Von KleinSmid Center 327
(213) 740-6998
FAX: (213) 740-8893
Email: posc@usc.edu
www.usc.edu/dept/polsci

Chair: Mark Kann, Ph.D.*
Email: mkann@usc.edu

Sydney M. Irmas Chair in Public Interest Law and Legal Ethics: Erwin Chemerinsky, J.D. (Law)

USC Associates Chair in Social Science: Mark E. Kann, Ph.D.*

Professors: Richard H. Dekmejian, Ph.D.; Harlan Hahn, Ph.D.; Nora Hamilton, Ph.D.; Sheldon Kamieniecki, Ph.D.*; Michael B. Preston, Ph.D.*; Stanley Rosen, Ph.D.*; Eliz Sanasarian, Ph.D.*

Associate Professors: Ann Crigler, Ph.D.; Howard Gillman, Ph.D.*; Judith Grant, Ph.D.*; Alison D. Renteln, Ph.D.*

Assistant Professors: John E. Barnes, Ph.D.; Sunhyuk Kim, Ph.D.; Jefferey M. Sellers, Ph.D.; Janelle Wong, Ph.D.

Adjunct Assistant Professor: Robin Romans, Ph.D.

Emeritus Professors: Herbert E. Alexander, Ph.D.; Carl Q. Christol, Ph.D., L.L.B., L.L.D. (Hon.)*; John R. Schmidhauser, Ph.D.; George O. Totten III, Ph.D.; C. Sylvester Whitaker, Ph.D.

Emeritus Associate Professor: Joseph L. Nyomarkay, Ph.D.*

Associate Faculty with Titles in Political Science: Susan Estrich, J.D. (Law); Daniel Mazmanian, Ph.D. (SPPD)

*Recipient of university-wide or college teaching award.

The Department of Political Science divides political science into four broad fields: American politics, political thought, comparative politics, and law and public policy. The department offers regional specialization in six areas: Latin America, East Asia, Western Europe, Russia and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics provides local internships for students as part of their course work or as independent study.

The Department of Political Science offers the B.A., a minor in political science and law and society and, under the jurisdiction of the Graduate School, M.A. and Ph.D. degrees. In addition, the department offers dual degrees with the Law School.

The department has faculty and staff advisors who provide academic advisement, career counseling and advisement to pre-law students and those wishing to go on to graduate studies. All majors are encouraged to see their advisor.

Department majors are required to take nine courses (36 units) in political science. At least two of the nine courses must be selected from the four 100-level core courses: POSC 100 Theory and Practice of American Democracy, POSC 110 Ideology and Political Conflict, POSC 120 Comparative Politics, POSC 130 Law, Politics and Public Policy.

In addition, at least six of the nine courses must be at the 300-level or above, including at least one course in each of the following four fields: American politics, political thought, comparative politics, and law and public policy. No more than one course (or four units) of POSC 395 or POSC 490x may be counted toward the 36 unit departmental requirements.

Students who have a double major in political science and in another department in the social sciences, may, with prior permission of the department undergraduate advisor, substitute one upper division course from the second major for one upper division political science course. In the development of an undergraduate program, students should consult periodically with the political science undergraduate advisor and/or with departmental faculty.

This interdisciplinary program focuses on the effect of law on society as well as the ways in which social forces influence the legal system. The idea is that students will understand the law if they look beyond “law on the books” to “law in action.” Thus, it is important to study key legal institutions such as the legal profession, the judiciary, juries, the police, legislatures, and administrative agencies. In addition, the minor introduces students to legal policies like plea bargaining and the death penalty, and the constitutional principles that underlie political debates about them, e.g., equal protection, due process and privacy.

The requirements for the minor include seven courses (28 units). All students are required to take POSC 130 Law, Politics, and Public Policy. Three component political science upper division courses are required, one from each category:

1. Constitutional Law (POSC 340 or 444)
2. International Law (POSC 345 or 448a)
3. Policy Analysis (POSC 347, 395, 432, 435, 436, 440, 441, 442, 448b or 452)

Three elective courses are required, one from each category. Non-political science majors must take at least one upper-division elective course; all three elective courses must be upper-division for political science majors.

1. Humanistic/Historical (HIST 353, PHIL 240, PHIL 430 or REL 367)
2. Sociology (SOCI 351 or 353)
3. Other (ANTH 345, COMM 421, ECON 434, LAW 200x or PSYC 355)

Take one course from each of the following seven categories:

1. POSC 130 – Core
2. Constitutional Law – POSC 340 or 444
3. International Law – POSC 345 or 448a
4. Policy Analysis – POSC 347, 395, 432, 435, 436, 440, 441, 442, 448b or 452
5. Humanistic/Historical – HIST 353, PHIL 240, PHIL 430 or REL 367
6. Sociology – SOCI 351 or 353
7. Other – ANTH 345, COMM 421, ECON 434, LAW 200x or PSYC 355

At least four classes must be unique to the minor. Political science majors must take upper-division courses only from categories 5, 6 and 7. Non-political science majors must take at least one upper-division course from 5, 6 or 7.

See Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures.

See Peace and Conflict Studies Program.

See the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies.

While majoring in political science and fulfilling the department requirements, a student may elect to emphasize a particular regional area in the fields of comparative government, diplomacy and international politics. Regional specializations are offered in six areas: East Asia, Western Europe, Latin America, Middle East, Africa, Russia and Eastern Europe. With the approval of the faculty, a student may organize an academic program in such a way as to fulfill the general education language requirements with the language or languages of the regional area specialization. In addition, it is assumed the student will fulfill other social sciences and humanities requirements and electives with courses focusing on the history and culture of the particular area of specialization. Such a pattern of courses at the undergraduate level will strengthen a student’s qualifications for graduate-level area programs, as well as for various forms of foreign service.

Students who wish to teach social science in the public school system by taking courses in history, political science and other social sciences should see Bachelor of Arts, Social Science Education and see also Teaching Credentials and Minor in the Teaching Profession.

The department offers an honors program for outstanding undergraduate students in the junior and senior years. The two semester program emphasizes a specialized topic (a different area each year) in political science. The organization of the course during the first semester follows the seminar model, emphasizing independent research, discussion, and oral and written reports. In the second semester, the student is required to write a thesis under the direction of a faculty member. Students are admitted to the program after careful screening on the basis of their academic record and a personal interview. Classes are limited to about 10 students.

There are two honor societies of special interest to political science majors. Pi Sigma Alpha stimulates scholarship and interest in the subject of government by providing tangible recognition to students who have excelled in the field. Political science majors are eligible to join after successful completion of at least three courses in political Science, one of which must be at the 300 level or above. An overall grade point average of 3.25 or higher is required, with a minimum of 3.5 in all political science classes.

The second honor society is Blackstonians. This is a pre-law honor society for undergraduate students designed to recognize academic excellence, assist the student in his or her preparation for law school, and expand the knowledge of the legal profession. Membership is restricted to students who have completed at least 32 units (16 of which must be from USC), but not more than 118 units, and have maintained at least a 3.35 grade point average.

These degrees are under the jurisdiction of the Graduate School. Refer to the Requirements for Graduation section and the Graduate School for general regulations. All courses applied toward the degrees must be courses accepted by the Graduate School.

The departmental graduate committee is charged with the supervision of the graduate program. All graduate students are required to maintain regular contact with the graduate coordinator to assure compliance with departmental regulations.

All master’s degree students are required to take the seminar course POSC 500 and the core course in at least one of the following five fields of concentration: POSC 510 American Politics and Policy Processes; POSC 520 Comparative Politics; POSC 530 Political Theory; POSC 540 Law and Public Policy; and POSC 512 Linkage Politics.

Students have two options in completing their other course work: (1) complete satisfactorily 32 units (eight courses) at the 500 level or above, or (2) complete satisfactorily a minimum of 24 units (six courses) in addition to POSC 594a and POSC 594b Thesis. With either option, students are required to pass the master’s exam. It consists of a written and oral examination in one field of concentration chosen from among the five listed above. For students planning to continue graduate work, this examination constitutes the screening procedure for admission to continuation in the Ph.D. program. Written and oral examinations are given in November and April each year.

Students admitted to the Ph.D. program in Political Economy and Public Policy may pursue a master’s degree in political science via a special track. Students are required to complete 32 units (eight courses) of graduate work and successfully pass a written and oral examination in political economy and public policy. Students must take POSC 600 Seminar in Advanced Research Methods, PEPP 539 Political Economy, and two of the five core courses in political science. The remaining 16 units (four courses) are electives. A master’s thesis may be substituted for eight elective units (two courses).

The Department of Political Science and the Law School jointly offer a dual degree program leading to the J.D. and M.A. degrees. Applicants must apply to both the Department of Political Science and the Law School and meet the requirements for admission to both. In addition to the LSAT, students interested in this program are required to take the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE).

In the first year students take their course work in the Law School exclusively. The second and third years include 24 units in political science and 40 units of law.

Like all other students in the political science M.A. program, students pursuing the dual degree must pass a master’s screening examination in their field of choice. If they wish to write a master’s thesis, they may do so in lieu of two courses.

