Washington Center

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.

Spring Quarter 2019

Core Seminar

  • 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...

  • 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 processes by which we understand our political, social, cultural,...

  • International Policy

    This seminar is designed to help you to engage critically and think systematically about crucial questions of international and global affairs. Through discussion of current events, student-directed research projects, and course readings, we will...

  • 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...

  • Washington Focus

    Much is said about Washington. Much of it is wrong. This course will immerse students in the history, politics, culture, character and diversity of the nation’s capital. You will learn about Washington’s transformation from a remote federal city into...

  • Washington Media

    This course will look at political communication, from the evolution of the news media, political parties and advertising to messaging by the candidates. We will study the impact of social media and role of outside interest groups. In addition, we will...

Quarter Elective

  • Modern Political Campaigns

    Political campaigns are as old as democracy itself but the methods have changed quite dramatically over the past 30 years.  This balances the theories of democratic participation and historical context of elections with an understanding of what it...

  • Race and Ethnic Politics in a Post-Obama Presidency

    This course will examine the fundamental theories of race and representation as it applies to the lived experiences and quest for freedom, justice, and equality on part of African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans and other groups....

  • US Foreign Policy

    This course examines contemporary issues in U.S. foreign policy, focusing primarily on a series of regional case studies including the Persian Gulf (Iran and Iraq); the Middle East and North Africa; U.S. and Japan, the Koreas & East Asia;...