PhD in Political Science Program
GENERAL OVERVIEW
The Ph.D. program in Political Science at Stony Brook is small and research-oriented,
with concentrations in political economy, American politics, and political psychology/behavior.
Our program is limited to about 30 students taught by 15 faculty members, and features
close working relationships with faculty, a small class size, and numerous research
opportunities for graduate students. The program provides an opportunity for students
to develop skills as researchers and teachers, both through small seminars and hands-on
experience. Graduate students have offices next to the faculty, other graduate students,
graduate student seminar rooms, the graduate lounge, and extensive research facilities.
All of this is located on a single floor of a modern building overlooking the Long
Island Sound. This arrangement not only provides a delightful and friendly working
environment but also creates close working relationships among faculty and students
that are critical for the professional training we offer.
A graduate program can be no better than the faculty and the Stony Brook Political
Science Department is one of the most productive research departments in the country.
A recent study of articles published in the three major American political science
journals (American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, and Journal of Politics) over the past ten years shows that Stony Brook is second in the country in total
publications, exceeded only by the University of Michigan (other schools in the top
ten include Stanford, Rochester, Harvard, and Ohio State). Considering the size of
most of the other major graduate departments in political science, Stony Brook is
clearly the most productive department per capita. What does this mean for the graduate
program? Graduate students take courses from and do research with some of the most
active researchers in political science. Seminars are taught by faculty who are familiar
with the current controversies in that field and students have an opportunity to work
on cutting-edge research in their area of interest. It is an exciting environment
and a place where research is not just taught in the classroom but is experienced
through direct participation. From your first semester, you will be involved in research
projects with political scientists who are well-known throughout the discipline. By
the time your dissertation is finished, you will have taught your own undergraduate
courses and will probably have presented a research paper at a major professional
meeting. Jointly authored student-faculty papers from our department have been published
in the major political science journals on topics including urban politics, political
psychology, regulatory enforcement, congress, and electoral studies.
The department is also one of the top in the country in obtaining research grants
and external funding. These grants provide financial support for graduate students
and, even more importantly, they open up even more possibilities for collaborative
research. Faculty research grants often involve graduate students directly in the
projects and those students later go on to co-author the resulting papers and books.
The graduate students in our program also contribute to the positive environment of
the department. As a result of maintaining a small program, the department can be
selective in admitting students. Our graduate students are highly qualified and hard-working.
They have diverse backgrounds and wide-ranging interests. Sharing offices, research
facilities, and the graduate student lounge promotes a friendly and intellectual environment.
It is not at all uncommon for students to work together on research projects while
in school and to continue joint research after graduating.
This emphasis on professional preparation and collaboration on research papers has
given our graduates a competitive edge in the academic and research job markets. After
finishing their degrees, our students have been successful in finding jobs at major
research and teaching universities as well as in the public and private sectors. The
program is designed so that finishing in four years is possible but most students
require a fifth year of study. Over the past decade, the department has a perfect
record of funding students who require the fifth year.
FIELDS OF STUDY
In order to provide a thorough background in the fields we offer, the department has
focused research and teaching resources on three specialized fields - American politics,
policy and political economy, and political psychology. Students take foundation courses
in these fields during their first year. In subsequent years they will do advanced
coursework in two of these three fields, as well as select a specialized field for
dissertation research. All students must pass qualifying examinations after their
second year in two of these fields and in research methodology. All students receive
thorough training in research methodology since this is essential to all fields.
American Politics
The American Politics concentration provides a broad perspective on national political
institutions and processes, with particular emphasis on elections. Courses are taught
in political parties and elections, the legislative process, the American judiciary,
political ideology, electoral behavior, and social choice theory. Students become
familiar with the kinds of quantitative and formal analysis techniques most often
applied to the study of American politics. Members of the faculty are currently doing
research on nominations to the Supreme Court, Congressional decision-making, voting
in Congressional and Presidential elections, and public opinion.
Political Economy
The political economy program builds upon the department's strengths in political
psychology, methodology, and laboratory experiments. The primary focus of the program
is on applications of behavioral economics methods in political science and empirical
testing of theoretical models in laboratory settings. Such a focus allows for cross-field
collaboration and synergy within the political science department.
Substantively, experimental economics uses insights from psychology to test the traditional
economic models of a man as a selfish utility-maximizing actor. Behavioral economics
takes these psychological insights and experimental results further and offers alternative
theoretical models that incorporate emotions, altruism, a sense of fairness, inequity
aversion, and so on. The behavioral models can then be applied in any substantive
field of political science.
