About the Program
In the Charles and Louise Travers Department of Political Science, over 50 faculty and lecturers teach and conduct research in each of our 11 subfields on a variety of special topics. Additionally, our faculty and students work with over 20 specialized and interdisciplinary institutes and centers around campus on issues important to political science and our world today.
The department admits graduate students for the doctoral degree only.
Admissions
Admission to the University
Minimum Requirements for Admission
The following minimum requirements apply to all graduate programs and will be verified by the Graduate Division:
- A bachelor’s degree or recognized equivalent from an accredited institution;
- A grade point average of B or better (3.0);
- If the applicant comes from a country or political entity (e.g., Quebec) where English is not the official language, adequate proficiency in English to do graduate work, as evidenced by a TOEFL score of at least 90 on the iBT test, 570 on the paper-and-pencil test, or an IELTS Band score of at least 7 on a 9-point scale (note that individual programs may set higher levels for any of these); and
- Sufficient undergraduate training to do graduate work in the given field.
Applicants Who Already Hold a Graduate Degree
The Graduate Council views academic degrees not as vocational training certificates, but as evidence of broad training in research methods, independent study, and articulation of learning. Therefore, applicants who already have academic graduate degrees should be able to pursue new subject matter at an advanced level without the need to enroll in a related or similar graduate program.
Programs may consider students for an additional academic master’s or professional master’s degree only if the additional degree is in a distinctly different field.
Applicants admitted to a doctoral program that requires a master’s degree to be earned at Berkeley as a prerequisite (even though the applicant already has a master’s degree from another institution in the same or a closely allied field of study) will be permitted to undertake the second master’s degree, despite the overlap in field.
The Graduate Division will admit students for a second doctoral degree only if they meet the following guidelines:
- Applicants with doctoral degrees may be admitted for an additional doctoral degree only if that degree program is in a general area of knowledge distinctly different from the field in which they earned their original degree. For example, a physics PhD could be admitted to a doctoral degree program in music or history; however, a student with a doctoral degree in mathematics would not be permitted to add a PhD in statistics.
- Applicants who hold the PhD degree may be admitted to a professional doctorate or professional master’s degree program if there is no duplication of training involved.
Applicants may apply only to one single degree program or one concurrent degree program per admission cycle.
Required Documents for Applications
- Transcripts: Applicants may upload unofficial transcripts with your application for the departmental initial review. If the applicant is admitted, then official transcripts of all college-level work will be required. Official transcripts must be in sealed envelopes as issued by the school(s) attended. If you have attended Berkeley, upload your unofficial transcript with your application for the departmental initial review. If you are admitted, an official transcript with evidence of degree conferral will not be required.
- Letters of recommendation: Applicants may request online letters of recommendation through the online application system. Hard copies of recommendation letters must be sent directly to the program, not the Graduate Division.
- Evidence of English language proficiency: All applicants from countries or political entities in which the official language is not English are required to submit official evidence of English language proficiency. This applies to applicants from Bangladesh, Burma, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Latin America, the Middle East, the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, most European countries, and Quebec (Canada). However, applicants who, at the time of application, have already completed at least one year of full-time academic course work with grades of B or better at a US university may submit an official transcript from the US university to fulfill this requirement. The following courses will not fulfill this requirement:
- courses in English as a Second Language,
- courses conducted in a language other than English,
- courses that will be completed after the application is submitted, and
- courses of a non-academic nature.
If applicants have previously been denied admission to Berkeley on the basis of their English language proficiency, they must submit new test scores that meet the current minimum from one of the standardized tests. Official TOEFL score reports must be sent directly from Educational Test Services (ETS). The institution code for Berkeley is 4833. Official IELTS score reports must be mailed directly to our office from the British Council. TOEFL and IELTS score reports are only valid for two years.
Where to Apply
Visit the Berkeley Graduate Division application page.
Doctoral Degree Requirements
Normative Time Requirements
The Political Science department at UC Berkeley admits students for the doctoral degree only. The PhD program has two major phases: coursework and examinations, and dissertation research and writing. The two phases typically take approximately five or six years (three years to candidacy and two or three for dissertation research and writing).
