Institutions and Governance with tracks in Economics, Political Science, and Public Policy
The Institutions and Governance major enables students to study the formal and informal rules that societies use to govern themselves at the local, national, and global levels. By focusing on institutions and governance as a guiding framework, students can better understand the dynamics of wealth and poverty, innovation versus technological/economic stagnation, and stability versus turmoil in different states and societies. Students in this major will be exposed to the deep political science, economic, sociological, historical and anthropological explorations of institutional designs in a variety of constructs, such as governments, interest groups and social movements, media, and religion, among others. By their senior year, students will be able to speak authoritatively on the comparative theory of institutions, the history of institutional and policy development, the drivers of institutional change, and distributional effects of institutional choices. Particular attention will be paid to the challenges of governance, such as the processes and structures that societies adopt to manage their collective affairs, with an emphasis on the implementation and evaluation of government programs.
The world is more and more interconnected at a variety of levels and students are going to need a better understanding of the institutions that govern this global integration. The more that students can identify, analyze and engage with global institutions and understand their governing processes, the more they will be able to navigate these complexities. This focus in Institutions and Governance will prepare students for a variety of careers requiring expertise in public administration, international development, political risk analysis, multinational investment and work in the non-profit sector at both the domestic and international levels. Students can choose among three disciplinary tracks: Economics, Political Science, or Public Policy.
Major Requirements
(Not every course listed is offered every semester, and the course list will be updated periodically. Please refer to the online Course Catalog for Courses offered in 2019-2020.)
Divisional Foundation Courses
For Economics Track:
Course Code | Course Name | Course Credit |
---|---|---|
SOSC 101 | Foundational Questions in Social Science | 4 |
MATH 101 | Calculus (was Mathematical Foundations 1) | 4 |
For Tracks of Political Science, Public Policy:
Course Code | Course Name | Course Credit |
---|---|---|
SOSC 101 | Foundational Questions in Social Science | 4 |
SOSC 102 | Introduction to Research Methods | 4 |
Interdisciplinary Courses
Course Code | Course Name | Course Credit |
---|---|---|
STATS 101 * | Introduction to Statistical Methods | 4 |
ETHLDR 203 | Conceptions of Democracy and Meritocracy | 4 |
POLSCI 307 | Political Economy of Institutions | 4 |
POLSCI 201 | Political Institutions and Processes | 4 |
POLSCI 308 | Global Governance | 4 |
GCHINA 202 | Modern Chinese Politics | 4 |
INSTGOV 490 | Senior Seminar: Advanced Topics | 4 |
* Students can take MATH 205 as a substitute for STATS 101. |
Disciplinary Courses
For Economics Track:
Course Code | Course Name | Course Credit |
---|---|---|
ECON 101 | Economics Principles | 4 |
ECON 201 | Intermediate Microeconomics I | 4 |
ECON 202 | Intermediate Microeconomics II | 4 |
ECON 203 | Introduction to Econometrics | 4 |
ECON 204 | Intermediate Macroeconomics | 4 |
For Political Science Track:
Course Code | Course Name | Course Credit |
---|---|---|
POLSCI 101 | International Politics | 4 |
ETHLDR | Ethics, Markets and Politics | 4 |
PUBPOL 301 | Political Analysis for Public Policy | 4 |
POLSCI 301 | Program Evaluation | 4 |
POLSCI 302 | Public Opinion | 4 |
For Public Policy Track:
Course Code | Course Name | Course Credit |
---|---|---|
POLSCI 101 | Introduction to Policy Analysis | 4 |
PUBPOL 301 | Political Analysis for Public Policy | 4 |
PUBPOL 303 | Policy Choice as Value Conflict | 4 |
PUBPOL 315/ECON 315 | Economics of the Public Sector | 4 |
Choose one course from the following two courses | ||
PUBPOL 304 | Microeconomic Policy Tools | 4 |
ECON 201 | Intermediate Microeconomics I | 4 |
Electives
Courses listed in the table below are recommended electives for this major and the course list will be updated periodically. Students can also select other courses in different divisions as electives.
For Economics Track:
Course Code | Course Name | Course Credit |
---|---|---|
ECON 301 | Health Economics | 4 |
ECON 302/ENVIR 302 | Environmental Economics & Policy | 4 |
ECON 303 | Financial Institutions | 4 |
ECON 304 | Economic Growth | 4 |
ECON 307 | History of Monetary & International Crises | 4 |
ECON 308 | Economic History and Modernization of the Islamic Middle East | 4 |
ECON 401 | Competitive Strategy & Industrial Organization | 4 |
ECON 402 | International Finance | 4 |
ECON 404/ENVIR 404 | Environmental Justice: The Economics of Race, Place and Pollution | 4 |
For Political Science Track:
Course Code | Course Name | Course Credit |
---|---|---|
POLSCI 102 | Social Choice and Democracy | 4 |
POLSCI 105 | Contemporary Political Ideologies | 2 |
POLSCI 106 | Political Rhetoric, Crisis, and Leadership | 2 |
HIST 202 | World History and Global Interactions | 4 |
POLECON 202 | The Politics of International Economic Relations: America in the World Economy | 4 |
GCHINA 202 | Modern Chinese Politics | 4 |
POLSCI 208 | Political and Social Inequality | 4 |
POLSCI 209 | Democratic Erosion | 4 |
POLSCI 210 | International Relations in East Asia | 4 |
POLSCI 211/LIT 211 | Politics and Literature | 4 |
POLSCI 212 | Pathologies of Modern Society: Foundational Ideas | 4 |
POLSCI 303 | International Politics of East Asia | 4 |
For Public Policy Track:
Course Code | Course Name | Course Credit |
---|---|---|
PUBPOL 213 | Authoritarian Regimes | 4 |
PUBPOL 308 | Managing the Oceans to Solve Global Problems | 4 |
PUBPOL 309 | War and Public Health in Africa | 4 |
PUBPOL 311 | Economic and Political History of the European Union | 4 |
PUBPOL 410 | Counterterrorism Law and Policy | 4 |
Career Path
This major will prepare students for a variety of jobs requiring expertise in public administration, international development, political risk analysis, multinational investment and work in the non-profit sector at both the domestic and international levels. Graduates may also pursue further studies in economics, management, public policy, politics and other areas.