Structural questions about the undergraduate political science major have spurred debates in the field for more than thirty years. Today, resurgent growth of unusually sharp threats to American democracy fuel familiar curricular questions with new urgency. However, the combined effects of inertia, bureaucratic hurdles, and resource constraints…

PhD programs in the United States are increasingly marked by the rising influence of market-oriented dynamics. As a case in point, one of the primary objectives of the new PhD program offered at the University of South Dakota is to deliver a doctoral program through a flexible--or hybrid--format that is accessible to nontraditional as well as…

A call to engagement at Fort Hays State University (FHSU) led to significant curricular and assessment changes in the university's Department of Political Science. The university unveiled the Year of the Department (YOTD) as "an ongoing strategic initiative for orchestrating change and aligning people, systems and culture at the basic unit…

Small programs can make a big difference on college campuses. At Duke University, a few dedicated people, with the support of college administrators, exploited the all-too-evident liabilities of curriculum fragmentation, political correctness, and the lack of direction felt by undergraduate students to create intellectually valuable and…

Public administration, long considered a poor relation of political science in Australian academic circles, has recently been revitalized by a new concentration in public policy studies. This paper summarizes the efforts of 10 Australian universities to develop public policy degree programs, describes University of New England's new program, and…

Summarizes six curricular approaches to the teaching of international relations at the college level. Assesses some of the purposes and rationales of these approaches and discusses the merits of each approach. Concludes that development of curricula has largely failed to address questions of both substance and pedagogy. (KO)

A University of Idaho introductory course in political science describes basic concepts, institutions, and processes of politics and relate their importance to students' daily lives. The course is comparative in organization and structured to promote critical and analytical thinking about politics. (MSE)

Examines efforts made in recent years to introduce ethics into the curricula of graduate studies programs in public affairs and administration. The questionnaire asked a broad series of questions eliciting both quantitative (program size, organizational structure) and qualitative information (educational goals). Includes statistical and tabular…

Examines the contributions of Dwight Waldo to public administration, including his impact on pedagogy, use of the case method, his appreciation for art and the administrative "novel" in teaching, his views on appropriate elements of the public administration curriculum, and the relationship of public administration to political science.…

Asserts that before civics/government teachers teach about the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, students should be introduced to the religious and philosophical background of religions freedom in the United States. Identifies issues and historical documents that provide the foundation. (CFR)

Maintains that a required course in public policy analysis can serve as a natural capstone experience for undergraduate curricula in public administration. By teaching analysis, rather than teaching about analysis, undergraduate programs can integrate other elements of the curriculum and prepare students to understand the policy process more…

This is the final report of a three-year project at George Washington University (District of Columbia) that was intended to develop an understanding of the knowledge and skills required of a political psychologist and to design a model interdisciplinary graduate curriculum in political psychology that could be exported to other universities. The…

Recommends that undergraduate journalism and communications majors receive more thorough training in local and public affairs education. Changes in communications technology have raised the importance and accessibility of local news for national candidates, often without a corresponding rise in sophistication of coverage. (MJP)