Time to Advancement
Curriculum
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Courses Required | ||
| POL SCI Electives (12 units may be upper division) per specialized study list, includes: | 40 | |
| Preparation in 3 of 11 subfields | ||
The coursework and examination phase requires 40 units (typically 10 classes) of graduate-level coursework and competence in three of nine subfields. Subfield competence is demonstrated through written exams offered each semester. A preliminary field exam is typically taken in the student’s second or third year of the program. All students must pass one exam in
one of the following subfields: American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Relations, Methodology, Models and Politics, or Political Theory. All students must also demonstrate competency in two additional subfields, by taking a minimum of three courses in two of the following areas: American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Relations, Political Theory, Methodology, Models and Politics, Area Studies, Political Behavior, Public Policy & Organization, Public Law & Jurisprudence, and Race & Ethnic Politics. Other appropriate subfields may be designated by the department. Students must achieve a combined GPA of 3.5 in these courses.
The particular sequence of courses that a student takes in preparation for the comprehensive exams is not prescribed. Rather, the faculty assist students with a selection of courses that best meet their intellectual and academic interests. There are no formal foreign language or statistics requirements although many students will find that their program of study and dissertation research will require the engagement of particular foreign language or methodology coursework.
When the coursework and preliminary examination requirements have been met, the student prepares a prospectus for dissertation research. The student convenes a committee known as the qualifying exam committee. The qualifying exam committee advises on the prospectus and examines the student on specific research plans. UC Berkeley is highly committed to interdisciplinary scholarly engagement and this is codified in the requirement that both the qualifying exam committee and the dissertation committee include a faculty member from another department at UC Berkeley. Engagement with members of the faculty from other departments should begin during the coursework stage so that the advice and input of the outside member are represented in the prospectus.
When sufficient preparation for the proposed research has been demonstrated to the qualifying exam committee, the student is advanced to doctoral candidacy. It is expected (and for most funding packages, required) that the student advance to doctoral candidacy by the end of their third year.
Dissertation Research and Writing
Doctoral candidacy initiates the second phase of the program during which the student normally devotes full attention to the research and writing of the dissertation. The student's dissertation committee is typically comprised of the members of the qualifying exam committee although there are sometimes changes in committee membership as the research evolves. The doctorate is awarded when the student submits a satisfactory dissertation to the dissertation committee. A reasonable estimate of the research and writing phase of the program is approximately two to three years although students whose dissertations require more extensive research may take longer to earn their degree.
General Curriculum Guidelines
First Year
Students are required to complete 24 units of coursework in their first year of study. At least 12 of these units must be in political science graduate courses; the remainder may be in graduate or upper division undergraduate courses in other departments. The first year is designed to allow the student the opportunity to engage in foreign language study, area specialization, and to meet and study with faculty from other departments who may become members of the qualifying exam or dissertation committees. All students are reviewed at the end of the first year of study on their overall academic performance. This overall evaluation will include GPA and successful completion of all 24 required units. In exceptional cases, a student may decide not to continue in the PhD program or may be asked to leave after the first year; in this event, students may either be awarded an MA degree (if they complete the requirements for the degree, see next item) or will leave the program without an MA degree.
Second Year
During the second year, students must complete an advanced topical research essay. The student will narrow their interests, continue to explore ideas for a dissertation topic, and identify potential advisers. Coursework continues as students begin preparing for both preliminary field exams and writing their dissertation prospectus. Additionally, students in their second year usually serve as a graduate student instructor (GSI), a 20 hour per week position.
Third Year
During the third year, most students continue to teach as GSIs and complete their coursework in addition to taking their field exams. Political Science graduate students must show competency in three subfield specialties to be eligible to sit for the oral prospectus defense (known formally as the qualifying exam). Students must take an exam in one
subfield and “course out” of two other subfields by taking a prescribed set of courses in each.
Students may sit for their field exams as early as the beginning of their second year, and if necessary, as late as their third year. Field exams are offered at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters. All students are expected to have completed one field exam, “coursed out” out of two additional fields, and written and defended their dissertation prospectus (pass their qualifying exam) by the end of the third year. It is highly recommended (and essential to most funding packages) that students advance to doctoral candidacy by the end of their third year. The third year is also when students should begin to apply for extramural fellowships to support their dissertation research.
Fourth Year
Beginning in the third year and continuing into the fourth, students should be collecting much of the information and data necessary for their dissertation. Many students spend one or both semesters of their fourth year abroad conducting research.