Political Psychology/Behavior
The doctoral concentration in political psychology/behavior applies contemporary psychological
theories, concepts, and research methods to the study of political behavior. Students
are trained in topics and methods associated with psychology as well as political
science. Methodological concerns focus on experimentation. In addition to formal training
in experimental methods, students are apprenticed throughout their course of training
to ongoing laboratory research projects. Students become familiar with the department's
extensive and well-equipped laboratories and the regular subject pool.
The substantive concerns of the political psychology concentration include, but are
not limited to, those facets of psychology that can be applied to the study of political
behavior: e.g. communication and interaction, group influence, attribution, attitude
change, political cognition, public opinion, cognitive processes and decision-making.
Methodology
Since we believe that a strong background in research methods is essential for political
scientists, we provide rigorous training in the application of statistical methods
and formal models to political analysis. Coursework in analytic methods includes introductory
training in mathematical methods and statistics as well as more advanced modeling,
econometrics, measurement, and time series analysis. The "hands-on" approach is an
integral part of our program. We believe, however, that it is the application of research
methods, first as part of faculty and class research projects and then in your own
dissertation research, that makes you a competent researcher with the skills required
for success in research and academic careers.
DEGREE REQUIREMENTS
The most up-to-date degree requirements can be found in the current Graduate Catalog.
Candidates must meet the general requirements for the Ph.D. degree set by the Graduate
School. Departmental requirements are as follows:
A. Required Courses
POL 600 - Research Project
POL 601 - Foundations: Public Policy and Political Economy
POL 602 - Applied Data Analysis I
POL 603 - Applied Data Analysis II
POL 604 - Applied Data Analysis III
POL 605 - Foundations: American Politics
POL 608 - Foundations: Political Psychology, Behavior
POL 610 - Foundations II: Experimental Design and Methods, OR,
POL 613 - Game Theory for Political Science
B. Electives
Students are expected to master the methods necessary to engage in scholarly work:
1. All students take a three-course sequence in mathematics, statistics, and research
methods (POL 602, 603, 604).
2. All students are required to take at least one advanced methods course either in
this department or in a cognate field (e.g., economics). The student’s choice ofadvanced elective(s) is decided in conjunction with the student’s advisor.
3. In addition to requirements 1 and 2 above, political psychology students take POL
610, a graduate-level course in experimental design. Political economy and AmericanPolitics students must take POL 613, Public Choice.
4. Students who have attended the ICPSR Summer Program in Quantitative Methods at
the University of Michigan can have the advanced elective requirement waived.
C. Qualifying Examinations
Students take a minimum of four advanced seminars in their area of specialization
and three in their minor area. The seminars are typically at the 600 level and can
be within the department or can be in cognate fields such as psychology, economics,
or applied math. The course of study is selected by the student in consultation with
his or her advisor and must be approved by the graduate program director.
D. Dissertation
To ensure that all students become proficient in teaching and research, students work
with the faculty on an individual basis. Funded students participate in faculty research
projects and assist in teaching courses. Advanced students then prepare and teach
their own undergraduate classes.
COURSES
Note: Most courses do not have a specific semester offering. Please refer to the Graduate
Class Schedule for specific semester offerings.
A two-semester introduction to research for first-year students. The course introduces
issues of research design through lectures and presentations of current research by
faculty members. Each student designs his or her own research paper under the guidance
of a faculty member familiar with his or her area of interest. Final papers are due
in the beginning of May.
A systematic introduction to the principles of political economy. Develops a microeconomic
model and approach to public policy analysis. A major part of the course is devoted
to student projects that analyze the political economy of a governmental policy.
The application of statistical and mathematical models to the analysis of political
data: introduction to the research process and to topics in measurement, basic descriptive
statistics, and inferential statistics.
The application of statistical and mathematical models to the analysis of political
data: regression analysis.
The application of statistical methods to the analysis of political data. The emphasis
is on diagnosing and dealing with violations of assumptions of statistical models.
Topics covered include advanced regression, models for discrete dependent variables,
systems of equations, and selection bias.
A review of the basic political science literature on American politics, with emphasis
on American political institutions.
This seminar will consider statistical models for political processes observed over
time. The major topics will include conintegration, time varying parameter models
and duration models.
This course on political socialization focuses on continuity and change in political
attitudes and behavior across the life span. Topics include the stability of political
attitudes-contrasting the greater durability of political partisanship and basic values
with the relative instability of issue positions; the social psychology of attitude
change, which lends some insight into the conditions under which attitudes are most
likely to change; the importance of political period or era as a determinant of political
attitudes and behavior; and the existence and coherence of distinct political generations.
Some attention is also given to the political changes that accompany old age, including
changes in attitude and behavior linked to growing dependency on the Social Security
and Medicare systems.
