Political Science > Undergraduate > World Politics and Global Governance Double Major

The World Politics and Global Governance (WPGG) program is a track within International Studies that is open to students who double major in International Studies and Political Science (it is not a separate major).

The WPGG program consists of the major requirements for both Political Science and International Studies, with extra disciplinary focus on the issues of global politics.

The primary difference between a double major in Political Science and International Studies and the WPGG track is that WPGG students are required to concentrate their upper-level Political Science elective courses in one or more of the following thematic foci areas:

  • Global governance and law
  • Political economy
  • International security
  • Borders and identities
  • Environmental politics

Through these thematic foci, the WPGG program enables students to develop their analytical skills and their critical judgment as citizens of the world. The program provides excellent preparation for professional careers as well as for graduate studies in political science, public affairs, law, business, and beyond.

Students also have the opportunity to develop a personal research project by writing a senior research thesis under the direct supervision of a faculty member in the Department of Political Science.

Students who wish to enroll in the WPGG track must double major in Political Science and International Studies and contact the Undergraduate Coordinator or Director of Undergraduate Studies in Political Science to add the track to their degree audit.

Dual Major Requirements

Political Science

WPGG students must complete a total of 12 courses (36 credits) in political science and achieve a grade of C or better in each of these courses. These 12 courses must include:

  • One of the following: Contemporary International Politics, Introduction to Global Studies, or Introduction to Comparative Politics
  • At least one course at the 100 level taken on the Homewood Campus in each of the four subfields of political science: (Please note that the three introductory courses listed above satisfy this requirement in their respective subfields.)
    • American Politics
    • Comparative Politics
    • Political Theory
    • International Relations
  • Three Political Science elective courses at any level (100-400).
  • Five upper level Political Science elective courses (300 level or above), four of which must be drawn from one or more of the designated WPGG thematic foci. A list of applicable courses may be found below.
  • At least one writing intensive course taken within the political science department at any level (Please note that this course can count toward one of the eight additional Political Science elective courses).
  • One letter graded independent study course of three credits may count toward the 12 required courses.
  • A maximum of four courses applied to the Political Science major requirements may come from transfer credits, study abroad, and/or courses taken outside the Political Science Department but cross-listed with the Political Science Department.
  • Thesis-related courses taken in the Political Science department will count toward the five upper-level courses required by the major.

Economics

WPGG students must complete four courses in economics.

  • Two courses must be: Elements of Macroeconomics and Elements of Microeconomics.
  • Two courses designated as “political economy” may be substituted for other economics coursework requirements.

History

WPGG students must complete five courses in history.

  • One of which must be a 100-level course in the History Department. This requirement may be satisfied by completing the standard International Studies major’s history requirements.
  • Two courses designated as “global politics in a historical perspective” may be substituted for two of the five courses required.

Foreign Language

WPGG students must demonstrate foreign language proficiency by completing the International Studies major’s foreign language requirement.

Courses Designated as Part of WPGG Thematic Foci

The following courses are applicable as “thematic foci” courses. Please be aware that all thematic foci courses must be manually moved in SIS to the “focus area” category of your degree audit. This list may not be regularly updated, so please contact the Undergraduate Coordinator or Director of Undergraduate Studies in Political Science for inquiries and approvals related to the use of other courses as “focus area” courses.

Global Governance and Law

  • Constitutional interpretations (Zackin)
  • Law, morality, and the state (Culbert)
  • Civil society (Chung)
  • Global governance (Allan)
  • Republicanism (Deudney)
  • Sovereignty (Schmidt)
  • Global and local politics of information (Marlin-Bennett)
  • Power (Marlin-Bennett)
  • Democracy and elections (Katz)
  • Free Speech and the Law (Katz)
  • Philosophy of Law (Culbert)

Political Economy

  • Capitalism and ecology (Connolly)
  • Political foundations of the market economy (Jabko)
  • Political economy of Japan and Korea (Chung)
  • Political economy of development (Mazzuca)
  • Game theory (Mazzuca)
  • Global political economy (Marlin-Bennett)
  • Global governance (Allan)
  • Political Economy of Gender (Teele)
  • Business, Finance, and Government in E. Asia (Yasuda)
  • The Political Bases of the Market Economy (Jabko)
  • Politics of East Asia (Chung)
  • Japanese Politics (Chung)
  • Korean Politics (Chung)
  • Latin American Politics and Society (Mazzuca)
  • Contemporary Chinese Politics (Yasuda)
  • Democracy and Development (Mazzuca)
  • Politics of Inequality (Rehm)
  • Comparative European Politics (Jabko)
  • Comparative Politics of the MENA (Parkinson)
  • Introduction of Economic Development (Mazzuca

International Security

  • National security in a nuclear age (David)
  • America and the World (Schmidt)
  • Political violence (David)
  • Violence and Politics (Ginsberg)
  • Does Israel have a future (David)
  • Nuclear power and world order (Deudney)
  • Planetary geopolitics (Deudney)
  • Nuclear Weapons and World Politics (Deudney)
  • Foundations of International Relations Theory (Schmidt)
  • A New Cold War? (David)

Borders, Migrations, and Identities

  • Comparative political theory (Brendese)
  • White Supremacy (Brendese)
  • Comparative Racial Politics (Chung)
  • Black politics I and II (Spence)
  • Urban politics (Spence)
  • Pluralism (Chambers)
  • Asian American politics (Chung)
  • Politics of the Korean Diaspora (Chung)
  • Comparative Immigration and Citizenship Politics (Chung)
  • Imagining borders (Marlin-Bennett)
  • Dreams of America (Bennett)
  • Nationalism and the Politics of Identity (Kocher)
  • The Global Color Line: American Segregation and Colonial Order (Kripp)
  • Gender, Women, and War (Barquiero)
  • Frantz Fanon’s Global Politics (Kripp)
  • Disposable People: Race, Immigration, and Biopolitics (Brendese)
  • Beyond Bob Marley (Shilliam)
  • Nonviolent Resistance in World Politics (Amat)

Environmental Politics

  • Food politics (Sheingate)
  • Capitalism and ecology (Connolly)
  • Narratives of nature (Bennett)
  • Planetary geopolitics (Deudney)
  • Global environmental politics (Allan)
  • Geopolitics (Deudney)
  • Global Politics and Technology of Decarbonization (Allan)

Courses Designated as Politics in Historical Perspective

  • Japanese politics (Chung)
  • Korean Politics (Chung)
  • Politics of East Asia (Chung)
  • Comparative European Politics (Jabko)
  • Comparative Politics of the MENA (Parkinson)
  • European politics in a Comparative Perspective (Jabko)
  • Chinese Politics (Yasuda)
  • Latin American politics and society (Mazzuca)
  • Democracy and authoritarianism (Mazzuca)
  • America at War in Korea (Barkawi)
  • The New Deal and American Politics (Schlotzman)
  • The Politics of Good & Evil (Connolly)
  • Sovereignty: Historical Perspectives and Contemporary Issues (Schmidt)
  • Political Thought in the Americas (Simon)

Courses Designated as Political Economy

  • Capitalism and ecology (Connolly)
  • Political foundations of the market economy (Jabko)
  • Political economy of Japan and Korea (Chung)
  • Political economy of development (Mazzuca)
  • Game theory (Mazzuca)
  • Global political economy (Marlin-Bennett)
  • Global governance (Allan)
  • How to Be a Capitalist (Chambers)
  • Latin American Politics and Society (Mazzuca)