Fifth Year
Like the fourth year, the fifth year is variable according to an individual's research schedule. Often this is a good year to use the Dean’s Completion Fellowship while focusing on writing the dissertation. This is also the time, if research is complete and writing has begun, to apply for finishing fellowships and extramural dissertation awards. Ideally, if students plan to enter the job market during the fifth year, they should have most of their dissertation completed by then.
Sixth Year and Beyond
Students are normally expected to finish by their sixth year. In the sixth year, students continue to work on completing and revising the dissertation and enter the job market. This is also a time students apply for post-doctoral fellowships. To fund the final year(s), some students teach as adjunct faculty at the many colleges and universities in the area, and some find research assistantships.
Subfields
American Politics
Subfield Coordinator: Gabriel Lenz
The study of American politics at Berkeley brings together faculty and graduate students who seek to tackle the most important questions confronting the field using diverse methodological approaches.
Among other topics, the faculty’s research agenda encompasses the quality and meaning of representation in contemporary American politics, the political implications of rising economic inequality, the politics of immigration and of minority group representation, the meaning of American national identity, the sources and implications of party polarization, the development of American bureaucratic government and of the American welfare state, and the balance of power among Congress, the Presidency, and the Courts. Our program strives to train students to have a diverse methodological toolkit, including quantitative, historical/developmental, game-theoretic, behavioral, and institutional approaches.
The Institute of Governmental Studies and Survey Research Center support several workshops and colloquia that foster this diverse intellectual community, including the American Politics Research Workshop, the Positive Political Theory seminar series, the Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration Colloquium, the American Political Development working group, and the Quantitative Methods Workshop. These research units also provide funding for graduate student research projects and for faculty-student collaboration. Faculty work closely with students to help each student carve out a research agenda that fits his or her interests, while addressing a substantively important problem.
Comparative Politics
Subfield Coordinator: Alison Post
Berkeley has a longstanding tradition of distinction in comparative politics. Members of the department’s comparative politics faculty are widely recognized as national and international leaders, and the department’s strengths have grown in recent years.
The coverage of substantive themes, methodological approaches, and geographic expertise is extremely broad. Comparative political economy, political regimes and regime change, political parties and organizations, and social mobilization are the subject of great interest among faculty and graduate students. Some comparative faculty and graduate students rely largely upon formal theory in their work. Some are highly proficient in quantitative methods, while others use case studies and qualitative methods. Many faculty and graduate students use multi-method approaches. The faculty emphasizes rigor of method—whether applied in formal, statistical, or qualitative work. All graduate students in comparative politics are expected to achieve proficiency in all methods prevalent in the field.
The faculty and graduate student populations are diverse; no single theoretical orientation or methodology enjoys status as orthodoxy. Generally speaking, Berkeley comparativists pursue “big” questions that have broad implications for political life and public policy as well as social science. Such questions include when and why Chinese peasants resist unjust authority; why the Chinese economy has grown so rapidly and what other countries can learn from it; how transformations in the global economy are reshaping the welfare state in advanced industrialized countries; how economic structures and resource flows mold state and market institutions in the Middle East; why economic liberalization has proved difficult in Japan and how it may yet come about; why democracy is failing in Russia while working in Indonesia; why opposition forces succeed in forging electoral alliances in some African polities but not others; how party systems influence the provision of public goods across the Indian states; and how labor organizations are responding to transformations in economic policy in Latin America.
International Relations
Subfield Coordinator: Vinod Aggarwal
International Relations at Berkeley focuses on the study of contemporary and historical problems in world politics. Our faculty and graduate students work on an eclectic set of substantive issues that frequently cross over between international relations theory, security studies, and international political economy.
Current research interests pursued by our group include the causes and consequences of peace and war, the political economy of trade and finance, American foreign and national security policy, emerging issues in security, geopolitical order and change, the impact of technology and geography on world politics, the role of ideas and identities shaping international affairs, the link between business and politics, and the interaction between religion and global politics. In addition to resources in the Political Science Department, our work is reflected and supported by various centers across campus: the Institute for International Studies (IIS), the Berkeley Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Study Center (BASC), the Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy (BRIE), the Religion, Politics and Globalization Program (RPGP), and others. In addition, the journal Business and Politics is edited by one of our faculty members.
