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		2008-09 Bulletin of the Duke University Graduate School

Democracy, Institutions, and Political Economy, Program for the Study of

The Program for the Study of Democracy, Institutions, and Political Economy seeks to encourage intellectual interchange within the Department of Political Science, with other political scientists, and with members of cognate disciplines such as economics, history, and sociology. It does so by emphasizing four themes: democratization and democracy; institutions and organization; international politics and security; and values, culture, and behavior. The program seeks to encourage work both on these themes, which cross conventional subfields in political science and extend to other disciplines, and work that bridges them.

The Graduate School offers a certificate in political economy. The certificate is awarded to graduate students in the departments of economics and political science who successfully complete a series of courses designed to provide interdisciplinary training. Completion of the certificate should enable a student to teach and conduct research in the field of political economy. Work in this field should also be sufficiently compatible with the student's departmental training to enable students to present themselves on the market with the disciplinary credentials to secure an academic appointment.

To earn the certificate in political economy, a student must successfully complete a minimum of five courses, three of which are to be drawn from the core courses and two from a specialized area. One of the three core courses and two of the five courses overall must be in economics, taken in the Department of Economics, the Fuqua School of Business, or the Sanford Institute of Public Policy. All of these courses must be at the graduate level, unless an exception is approved by the program director.

All students seeking the certificate are also required to complete successfully at least two courses within the following fields of specialization: individual and social choice; normative political theory and the history of economic thought; and governments and markets.

For additional information about a certificate, contact Professor John Aldrich or Professor Michael Munger, Duke University, Department of Political Science, 214 Perkins Library, Box 90204, Durham NC 27708-90204, 919/660-4300.