A review and analysis of the political behavior literature, including such topics
as attitude formation and change, belief systems, political socialization, demographic
and small group influences on political beliefs and conduct, political leadership,
electoral behavior, elite vs. mass politics, decision-making, personality and politics,
political conformity, and protest.
A practical application of topics in the philosophy of science to research design.
Students prepare their dissertation proposal as a part of this course.
An overview of experimental research with an emphasis on experimental design, data
analysis, and interpretation. Students develop the ability to critically evaluate
experimental research. Students also participate in the development, implementation,
and analysis of a laboratory experiment.
This course introduces students to behavioral economics. Behavioral economics seeks
to build empirically realistic models of human decision-making that are better integrated
with insights from psychology. Will examine theoretical alternatives to the purely
self-interested, optimizing, and cognitively unlimited caricature of homo-economicus,
including bounded and ecological rationality, prospect theory, hyperbolic discounting,
and reference dependence. Topics explored will include status and positional goods,
altruism and social preferences, intertemporal choice, risk preferences, behavioral
game theory, and heuristics and biases. Emphasis will be placed on applications to
political behavior and decision-making.
This course is a practical introduction to computational modeling, with a focus on
agent-based modeling using Python (with extensions). By the end of the course, students
are expected to complete an original modeling project.
Introduction to formal models of strategic behavior in static, dynamic, and repeated
games. Technical emphasis is formulation and solution of games of complete and incomplete
information; a variety of equilibrium concepts will be introduced. Substantive applications
include spatial models of candidate behavior in elections; agenda control and bargaining
in legislatures; lobbying by interest groups; common pool resource problems; and cooperation
between rivals.
A seminar on judicial process and behavior. Emphasis is placed on the Supreme Court,
but trial courts and other appellate courts are examined as well. Topics include constitutional
interpretation and both legal and extra-legal models of decision-making. Students
should possess basic methodological skills.
A seminar on the legislative process, focusing on current research on the United States
Congress.
A seminar on parties, campaigns, and elections in the United States. Topics covered
include party organization and leadership, nomination and general election campaigns,
and the role of parties in government.
Models of voting choices; key attitudes such as party identification, issue orientations,
and ideology; the impact of group affiliations, economic conditions; campaign strategies
of candidates; congressional vs. presidential elections; historical change, e.g.,
party realignments.
This course examines American political ideology as it is reflected in public opinion,
political debate, and public policy. The goal is to understand the underlying bases
of conflict and consensus in American politics and the ways in which they influence
and constrain debate over public policy. The course traces the development of political
conflict in the United States and examines the basis of contemporary political debate.
This class consists of an overview and analysis of the public opinion literature,
including the nature of public opinion, factors that shape public opinion, micro-level
opinion dynamics, macro-level opinion dynamics, and the role of public opinion democracy.
It is designed to be a collaborative enterprise in which we, as a class, consider
the role of public opinion in American politics.
An examination of the scope of government regulation of business in the United States
today-regulation at both the federal and state levels and by both economic and social
agencies. The course compares market vs. regulatory policies as well as possible explanations
for why some regulatory agencies change over time. Finally, the course considers proposed
reforms, such as clearer legislative standards, curbs on “revolving door” practices,
greater citizen participation in agency proceedings, and deregulation.
An introduction to theories of policy making, especially policy formulation, stressing
reading and thinking about classics and acquiring skills necessary for theorizing,
including mathematical modeling and formal theory. Laboratories focus on improving
special skills (e.g., optimization) and theorizing about particular policy areas (e.g.,
pork barrel politics).
An examination of bureaucracy as part of the policy-making process. This course reviews
theoretical explanations for the bureaucracy as a political institution and implications
of its rapid growth since the New Deal. It also looks inside bureaucratic organizations,
examining factors that influence the exercise of discretion and policy implementation.
Many political issues from poverty to same-sex marriage to the death penalty are moral
issues. This course will apply moral psychology to understand public opinion, political
debates, and political behavior. We examine how moral judgment differs from judgments
based on self-interest and altruism. We will study moral condemnation in political
debates and how moral accusations clash with arguments based on other considerations
such as economics, loyalty, and authority. The topics include moral frames, metaphors,
emotions, and differences between liberals and conservatives. We apply these concepts
to political debates surrounding property, fairness, sexuality, religion, and violence.
An introduction to the study of race and ethnic politics through the lens of political
psychology. It focuses primarily on applications of psychological theories and insights
to questions involving racialized groups, but also engages with key literatures in
race and ethnic politics to identify synergies across theoretical approaches. Likewise,
even as content privileges the United States, it includes select comparative work
to highlight principles and research design options. Throughout, it encourages consider
when and among whom a given theoretical perspective holds, and whether the “whys”
or “hows” behind reported opinions and observed behavior are similar, or different,
across groups.