Our methodologies are equally eclectic, ranging from socio-historical analysis to quantitative empirics and formal modeling. Much of our research is interdisciplinary, drawing from fields as disparate as economics, psychology, ecology, theology, or history. We take theory seriously but not to the exclusion of interesting and important global problems. Our overarching goal is to contribute to an understanding of how international politics is organized and how it functions around substantive issues that matter to political actors and human beings.
Methodology & Formal Theory
Subfield Coordinator: Joel Middleton
The Berkeley program in empirical methodology and formal theory offers rigorous training that is carefully integrated with major substantive agendas in political science.
The program builds centrally on innovative faculty research, which encompasses new methods for causal inference and program evaluation, as well as statistical computing and survey analysis. The work on surveys has included path-breaking contributions to developing and refining experiments embedded in surveys and computer-assisted telephone interviewing; and innovations in measuring issue orientations and in multi-level modeling of political behavior. In formal theory, faculty have contributed to opening new lines of inquiry into strategic interactions where formal institutions are weak, and to modeling information and incentives in organizations—as they affect both the dynamics of institutions within the United States and those in authoritarian and democratizing regimes. Faculty in both traditions play a prominent role in developing empirical tests of formal theory, based on both laboratory experiments and observational data. The faculty has also done influential work on qualitative methodology, comparative-historical methods, and linking qualitative methods with both quantitative tools and with formal analysis.
The methods/formal faculty make important institutional contributions on the Berkeley campus. They convene the Positive Political Theory Seminar, which draws together a national constituency of leading modelers for its biweekly meetings. They have led the campus Survey Research Center and helped to sustain its innovative research on survey methodology; and they were central to launching the Berkeley’s NSF/IGERT training program in Politics, Economics, Psychology, and Public Policy (PEPPP). Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies, as well as the Survey Research Center, are important venues for convening scholars and graduate students, and they provide support for graduate students pursuing methodological and formal training.
Faculty members also play leading roles in the national political science profession. Their contributions have included serving as Chair of the Board of the American National Elections Studies (ANES); providing crucial leadership in launching the NSF program on the Empirical Implications of Theoretical Models (EITM); co-editing the new Oxford Handbook of Political Methodology; serving as President of the Political Methodology Society; and founding APSA’s Organized Section for Qualitative and Multi-Method Research. The political science department maintains close ties with the national Institute for Qualitative/Multi-Method Research, and many graduate students attend the institute. Three of the methods/formal faculty are Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Political Theory & Philosophy
Subfield Coordinator: Daniel Lee
Berkeley’s department offers a full range of courses in political theory, including classical, modern, and contemporary political philosophy (both European and American).
In the history of political thought, faculty have particular strengths in ancient moral and political thought, renaissance and early modern political thought, Enlightenment social and political thought, and nineteenth and twentieth century Marxism, British and Continental theory, and critical theory. In contemporary political theory, their areas of expertise include liberal and democratic thought, sovereignty and multiculturalism, and postfoundational approaches to subjectivity and social inquiry.
The core curriculum for graduate study in the department involves those courses recommended in preparation for the qualifying exam in the history of political thought (such courses include POL SCI 212A POL SCI 212B, POL SCI 212C, POL SCI 213, and POL SCI 214); and courses of special relevance to the qualifying exam in contemporary political theory (including POL SCI 215A, POL SCI 215B, and POL SCI 216). The history of political thought exam has two parts. Part I queries students about the nature of the history of Western political thought as a field of knowledge, and/or about debates focused on particular periods or problems. Part II of the exam asks students to respond to questions about particular theorists or texts in each of three major time periods (ancient and medieval; early modern; modern). The contemporary political thought exam approaches twentieth and twenty-first-century political theory from three angles: subfields of theory, theorists and approaches, and topics.
The research, writing, and pedagogical interests of faculty within political theory are impressively varied. Greater details about the work and interests of each faculty member may be found on their faculty web pages.
Models & Politics
Formal models are used in political science as abstract representations of political institutions and choices in order to focus attention on key logic and causal mechanisms in a political process. Good modeling requires fluency in technical fields such as game theory and social choice theory, as well as the substantive knowledge to craft an appropriate and insightful model for a specific application.
