Spring 2027 Courses

Below are all the upper level courses scheduled for the Spring 2027 semester broken down by subfield. If you'd like to read the full description of the class, you can search the course number (POLSCI XXXX) in Workday. For information on introductory and independent study courses, you can also consult Workday or the Washington University Office of the University Registrar's search tool. The listing will be updated as new courses are approved. If a course does not show up in Workday or the search tool, they are in the process of being approved. Check back later to confirm. If you have any questions, you can speak with your advisor or email the Director of Undergraduate Studies, Dan Butler.

New Course Highlights

POLSCI 4166-01 - Campaigns and Elections

Faculty - Dino Christenson

This course examines U.S. campaigns and elections, focusing on voting behavior, political participation, and the methods political scientists use to study them, with attention to the most recent presidential and congressional elections. Topics include partisanship, ideology, vote choice, turnout, campaign strategy, and media effects. We ask: How are elections conducted? Why is turnout comparatively low? How do campaigns, candidates, identity and the economy shape vote choice? Is the public becoming more polarized? What do they know about politics? This course counts towards the undergraduate American politics subfield.

POLSCI 3249-01 - Conflict and Security in International Relations

Faculty - David Carter

POLSCI 1009-01 - Introduction to Formal Theory

Faculty - Keith Schnakenberg

This is a first course in the use of simple mathematical models to think about politics. Some of the questions addressed in this course include: How can we describe people’s political preferences? How should politicians make decisions under uncertainty? How should voters or politicians change their minds as new evidence arrives? Why might majority rule produce chaotic results even when voters’ preferences are stable? This course is an entry point into the field of formal theory. It also serves as good preparation for upper division formal theory courses.

POLSCI 3178-01 - The Politics of Environmental Regulation

Faculty - Zachary Bowersox

This course is designed to bring students closer to the often-hidden practice of environmental regulation. Looking particularly at the policy framework that girds the United States’s “Green State,” we will spend the semester building competencies in policymaking and implementation. Ultimately, students will come away with a better understanding of the relationship between the government and the environment.

POLSCI 3242-01 - Topics in Politics: Global Human Rights

Faculty - Zachary Bowersox

Why are some states more prone to human rights violations than others? Whose responsibility is it to prevent violations? How does globalization both help and harm populations that are more prone to violations? The students participating in this class should expect to learn the present definitions and understandings of human rights in the terms of political science. The class will resemble a graduate level seminar in style and form; that is we will spend most of the class period in discussion of the weekly readings, and it is expected that each student will attend class and participate in these discussions. This course counts towards the undergraduate International Politics subfield.