Students will learn about the major theories of ecological rationality and how they
compare to classical conceptions of rationality and to bounded rationality. Students
will learn how this approach has influenced research in political science, psychology,
and economics. Course topics will include: theoretical foundations of ecological rationality,
political decision-making as a manifestation of ecological rationality, application
to heuristics, the relationship between ecological rationality and prospect theory,
applications to risk-taking, applications to behavioral economics, applications to
trust and cooperation. At its core, ecological rationality is a vision of human psychology.
Thus, this course provides a foundational perspective for our students who are emphasizing
political psychology in their studies. The nature of human rationality is also a core
topic in behavioral economics and political economy. Thus, this course is also foundational
for students emphasizing BPE.
The course is designed to introduce students to the process of analyzing interdependent
political actors. We will ultimately discuss using whole network data to conduct social
network analysis’note, these networks need not be social; they could be international
networks of countries, for example. It is important to realize, however, that whole
network data is often not available and, further, it is very difficult to collect.
We begin, therefore, by considering methods that take account of the interdependence
of political actors without analyzing the entire network within which those actors
operate. The different methods and measures we discuss in this class could be incorporated
into almost all areas of political science. Thus, the ultimate goal of this class
is to give students and a lexicon and a toolkit to use in their own research.
This course provides an overview of the theoretical and empirical studies of legislative
politics. The course will place a particular emphasis on rational choice institutional
perspectives. Briefly, this paradigm suggests that individual-level strategic calculations
are paramount in understanding political phenomena, and institutions both emerge from
and serve to constrain these rational, utility maximizing political actors. While
the main focus of the course is the U.S. Congress, much of what we cover will have
direct relevance to the study of legislatures more generally (both cross-nationally
and American state legislatures). We will discuss congressional elections, the nature
of congressional representation, positive theories of congressional organization,
political parties, the committee system, institutional change, bicameralism, inter-branch
relations, and comparative legislatures.
Surveys experimental tests of formal models derived from political economy and game
theory, and applies behavioral and social-psychological theories to explain deviations
from equilibrium behavior. The methodologies of psychological and economic experiments
are contrasted and explored. Substantive applications include social trust, bargaining
power, agenda control, committee decision-making, common pool resource problems, and
political persuasion.
Surveys the contemporary psychological literature on human memory and cognition, with
emphasis on applications to political information processing.
In-depth examination of the role of mass media in the political process and the psychological
dynamics of media influence. Effects of the media on public opinion and voting. Implications
of media influence on democratic theory.
Review of contemporary theories of social influence processes and group decision-making,
with emphasis on applications to decision-making in politics. Special focus on small-group
methods and research applications.
Emphasizes psychological theories of judgment and choice and prediction of the errors
that individual decision makers are likely to make. These ideas are applied to a variety
of political contexts.
This course introduces students to evolutionary psychology. It is based on two core
ideas: evolution and computation. The human mind evolved by natural selection. An
evolutionary perspective focuses on the functions performed by the mind. In general,
the mind processes information and can therefore be understood as a computational
system. We examine a variety of mental processes, asking what computations they perform
and how they function to solve adaptive problems. The topics include perception, tools,
family, mates, language, fighting, trade, culture, morality, emotions, and politics.
A course reviewing the literature and methodology of specific areas of political science
research. The course relates directly to research applications and provide students
with an opportunity to apply advanced research tools to selected substantive problems.
Review of the literature and methods related to a topic or problem in contemporary
political science, voting behavior, issue formation, interest groups, political economy,
or personality.
Reading and research in the area of political psychology and behavior.
Individual studies under the guidance of a faculty member. Subject matter varies according
to the needs of the student.
Individual studies under the guidance of a faculty member. Subject matter varies according
to the needs of the student.
Students participate in weekly departmental colloquia where they serve as discussants
of research reports presented by individual faculty members or outside investigators
reporting on current research.
A course actively involving students in an ongoing research project under the direction
of a principal investigator. Students participate in all stages of the research project
and are required to prepare a research report on one aspect of the project.
A continuation of POL 691. Students actively participate in either a second research
project, where they will again prepare a research report, or continue their participation
in the same project, where they are then assigned a subset of data for analysis or
carry out a specific research aim of the project.
A tutorial in which students attend workshops to learn pedagogy, and practical and
professional skills with regard to classroom instruction. Typically taken the semester
before their first time as a classroom instructor.
Dissertation research under direction of advisor.
Dissertation research under direction of advisor.
Dissertation research under direction of advisor.
Dissertation research under direction of advisor.