The Ph.D. degree is evidence of a demonstrated mastery of in-depth knowledge and high competence in research, culminating in a dissertation which makes a contribution to the discipline. Graduate work in political science involves several types of required interrelated activities. First, the student is expected to acquire a knowledge of content in general political science and in the selected areas of specialization by means of courses, seminars and readings. Second, the student is expected to demonstrate competence in the fields of political science as determined by acceptable performance on the Ph.D. qualifying examination. Preparation for the qualifying examination entails a minimum of 60 graduate units (15 courses) of course work beyond the B.A. degree. Third, the student is required to complete the language/research tool requirement of the department. Fourth, the student is expected to engage in research-related activity throughout his graduate career, leading to and culminating in the Ph.D. dissertation. In short, the prospective candidate for the Ph.D. in Political Science must not only demonstrate superior scholarship in course work, but must also acquire and demonstrate the ability to synthesize and integrate knowledge in the several fields of political science.

All students admitted with an M.A. must take the screening examination before they have completed 24 units of course work at USC (usually in their second or third semester). The written and oral examination (in one of the five fields of concentration) are given in conjunction with the master’s examination in November and April of each academic year.

All doctoral candidates must complete POSC 500, the core courses in their fields of concentration, and POSC 600. The selection of additional courses should be guided by the distributional requirement of the Ph.D. program, which requires that a minimum of three courses or seminars be taken in the student’s three fields of concentration. For their fields of concentration, students may choose from five fields of concentration, consisting of American politics, comparative politics, political theory, law and public policy, and international politics; however, Ph.D. students may seek departmental approval to create one specialized field within political science or may take one field outside of political science from a Ph.D. granting unit. The core courses may be included in the distributional requirement. Additional courses that are necessary to arrive at the required total of 60 graduate units should be taken in consultation with faculty advisors and the department’s Guidelines for Graduate Study.

Research competence in either foreign languages, research methods and statistics, or a combination of these is required of each prospective Ph.D. candidate. The several options which may be used to fulfill the language/research tool requirement are specified in the department’s Guidelines for Graduate Study. This requirement must be completed prior to the qualifying examination.

Examinations will be conducted by an advisory committee of five members, including four members representing the student’s fields of concentration and, in accordance with the rules of the Graduate School, a member from another Ph.D. department in the university. The subject matter of the examination will be determined by the committee members.

The Ph.D. qualifying examination may be taken only after successful completion of all the required courses noted above and after successful completion of the departmental language/research requirement. Students must choose three fields of concentration for the Ph.D. qualifying examination. One field of concentration may come from outside the department (e.g., in public administration, economics, sociology, psychology, history, gerontology, philosophy, political economy and public policy, and area studies). These three fields of examination must be approved by the student’s Ph.D. guidance committee in accordance with the student’s interest.

Students are strongly encouraged to submit either a dissertation proposal or a publishable research paper on a topic approved by the guidance committee, in lieu of taking a written examination in the same field in which they took their M.A./screening examination. If this option is chosen then written exams are given in the two other fields. The oral examination covers all of the student’s fields. If a dissertation proposal is not submitted and approved during the qualifying examination then a student is required to defend a proposal within six months of completing this examination.

Upon passing the qualifying examination, a student is admitted to candidacy and will then concentrate on the dissertation, whose subject is selected in consultation with the dissertation committee and approved by it.

The Department of Political Science and the USC Law School offer a dual degree program leading to the J.D. and Ph.D. degrees. Applicants must apply to both the Department of Political Science and the Law School and meet requirements for admission to both. In addition to the LSAT, students interested in this program are required to take the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE).

In the first year, students take their course work in the Law School exclusively. To earn the J.D., all students (including dual degree students) must complete 35 numerically graded law units at USC after the first year. The associate dean may make exceptions to this rule for students enrolled in Law School honors programs. The second and third years include 40 units of courses in political science and 40 units of law. Students must take two methodology courses, POSC 500 and POSC 600, and three core courses to be selected from: POSC 510, 512, 520, 530 and 540.

To obtain a Ph.D. in political science, students must pass the master’s screening examination in one field. After the completion of additional course work, students must take a Ph.D. qualifying examination in three fields. If they have written a major research paper of publishable quality, they may submit that in lieu of an exam in the field in which they were tested on the master’s screening exam. The final requirement, following successful completion of the qualifying examination, is a doctoral dissertation.

The Department of Political Science, the Department of Economics and the School of International Relations jointly offer a program of study leading to the Ph.D. degree and to the M.A. degree in the process of work toward the Ph.D. degree. Applicants must apply to the Graduate School and meet the admission requirements of all three departments.

Required courses include both core requirements and area requirements. Core requirements include courses in economic theory and history of economic theory; history of political thought; scope, methodology and research methods; and political economy and public policy. Area requirements include courses drawn from one of the following three areas of concentration: comparative and developmental political economy; politics, economics and the policy process; and international political economy.

For a detailed description of this program, see the Political Economy and Public Policy.