International Politics Preliminary Exam Field
The Department of Political Science at Washington State University offers graduate students the option of specializing in the field of international politics as one of their main Ph.D. exam fields. The field is also central to students interested in the master's in global justice and security studies.
The department offers a graduate seminar on Theories of International Politics as well as a graduate seminar on International Security. In addition, occasional seminars on various topics in international politics are offered. In the past these have covered comparative foreign policy, the political economy of Southeast Asia, terrorism and war, and other topics.
Students can also avail themselves of multiple lecture courses in international politics including American foreign policy, U.S. national security, homeland security, and a course on developing the analytical skills of a professional policy analyst. Related topics are also covered in the department's 2 seminars in political psychology (including leadership analysis, nationalism, ethnic conflict, terrorist behavior, and other issues).
Two of the international politics faculty (Cottam and Preston) also have developed and use policy simulations in most of their courses. This offers students both the opportunity to participate in a simulation and to learn how to develop simulations for professional and academic audiences.
Requirements
The following course work is necessary for meeting the requirements of the international politics exam field:
Required Courses
Take all of the following:
- Pol S 530: Theories of International Relations
- Pol S 531: International Security
Options
Select 3 from the following list, with approval by graduate committee:
- Pol S 533a: Seminar in Political Psychology
- Pol S 533b: Seminar in the Psychology of Political Leadership and Decision Making
- Pol S 536: Seminar on War and Political Development (Metelits)
- Pol S 424: U.S. National Security Policy
- Pol S 427: U.S. Foreign Policy
- Pol S 428: Introduction to Political Psychology
- Pol S 429: Current Topics in U.S. Foreign and Defense Policy
(repeatable)
- "Developing the Critical Thinking Skills of the Professional Policy Analyst" (Preston)
- "Homeland Security" (Cottam)
International Politics Faculty
Dr. Martha Cottam
Professor of Political Science
- American foreign policy decision making
- U.S. foreign and homeland security policy
- U.S.–Latin American relations
- Nationalism and ethnic conflict
- Political psychology
Dr. Thomas Preston
Professor of Political Science
- American foreign policy decision making
- U.S. foreign and defense policy
- International security
- Nuclear and biological weapons proliferation
- Political psychology
Dr. Paul Thiers
Associate Professor of Political Science
- International relations
- Globalization
- East Asia and Chinese politics
Heading