Academic Mission and Program

The Graduate School of Political Science and International Affairs offers students a variety of courses dealing with the political environment of the 21st Century. The School's primary focus is to provide analytical, reasoning and problem solving skills through the study of international, comparative, and domestic governmental institutions and processes. The Master of Political Science and International Affairs aims to provide students with the knowledge and perspectives needed to function effectively in public service, the private sector and as responsible citizens. The breadth and flexibility of the curriculum enables students to better understand the interplay between international and regional politics as well as the socioeconomic issues that influence the transformations taking place in Armenia and its government. The School's approach is multi-disciplinary with strong emphasis placed upon providing students with a comprehensive understanding of democratic governance at the local, national, regional and international levels.

Admission requirements

In addition to the General University admission requirements explained in the Admission Section of this catalog, students wishing to enroll in the Master of Political Science program must have a four/five-year undergraduate degree with competitive grades, a competitive score on the GRE examination, and strong letters of recommendation. The School reserves the right to conduct interviews with applicants.

Graduation requirements

To graduate with a Master of Political Science, students must complete 80 credit hours of coursework, including either a Master's Essay or a Policy Internship Project in the final quarter of study. Both the Essay and Internship Project carry 8 units of academic credit. All course units in the School, unless otherwise indicated, represent either four or two hours of class attendance per week by the student.

Full-time students must carry at least 12 credit units per quarter. While the majority of students complete all school requirements in two years, the maximum period for completion is three academic years. Degree candidacy will automatically lapse after this period. A course load of more than 16 credit units or less than 10 credit units requires prior approval from the Dean of the School. All required courses, except the Master's Essay and Policy Internship Project, must be taken on a letter grade basis. A cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher is required for the granting of the degree.

The MA Curriculum

Students are provided with "total immersion" in western political science methods and theory. The curriculum is comprised of courses in the following subfields of the discipline: Political Theory and Methods, International Politics, Comparative Politics, Public Administration and Policy Analysis. Multiple courses are offered in each of these fields throughout the students' two years of study.

The goal of the Masters Essay is to provide students with the opportunity to reflect on the learning through their course work and present a comprehensive study on a particular topic or policy area. The Policy Internship Project offers students the opportunity to participate in the functions of a government or non-governmental agency and to write a policy paper. All submissions must follow the guidelines provided in the "Guidelines for Master's Essays and Policy Internship Projects" and the "Political Science Stylebook for Term Papers, Master's Essays, and Internship Policy Papers." Students must present their papers in an open forum at the end of the quarter.

Douglas Shumavon

Douglas Shumavon, Ph.D., is the Dean of the Graduate School of Political Science and International Affairs and the Director of the Center for Policy Analysis at AUA. He holds a Doctorate in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Dr. Shumavon is a Professor of Political Science at Miami University, Ohio. His research interests and publications focus on decision making, administrative discretion and ethics, and the evolution of post-Soviet administrative structures and policies. He is responsible for the implementation of an exchange grant (U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs) between Miami University and the American University of Armenia.

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

PS500. Western Political Thought (4)
A historical survey of Western Schools of political and socioeconomic thought from the early times to the present based on the writings of Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Montesquieu, Smith, Burke, Hegel, Mill, Marx and contemporary theorists of nationalism, liberalism, socialism, conservatism, pragmatism, puritanism, constitutionalism, authoritarianism and welfare statism.

PS505. Political Science Methodology (4)
Introduction to research methods in political science covering the overall logic and theory of empirical research and the major quantitative and qualitative data collection methodologies and policy evaluation.

PS510. Comparative Political Systems (4)
Comparative analysis of political elites, governmental institutions, and political processes in selected industrial, developing and socialist countries. A representative sampling of countries would include the United States, Britain, France, Germany, India, Saudi Arabia, China, Egypt, Iran, Mexico, Russia, Syria and Israel.

PS520. International Political Relations (4)
Theories and issues in contemporary world politics and diplomacy, foreign policy formulation, strategic problems, techniques of conflict management and conflict resolution.

