed adequately within the conventional subfields. Thus, we now organize our courses according to topic areas that describe our main areas of work: democracies in theory and practice; political thought and its history; identities, culture, and politics; international politics; politics in economic and social context; political development in historical perspective; and institutions, policy, and governance. A final group consists of required department courses.

Democracies in Theory and Practice
Studies of democracy aim to understand the basic claims made on behalf of democratic actors and the main problems that such claims must attempt to resolve. Analyses of democracy are now framed in part by the broad expansion of democratic institutions in many parts of the world. We seek to compare democratic practices and institutions in newly emerging democracies with those in countries where democratic political life is more established. Some faculty and students have analyzed recent transitions to democracy, as in Latin America and South Africa. Others have focused on limits to democracy (such as those arising from severe social inequities) in countries where democratic institutions have long been in place. Yet other members of the department focus on basic theoretical problems about democracy in light of dramatic recent changes.

Political Thought and Its History
As political thought is part of history, rigorous historical knowledge is required to analyze the history of political thought critically and imaginatively. Such knowledge is also important for understanding the main themes and arguments of contemporary political theory. Students are encouraged to address questions that have been the subject of significant empirical research and to make use of that research in their inquiries. They are also encouraged to gain familiarity with basic theoretical themes in other social science disciplines and to explore the social and cultural dimensions in the tradition of political thought.

Identities, Culture, and Politics
Courses focused on identities and culture in politics take several forms. We examine the nature of social identities and consider how these identities become politically important. We analyze the claims of different groups for recognition and justice. And we consider how conflicts between groups can be managed in more and less democratic ways. Courses in this area include both empirical and theoretical inquiries, and the latter are both explanatory and normative.

International Politics
The courses in this group link the study of comparative politics with international relations and international political economy and include the United States within a comparative and international framework. The study of international relations has undergone major changes in the last two decades. New theoretical debates have emerged and empirical subjects have become more diverse, due to the end of the cold war and the upsurge in new forms of internationalization. Several members of the department now engage the international dimension of problems that they initially pursued within the boundaries of other subfields. Several of us have examined the political dimension of international movements of people, in immigration, labor migration, and the creation of refugee populations. Others have studied relations among states amid expanded levels of political and economic transactions. A key question is how commitments to democracy and social welfare within countries can be reformulated and achieved in a new international setting.

Politics in Economic and Social Context
To define political science as a field means that political relations have their own distinctive dynamics, irreducible to other social relations. Yet relations between politics and social and economic life remain durably important for theoretical and practical reasons. Courses in this group draw on and develop several traditions of inquiry that combine different disciplines, especially political economy and political sociology. Courses address contemporary issues that arise where political life intersects with other areas of society. Thus, they consider relations between social or economic inequality and politics; the proper range of democracy in institutions outside the polity per se; the nature and effects of civil society in different countries; and relations among economic growth, social development, and democratization.

Political Development in Historical Perspective
These courses provide analyses of politics that are historically grounded and broadly comparative. Within this area, the study of American political development has a large role. Courses examine such topics as the historical origins of the nation-state as a form of political organization; the transformations of political life that occurred during and after the rise of representative forms of government; and the emergence and reshaping of dominant conceptions of citizenship.

Institutions, Policy, and Governance
Courses in this area aim to understand the origins and dynamics of different kinds of political institutions. The study of institutions concerns their practical effects, in large part via explicit policies. It is linked with the study of how governance occurs and power is exercised. Thus, courses in this area link studies of institutional form, policies, and modes of decision making to normative debates about fair and democratic procedures. To address these issues means paying special attention to states in their historical and contemporary forms.
  

Departmental Courses

MA Seminar
This course is required for all MA students. It aims to introduce students to basic concepts and approaches in analyzing politics. The substantive focus will vary according to the choices of instructors. Students who enter the department at the PhD level on the basis of prior graduate work are not required to take this course.

PhD Field Seminars
Students in the PhD program must take two of the following three field seminars: Field Seminar in Political Theory; Field Seminar in Comparative Politics; and Field Seminar in American Politics. These courses assess the most important work within these subfields. One of their purposes is to prepare students for the field examinations (although it should not be presumed that these courses constitute sufficient preparation). Students not in the PhD program can take these courses only with the instructor's permission.

PhD Seminar
This course centers on the work of PhD students, primarily research papers and dissertation proposals. It is intended to prepare students for writing their dissertations. Thus, the specific direction of the course will be shaped by the work and interests of participants, along with relevant work that the instructor will introduce. Normally the PhD seminar will be offered as a year-long course for three credits, meeting every other week.