The Models & Politics subfield, instituted by the faculty in 2007, connects advanced training in formal modeling techniques (also commonly referred to as formal theory, positive political theory, or political economy) with innovative substantive research in political science. It is designed for students who plan to make significant use of formal modeling in their own research in American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Relations, or Political Theory. This subfield is appropriate for students who wish to use formal models to structure and inform their empirical research, as well as those who wish to become pure modelers.
Political Behavior
Political behavior at UC Berkeley serves as a bridge between political science on the one side and political psychology and political sociology on the other. Its focus is on the social and psychological processes by which individuals (and groups) engage in political life. Although the actual studies of these matters may occur within a particular geographical or institutional context and data are most often drawn from the American experience, the purpose is to generalize to a class of political phenomena or behavior beyond specific countries or specific institutions. Attention is also paid to problems of survey design and analysis, the development of scales, indices, and other measurement devices, questionnaire construction, interviewing, sampling, and other elements of systematic research that aim to yield data susceptible to statistical analysis. Among the substantive topics covered in the field are: public opinion; political leadership; political participation and protest and personality and politics.
Public Law & Jurisprudence
Public Law is concerned with the analysis of the actual behavior of legal decision-makers and the law-related behavior of citizens, as well as with the study of legal and constitutional doctrine. It seeks to develop an understanding of the role of law, legal theory, and legal practice in the governmental process. Courses and faculty research focus primarily on how the actions of legal decision-makers (like judges, police, regulatory officials, and bureaucrats) are shaped both by legal doctrine and philosophy and by political, organizational, economic, and social variables. Students are also expected to develop a knowledge of American Constitutional Law, its political ramifications, and its relation to public theory. Joint work with the UC Berkeley School of Law and its program in Jurisprudence and Social Policy is encouraged.
Public Policy & Organization
Public policy studies explore political responses to specific public problems, like environmental degradation, poverty, or disease. Faculty in this subfield are interested in the political dynamics of policy-making and policy implementation, including such topics as agenda-setting, regulatory decision-making, and federalism. Since public problems often ignore jurisdictions, a policy-oriented approach to political science is often concerned about the interplay between different levels of government (local, regional, national, and international). The Public Policy & Organization subfield, therefore, draws on and contributes to scholarship in urban politics, American politics, comparative politics, and international relations.
Policy outcomes are typically mediated by organizations that mobilize stakeholders, make authoritative decisions, administer programs, and enforce laws. These organizations range from complex government bureaucracies to professional associations and social movement organizations. The organizational and inter-organizational aspects of policy-making and policy implementation are a particular concern of this subfield. Important debates in this field often focus on understanding how specific institutional arrangements are created to govern policy arenas and on whether these institutions produce effective, efficient, and equitable governance.
Sophisticated explanations of policy-making and implementation call for specific analytical tools and intellectual frameworks. This subfield draws on theories of policy-making and implementation, governance, public administration, public law, institutionalism, and organization theory as a framework of analysis.
Faculty and Instructors
+ Indicates this faculty member is the recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award.
Faculty
Vinod K. Aggarwal, Professor. Political science, negotiations, trade policy, international organizations, international debt rescheduling.
Research Profile
Christopher Ansell, Professor. Political science, social movements, political sociology, network analysis, organization theory, public administration, political parties, Western Europe.
Research Profile
Sarah F. Anzia, Associate Professor. American politics, public policy, interest groups, state politics, local politics, election timing, voter turnout, public pensions, public sector unions, collective bargaining.
Leonardo R. Arriola, Associate Professor. Democracy, elections, political parties, political violence, ethnic politics, electoral coalitions, Sub-Saharan Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya, Cameroon, Senegal.
Research Profile
Mark Bevir, Professor. Public policy, political theory, democratic theory, governance, Britain.
Research Profile
Henry Brady, Professor. Comparative politics, public policy, electoral politics, political participation, survey research, program evaluation, statistical methods in the social sciences, social welfare policy, Soviet Union, inequality in America.
Research Profile
+ Wendy L. Brown, Professor. Feminist theory, critical theory, theories of neoliberalism, public higher education, nineteenth and twentieth century political theory.
Research Profile
Jennifer L. Bussell, Assistant Professor. Africa, comparative politics, Latin America, public policy & organization, South Asia.
