Course Offerings by term

Topics courses change every semester, offering advanced study in themes, theories and issues beyond the regular departmental course offerings. Taught by permanent or visiting faculty, recent Topics courses include: 'The French Elections', 'Refugee and Asylum Law', 'Turkey and the EU', or 'Law and Corruption'.

Internships are commonly pursued in non-governmental organizations, international development networks or research institutes, but can also be completed in a variety of other institutions depending on students’ interests and initiative. The University cannot guarantee placement in an internship, but will provide assistance with the internship search. Junior standing is recommended as well as early contact with the Internship Office for registration purposes. Internships may be taken for 1 or 4 credits. Students may do more than one internship, but internship credit cannot cumulatively total more than 4 credits.

The senior seminar is the culmination of the degree program and is designed to encourage students to combine their skilled analysis of the political in a challenging new context. While topics cover all three track concentrations, the goal of the seminar is to foster a sense of intellectual autonomy, to facilitate the ability to assess paradigms, and to provide a platform for a professional oral presentation of research results, as well as the incorporation of original research in a written thesis. Recent seminar topics include: Sovereignty, International Criminal Law, and Democracy.