Directed PhD Research
In addition to the PhD seminar, students are required to take at least one course directly connected to their PhD research. They may take a course focused on preparing the dissertation prospectus under a faculty member's supervision. Alternatively, they may take one or two courses of directed dissertation research for credit, under the supervision of the chair of their dissertation committee.

Methods
MA students must take one course in either quantitative or qualitative methods. At the PhD level, all students are required to take a course in quantitative methods, along with one other relevant methods course. This requirement might be met by courses in qualitative methods, advanced quantitative methods, historical methods, or fieldwork. Courses in other departments can meet this requirement.
  

COURSES OF STUDY
The department offers programs leading to the MA and PhD degrees. The main requirements are as follows:

• For the MA in political science, students must complete thirty credits, which must include the MA seminar and one course in research methods, and submit a portfolio of two substantial papers.
• For the PhD in political science, students must complete thirty credits beyond the MA, including two courses in research methods (one of which must be in quantitative methods), two field seminars, the PhD seminar, and one course in dissertation preparation. They must also pass examinations in two of three fields (political theory, comparative politics, and American politics) and pass an oral defense on the proposal for the PhD dissertation prior to writing their dissertation.

A full account of degree requirements and procedures is contained in the Political Science Departmental Handbook.

MA in Political Science
Entering students work with an individual faculty advisor. This advisor, together with the departmental student advisor, introduces them to the curriculum as a whole and helps them to formulate the program that best suits their interests and needs.

All students are required to concentrate in one of the three departmental fields indicated above. In addition, students may satisfy the course requirements for an MA degree in historical studies while meeting course requirements for entry into doctoral study.

Requirements
Students are required to complete a total of thirty credits with no less than a 3.0 average. At least eighteen credits must be taken within the department.

All MA students must take the MA seminar. Students must also demonstrate competence in appropriate research skills by completing one course in quantitative or qualitative methods. Students who have completed an equivalent course elsewhere can petition for a waiver of this requirement.

The remaining twelve credits are electives, which may be taken within or outside of the department. The department encourages students to avail themselves of the rich course offerings of other departments in The New School for Social Research. This should be done with appropriate guidance from their advisors to maximize the overall coherence of their program of study.

Courses offered in other departments that are cross-listed in Political Science will count toward required credits. Many cross-listed courses have prerequisites. Students should consult the primary listings of these courses in the relevant section of the catalog. The instructor of the course and the chair of the department or committee will determine whether prerequisites have been met and whether students from Political Science can be admitted to the courses in question. To receive credits for other courses offered outside the Department of Political Science at The New School for Social Research, the permission of the department is required.

In addition to their coursework, students must provide evidence of their ability to carry out significant intellectual projects in the study of politics. This ability will be established by the submission of a portfolio of two substantial papers, which may originate as papers for courses. Students should consult with a faculty advisor when planning their submissions. The completed portfolio, as well as the student's overall record, will be evaluated by a committee of two faculty members, both of whom should be full-time members of the Department of Political Science.
  

PhD in Political Science
The department's program is designed to provide maximum flexibility consistent with development of the highest level of competence within the chosen field of scholarly specialization. With limited course distribution requirements, faculty consultation is essential to prepare the student for the PhD qualifying exams and dissertation writing.

Students in the department's MA program can apply to enter the PhD program after completing eighteen credits at The New School for Social Research. Applicants should apply no later than during the first term after they have taken twenty-seven credits in the school. For more information on these procedures, consult the Political Science Departmental Handbook.

Course Requirements
Course requirements include a total of thirty credits in addition to those taken in fulfillment of the MA program, for a total of sixty credits. The sixty credits must include the MA seminar; the PhD seminar; two department field seminars; two courses in research methodology, one of which must focus on quantitative methods; and one course in dissertation research, which will normally be an independent study with a member of the department. Students may take up to two additional courses (for a maximum of six credits) in dissertation study. Transfer students may be accorded credit for all or part of their previous graduate work up to a maximum of thirty credits.

PhD Qualifying Examinations
Students must take written PhD qualifying examinations in their major field (Political Theory, American Politics, or Comparative Politics) and in one other field. An oral examination, consisting of an oral defense of the dissertation proposal, is also required. Complete information about PhD examinations is contained in the Political Science Departmental Handbook.

Language Requirement
PhD students must demonstrate reading knowledge in a foreign language appropriate to their dissertation by passing a language examination administered by the department.