Kiren A. Chaudhry, Associate Professor. Political economy, Middle East/North Africa, identity politics, trauma theory, South Asia .
Pradeep K. Chhibber, Professor. Political parties, South Asia, electoral politics, politics of India.
Research Profile
Jack Citrin, Professor. Immigration, multiculturalism, taxation, survey research, political trust, California politics psychology, public opinion, political identity, alienation.
Research Profile
Ernesto Dal Bo, Associate Professor. Applied microeconomic theory, political economy, corruption and influence, collective decision-making, coercion.
Research Profile
Rui J. De Figueiredo, Associate Professor. American politics, game theory, formal theory, political institutions, bureaucratic behavior, political behavior, interest groups, methodology.
Research Profile
Lowell Dittmer, Professor. Comparative politics, Chinese politics, informal politics, East Asian international relations.
Research Profile
Thad Dunning, Professor. Political economy, ethnic politics, and comparative clientelism in developing countries, research design, causal inference, statistical methods, multi-method research.
Barry Eichengreen, Professor. Europe, China, economic growth, international economics, international finance, international monetary economics, economic history.
Research Profile
Sean Farhang, Associate Professor. Courts, American political development, regulation, litigation .
M. Steven Fish, Professor. Political science, post-Soviet politics, democratization regime change, general comparative politics, Russian revolution, communist and post-communist studies, democracy.
Research Profile
Sean P. Gailmard, Professor. Bureaucratic organizations, American political institutions, rational choice game theory, statistical modeling, laboratory experimentation in social science.
Research Profile
+ Ron E. Hassner, Associate Professor. International relations, international security, religion and conflict.
Research Profile
Rodney E. Hero, Professor. American democracy and politics, latino politics, racial/ethnic politics, state & urban politics, federalism .
Kinch Hoekstra, Associate Professor. History of political, moral, and legal philosophy, ancient, renaissance, and early modern political thought.
Susan Hyde, Professor. International influences on domestic politics (with a focus on the developing world), International election observation, election fraud, and democracy promotion.
Daniel Lee, Assistant Professor. Political theory, history of political thought, jurisprudence.
Taeku Lee, Professor. Political science, discrimination, language, social movements, political behavior, identity, racial and ethnic politics, public opinion, survey research methods, social welfare policies, partisanship, stereotypes.
Research Profile
Gabriel Lenz, Associate Professor. American politics, elections, voter behavior, democratic accountability, campaigns.
Research Profile
Amy E. Lerman, Associate Professor. American government, public opinion, criminal justice, prisons and policing.
Research Profile
Jonah Levy, Professor. Political science, social policy, comparative political economy, West European politics, relationship between partisanship and welfare reform in contemporary Western Europe.
Research Profile
Andrew Little, Assistant Professor. Game theory, authoritarian politics, political beliefs, protest.
Research Profile
Andrew Little, Assistant Professor. Formal models to study authoritarian politics, communication and information manipulation, and conflict.
Aila Matanock, Assistant Professor. Post-conflict elections, peace-building, international intervention, state-building, governance, armed actors, Latin America, survey experiments, mixed methods.
Research Profile
Michaela Mattes, Assistant Professor. International Conflict and Cooperation, Conflict Management, Domestic Politics and International Relations.
Research Profile
Joel Middleton, Assistant Professor. Methodology & formal theory, models & politics, causal inference, survey sampling, design-based estimation .
Cecilia Mo, Assistant Professor. Inequality, immigration, human trafficking, political behavior, voting and elections, political socialization, research design and empirical methods .
Research Profile
Kevin J. O'Brien, Professor. Social movements, Chinese politics, peasant politics.
Research Profile
T.J. Pempel, Professor. Political science, comparative politics, political economy, East Asian studies, contemporary Japan, Asian regionalism.
Research Profile
Paul Pierson, Professor. Public Policy, political economy, american politics, social theory.
Alison Post, Assistant Professor. Regulation, infrastructure, water and sanitation.
Research Profile
Robert L. Powell, Professor. Political science, game theory, international relations, formal theory and methods, nuclear deterrence theory, credibility, international conflict.
Research Profile
Gerard Roland, Professor. Institutions and development, culture and economics, political institutions and economic outcomes, European Parliament and European institutions, reforms in China/North Korea/Eastern Europe.
