Courses
A list of current and past courses offered at UCDC is provided below. Use the drop-down menu to select the relevant Quarter or Semester course listing. For detailed information about a course, click on the course title. You may also view a calendar of the full slate of courses for the current term by visiting the Course Schedule.
For information on future courses offered at UCDC, please see Future Courses.
*In the event of low enrollment, a class may be cancelled. Students will be informed as soon as possible and enrolled in a different class.
Core Seminar
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Congress and Politics in Washington D.C.
This thematic research seminar explores the history of Congress—the first branch under the Constitution—and its role in making public policy, as well as other issues in contemporary politics and government. The subject matter will cover the...
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Contemporary Politics and Washington Media
What is the difference between “fake news’’and journalism? Does objectivity exist? Why does President Trump call the news media the “enemy of the people.? This seminar explores the rapidly evolving relationship between the news media, governing and...
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General Research
Gathering knowledge and learning the truth about the world around us is a fundamental part of human development and progress. While most of us take knowledge and truth for granted, the process by which we understand our political, social, cultural,...
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International Development
This is an introductory course to the international development field. The focus is on some of the key questions, challenges and achievements in this field. Materials from the course (readings, documentaries, discussions of current events) will enhance...
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International Policy Research
This seminar is designed to help you to engage critically and think systematically about crucial questions that are global in scope and to guide you through the process of developing a significant research paper. This is not a field seminar in...
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Judicial Process and Politics
The theme of this course is that the judiciary is a political institution in the American scheme of government. This topic couldn’t be more relevant than it is now in the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election as we witness courts across the...
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Presidential & Executive Power: Polling in a Presidential Election Year
This class will provide you with the practical research skills required to design, field, evaluate, and analyze a sample survey with and focus on elections. It will combine statistical theory with actual practice and exploration, taking the insights of...
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The U.S. Supreme Court
Gay marriage. The death penalty. Abortion. Health care. Cell phone privacy. The U.S. Supreme Court has heard cases on all of these topics in recent years, and its decisions ultimately touch the lives of all Americans. In this class we will study the...
Semester Elective
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Current Issues in US Immigration Policy
This course examines contemporary issues in U.S. immigration policy, one of the highest profile policy issues in recent years. The course will introduce students to the structure of US legal immigration and immigration enforcement policies, and will...
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Lobbying, Money and Influence in Washington
This course will be an intense examination of lobbying in Washington with particular attention given to the role of money and campaign finance in the operation of what has become a highly sophisticated and poorly under-stood network of advocacy and...
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Political Advocacy and Public Opinion in a Digital Age
This course is for the bold and the brave, for the student who wants to examine effective communication methods that influence public opinion and public policy in today’s political environment and experientially test those methods. Students will leave...
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Politics and Poems
This course is a space for writing and discussing poems in the nation’s capitol. The course title takes as inspiration the name of the renowned independent bookstore (Politics and Prose) in Washington, D.C. Accordingly, the texts we will focus on as...
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The Science of Politics: Campaigns and Elections
Even though we experienced an election last year where the rules supposedly did not apply, anyone who hopes to pursue a career in politics – or just be a good citizen -- should be familiar with some basics about the electorate and the mechanics of...
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Youth, Social Media and Development
Digital technologies and online social networks play an increasingly important role in the political, social and economic development of all societies. In the Global North and South, it is largely the young generation of men and women (24 years old and...