Courses

The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular term. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the MyBU Student Portal for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.

• CAS PO 841: Quantitative Research Methods
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: Social Science Math Boot Camp or consent of instructor. - An introduction to probability, descriptive statistics, hypothesis testing, and ordinary least squares regression analysis as used in the social sciences. Emphasizes both theory and applications.
• CAS PO 842: Qualitative Approaches to the Study of Political Science
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: Graduate student or consent of instructor. - Introduces the analytical tools and methods that underpin qualitative and multi-method research in the social sciences. Covers conceptualization and measurement, process tracing, comparative historical analysis, archival research, ethics, ethnography and participant observation, interviews, content and discourse analysis, and mixed methods.
• CAS PO 844: Methods for Causal Inference
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: GRS PO 841 or consent of instructor. - Research methods for causal inference in political science. Randomized experiments (lab, survey, and field), natural experiments (including regression discontinuity and instrumental variable designs), difference-in-differences and fixed effects models, multiple regression and matching, comparative case studies, process tracing, and multi-method designs.
• CAS PO 846: Survey Research Methods
  Survey research methods in political science. Probability and convenience sampling, survey modes, questionnaire design, sensitive questions, survey experiments, pre-analysis plans, ethics, analyzing survey data. Global applications, including the Global South. Students design their own survey research plan.
• CAS PO 901: Directed Study in Methodology
  DS METHODOLOGY
• CAS PO 902: Directed Study in Methodology
  DS Methodology
• CAS PO 903: Research Workshop
  Graduate Prerequisites: enrollment in the Political Science PhD program. - This course is for Political Science PhD students of all years. It includes preparation for the second year paper, the dissertation prospectus, the dissertation, job talks, and grant and fellowship proposals.
• CAS PO 904: Research Workshop
  Graduate Prerequisites: enrollment in the Political Science PhD program. - This course is for Political Science PhD students of all years. It includes preparation for the second year paper, the dissertation prospectus, the dissertation, job talks, and grant and fellowship proposals.
• CAS PO 951: Directed Study in Comparative Politics
  DS COMP POL
• CAS PO 971: Directed Study in International Relations
  DS INTN'L POL
• CAS PO 981: Cert of Full-Time Study
  CERT FT STUDY
• CAS PO 983: Continuing Study Part-Time
  CONT STUDY PT
• CAS PO 985: Continuing Study Cert Full-Time
  CONT STUDY CFT
• CAS PS 704: Contemporary Trends in Psychology
  A1 section offered in the fall semester is the MA Proseminar. A number of department faculty present their current research. Other PS 704 sections offered in the fall and all sections offered in the spring: Various contemporary trends in psychology presented. Content varies: consult department for topics and descriptions.
• CAS PS 711: Statistics in Psychology 1
  General linear models including multiple regression and logistic regression; multilevel models; survival analysis; interaction effects.
• CAS PS 712: Statistics in Psychology 2
  Graduate Prerequisites: (CASPS711) or consent of instructor. - Statistical analysis with latent variables including exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation models, latent growth models, psychometrics.
• CAS PS 716: Psychological Research Methods
  The methodological foundations of psychological research, including issues in general scientific practice, research design, measurement, methods of data collection, and practical and ethical problems arising in the conduct of psychological research.
• CAS PS 720: Neurobiology of Animal Cognition
  Graduate Prerequisites: graduate standing. - Explores the nature of cognition across the animal kingdom. Synthesizes concepts from cognitive science, machine learning and neuroethology to better understand human cognition through the lens of animal behavior. Selected topics include decision-making, collective behavior, reinforcement learning, and mental simulations.
• CAS PS 730: Major Perspectives in Psychology: History and Systems
  Provides exposure to the history of major perspectives in psychology, increases understanding of contemporary literature on fundamental issues in psychology, and promotes an integrated understanding of the link between psychological theories and applied psychological principles.
• CAS PS 750: Mind and Language
  Graduate Prerequisites: (CASPS525 OR CASPS545 OR CASPS546) or equivalent; or consent of instructor. - Seminar examines how language influences cognition. Surveys cognitive, developmental, psycholinguistic, and primate psychology literatures to explore whether cross-linguistic differences cause cross-cultural differences in cognition, and whether possession of a language faculty influences the nature of thought.