Research Profile
Eric Schickler, Professor. American politics, Congress, political parties, public opinion.
Research Profile
Jasjeet S. Sekhon, Professor. Program evaluation, statistical and computational methods, causal inference, elections, public opinion, American politics .
Helene Silverberg, Associate Adjunct Professor. Transitional justice, international criminal law, gender and international human rights, and the politics of institutional change.
Sarah Song, Professor. Gender, race, citizenship, multiculturalism, immigration law and politics.
Research Profile
Laura Stoker, Associate Professor. American politics, political behavior, political psychology, public opinion, voting and elections, political socialization, research design and empirical methods.
Research Profile
Robert Van Houweling, Associate Professor. Congress, political behavior, political parties, voting behavior, spatial models of candidate competition, experimental models.
Steven Vogel, Professor. Political science, political economy or comparative political economy, the Japanese model of capitalism, Japanese politics.
Research Profile
Edward W. Walker, Associate Adjunct Professor. Comparative politics, Russia, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, Soviet, post-Soviet.
Research Profile
Martha Wilfahrt, Assistant Professor. African politics, political economy of development, redistributive politics.
Research Profile
Jason Wittenberg, Associate Professor. Ethnic politics, statistical methods, Eastern Europe, religion and politics, voting behavior.
Research Profile
Lecturers
Terri Bimes, Lecturer SOE.
Amy Gurowitz, Lecturer.
Ted Lempert, Lecturer.
Nadesan Permaul, Lecturer.
Alan David Ross, Lecturer.
Dan Schnur, Lecturer.
Darren C. Zook, Lecturer.
Emeritus Faculty
George W. Breslauer, Professor Emeritus. Political science, comparative politics, Soviet and post-Soviet Russia, Russian politics, foreign relations, political leadership.
Research Profile
Bruce Cain, Professor Emeritus.
David Collier, Professor Emeritus. Democracy & authoritarianism, Latin America, concept analysis, qualitative methods, multi-method research, comparative politics.
Ruth B. Collier, Professor Emeritus. Latin America, comparative politics, political regimes, democratization, labor politics.
Beverly Kay Crawford, Professor Emeritus.
Jyotirindra Das Gupta, Professor Emeritus. Political science.
Research Profile
Giuseppe Di Palma, Professor Emeritus.
A. James Gregor, Professor Emeritus. Political science, methodology, political theory, comparative ideology, US security interests, comparative fascism, Marxism and Fascism in the 20th century.
Research Profile
Andrew C. Janos, Professor Emeritus. Eastern Europe, world systems theory, ethnic conflict.
Ken Jowitt, Professor Emeritus. Political science, comparative politics, social theory.
Research Profile
Todd R. Laporte, Professor Emeritus. Technology policy, organization theory, public administration.
Hong Yung Lee, Professor Emeritus. Political science, East Asian studies.
Research Profile
David K. Leonard, Professor Emeritus.
+ Hanna Pitkin, Professor Emeritus. Political theory.
Robert Price, Professor Emeritus. Political science, South African politics, comparative politics, US Foreign policy, ethnicity.
Research Profile
J. Merrill Shanks, Professor Emeritus. Election behavior, public opinion, research methodology, survey techniques.
Research Profile
Peter W. Sperlich, Professor Emeritus.
Shannon C. Stimson, Professor Emeritus. Politics in Shakespeare, history of early modern political thought, history of political and economic thought, constitutionalism and modern jurisprudence.
Research Profile
Margaret M. Weir, Professor Emeritus. Political science, political sociology, sociology, American political development, urban politics and policy, comparative studies of the welfare state, metropolitan inequalities, city-suburban politics in the United States.
Research Profile
J. Nicholas Ziegler, Professor Emeritus. Political science, technology, corporate governance, comparative political economy, European politics, political ideologies, politics of economic reform in Germany, politics of property rights in Germany.
Research Profile
John Zysman, Professor Emeritus. Political science, comparative politics, finance, political economy, manufacturing, European and Japanese policy, corporate strategy, Western European politics, post-industrial economy, governments, the politics of industrial change.
Research Profile
Contact Information
Department of Political Science
210 Barrows Hall
Phone: 510-642-6323
Fax: 510-642-9515