Ph.D. Program in Political Science

SUNY Stony Brook University

The doctoral concentration in political psychology/behavior applies contemporary psychological theories, concepts, and research methods to the study of political behavior. Students are trained in topics and methods associated with psychology as well as political science. Methodological concerns focus on experimentation and survey research. In addition to formal training in methods appropriate to the psychological study of political behavior, students are apprenticed to ongoing research projects throughout their course of training. Students become familiar with the department’s extensive and well-equipped laboratories and the regular subject pool. Opportunities are also available to take part in ongoing survey research projects. The concentration in political economy and public policy emphasizes the interaction between politics and the institutions (both public and private) that shape economic policies. Students choosing this concentration analyze important issues by focusing on decision-making and organizational behavior as shaped by individual incentives and institutional structures. In addition to the foundation course in public policy required of all students, elective seminars in this field include policy evaluation, organizational decision-making, bureaucracy, regulation, institutional analysis, and urban politics. The American politics concentration provides a broad perspective on national political institutions and processes, with particular emphases on elections and courts. Courses focusing on political parties and elections, the legislative process, the American judiciary, electoral behavior, American political ideology, and public choice theory are offered. Students become familiar with the kinds of quantitative and formal analysis techniques most often applied to the study of American politics. Seminar papers allow students to go into detail on topics of special interest.

• American Politics
• Political Economy
• Political Psychology
Methodology

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College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Political Science