PS530. Theories of Democracy (4)
Central concepts in contemporary democratic theory including the core problems of macro democracies and the normative functions and basic requirements of the theories for contemporary practice in modern nation-states.

PS537. Sustainable Development (2)
Conditions required for sustainable development applied to political, economic, and environmental conditions in Armenia.

PS538. Ethnicity, Geopolitics, and International Law in Transcaucasia (2)
Analysis of the complex relationships among current regional conflicts and ethnicity, geopolitics, and international law and factors and participants in the development and potential for conflict resolution.

PS540. International Economic Systems (4)
A comparative analysis of economic theories and practices in different modern states focusing on the United States, Japan, Canada, and West European countries. Examination of the processes of privatization and marketization in both ex-communist and Western economic systems.

PS550. Introduction to Public Administration (4)
The role and scope of bureaucracy in the modern state; examination of issues in the formulation and implementation of public policy; planning, programming, and decision making in the bureaucratic policy making process.

PS600. Comparative Public Policy (4)
The analysis of diverse administrative cultures and processes in different political systems with emphasis on bureaucratic roles and functions, bureaucratic ethics, problem-solving, and social responsibility.

PS607. Conflict Resolution Strategies (2)
The role of international organizations in the management and resolution of ethnic conflicts and theories of ethnic identity and conflict.

PS610. Public Finance and Budgeting (4)
A survey of public finance and budgeting systems in selected Western states with emphasis on the processes of planning, programming, appropriation, taxation and modeling.

PS615. Comparative Policy Making and Public Opinion (4)
Bringing the public into successful policy formation and implementation processes and the functions of public opinion in democratic states focusing on political participation in public policy formation in selected countries.

PS620. Public Personnel Administration (4)
An examination of the basic concepts and techniques of management of government employees with special emphasis on problems of recruitment, selection, position classification, promotion, training, motivation, performance evaluation, career development, leadership, and patronage.

PS626. Politics and Public Administration of Eastern Europe (4)
Survey of management in the former USSR, Eastern and Central Europe and institutional transitions to market economies and pluralistic political systems.

PS630. Organizational Behavior (4)
Consideration of general theories and concepts of organization and bureaucratic behavior, strategies for control, stability and change in modern state systems.

PS640. World Political Economy (4)
The interaction of political, social and economic forces in the global arena and their impact on international trade, foreign aid, and economic dependency focusing on decision making in multinational corporations and key transitional institutions.

PS645. Politics of Russia and the CIS (4)
An analytical and historical survey of politics in the post-Soviet period with emphasis on the interplay of ideological, national and geopolitical factors in problems of political change and development, independent state-building, political organization, and interstate conflict resolution.

PS650. Leadership and Decision making (4)
An examination of management skills by government functionaries with emphasis on understanding and using power and influence effectively, utilizing appropriate leadership and decision styles and techniques, and managing ethical dilemmas, cultural differences and political pressures on decision making.

PS655. Politics of the Islamic World (4)
An interdisciplinary survey of politics in the Arab East, Turkey, and Iran with emphasis on Middle Eastern factors, institutions, and processes since World War II. Examination of problems of sociopolitical change, role of Islam, international influences and inter-state relations in the region.

PS660. Comparative Legal Systems and Human Rights (2)
Analysis of major legal systems and their impact on public policy and human rights, administration of justice and socio-economic well-being. Emphasis on the social roots and historical development of modern democratic legal cultures.

PS670. International Law and Organizations (2)
A survey of the origins and principles of international law, its historical development and utilization in inter-state relations. Examination of major regional and international organizations and their role in the settlement of disputes. The changing role of the United Nations in peacemaking, and economic development.

PS688. Armenian National Assembly (2)
Introduction to legislative processes in the Armenian government and the roles and responsibilities of the Armenian National Assembly in relationship to other branches of government.

PS691. Special Topic Seminar: International Policy Issues

PS692. Special Topic Seminar: Domestic Policy Issues

PS693. Special Topic Seminar: Political Theory and Methodology

PS694. Special Topic Seminar: Public Administration

PS700. Policy Internship Project (8)

PS702. Master's Essay (8)

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