Courses

The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular semester. 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.

• GRS PH 906: Directed Study in Problems in Philosophy
  Graduate Prerequisites: consent of instructor.
  
• GRS PH 990: Dissertation Workshop
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: Students should be enrolled in the Philosophy PhD program
  Intended for Philosophy PhD students working toward a dissertation prospectus or dissertation. Students present their research and discuss each other's research projects.
• GRS PH 991: Directed Research on Dissertation
  Graduate Prerequisites: consent of major professor.
  
• GRS PH 993: Philosophy Proseminar 1
  Graduate Prerequisites: graduate standing.
  A workshop seminar offering advanced graduate students the opportunity to present and discuss work-in- progress (dissertation chapters, papers for job applications, journal submissions). A serious commitment to regular and continuing attendance is expected.
• GRS PH 994: Philosophy Proseminar 2
  Graduate Prerequisites: GRS PH 993; or consent of instructor.
  A continuation of GRS PH 993. A workshop seminar offering advanced graduate students the opportunity to present and discuss work-in-progress (dissertation chapters, papers for job applications, journal submissions). A serious commitment to regular and continuing attendance is expected.
• GRS PO 702: Professional Development for PhD Candidates in Political Science
  For political science PhD students in their second or third year of study and who are preparing for comprehensive exams or are working on a PhD prospectus. Addresses core issues in numerous fields and is taught by members of the GFPS.
• GRS PO 705: Special Topics in American Politics
  Topic for Spring 2022: Race at the Center of U.S. Politics. Scholarship tends to treat race and ethnic politics (REP) as an isolated subfield. This course takes a different approach, placing REP at the center. This will lead to the reinterpretation of canonical topics and claims in U.S. politics.
• GRS PO 711: Approaches to the Study of American Politics
  Graduate Core Seminar. Introduces students to major theoretical, substantive, and methodological problems in the study of American politics by examining two sets of literature: scholarly debates and discussion of theory and research, and the concrete research of leading Americanists.
• GRS PO 751: Approaches to the Study of Comparative Politics
  Graduate Core Seminar. Provides an overview of major theoretical approaches and areas of research in comparative politics, including the comparative method, statebuilding, nationalism, democratization, revolution, culture and identity, electoral and party systems, systems of government, economic development, business politics, and the welfare state.
• GRS PO 771: Approaches to the Study of International Relations
  Graduate Core Seminar. Focuses on the ongoing conversations in the discipline of International Relations. The course addresses the various ways international relations scholars understand and study the world. It also addresses the types of questions international relations scholars ask and how they answer them.
• GRS PO 789: International Relations of Asia-Pacific
  Focuses on the Asia-Pacific region. Analysis of issues that have defined international relations; the impact of the Cold War, of regional economic growth and dynamism, and the emergence of contention over regional identity and its relations to global politics.
• GRS PO 791: Approaches to the Study of Political Theory
  Graduate Core Seminar. An overview of some of the more significant texts for the study of political theory today, with attention to both substantive and methodological issues. Selections may vary from year to year.
• GRS 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.
• GRS 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.
• GRS PO 843: Techniques in Political Analysis: Maximum Likelihood Estimation
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: GRS PO 841; or equivalent, or consent of the instructor.
  An applied course in quantitative empirical analysis using the method of maximum likelihood. Covers models for binary, ordered, unordered, count and duration dependent variables. Focus is on social science data and computation in R.
• GRS 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.
• GRS PO 845: Special Topics in Methodology
  Topics vary; may be repeated for credit if the topics are different. Topic for Spring 2022: Survey Methods: Survey research. Methods in political science. Sampling techniques, questionnaire design, survey modes (in-person, phone, and online), interviewing, survey ethics, survey experiments, international surveys, analyzing survey data.
• GRS 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.
• GRS 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.
• GRS 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.