Columbia School of Political Economy

Columbia School of Political Economy Soundex Code U516

is now Political Economic Theory (Graduate Course)

Columbia University is home to a strong group of scholars interested in formal models of political institutions and behavior. Political science faculty have developed influential theories of elections, conflict, legislatures, and bureaucratic politics. These theories are useful for motivating empirical work, and increasingly they form the basis of experimental research as well. Political economic theory spans the subfields of American politics, comparative politics, and international relations, and therefore complements students' interests in those fields.

Graduate students may qualify in political economic theory by minoring in political economic theory and taking POLS W4209 (Game Theory and Political Theory), POLS W4210 (Research Topics in Game Theory) and other suitable upper-level courses in the Departments of Political Science and Economics such as POLS G8211 (Political Economy of Institutions) and POLS G8821 (Topics in International Relations and Rational Choice). It is recommended that interested students acquire a strong background in mathematics or microeconomics.