Minor in International Relations and Political Science
The International Relations and Political Science (IRPS)* minor examines international relations, comparative politics, and domestic politics from the discipline of political science. The minor emphasizes the importance of political institutions, decision making by leaders in shaping policy, and contemporary challenges to the international system.
Rationale
The IRPS minor studies the ways in which leaders construct foreign and national security policy; the impact of domestic and international forces on states’ security and economic policies; and the significance of alliances, coalitions, and international institutions for world politics. The minor emphasizes the importance of political institutions (domestic and comparative), decision making by leaders in shaping policy, and contemporary challenges to the international system.
A maximum of two courses may double count between the minor in International Relations and Political Science and another major or minor.
*Prior to Summer 2023, the minor in International Relations and Political Science (IRPS) was the minor in International Relations and Politics (IRP).
Curriculum
Curriculum (63 units)
Core Courses
Students must take all three core courses (36 units):
| 84-104 | Decision Processes in American Political Institutions | 9 |
| 84-226 | International Relations | 9 |
| 84-275 | Comparative Politics | 9 |
| 84-110 |
Foundations of Political Economy |
9 |
Electives
Students select three courses (27 units) from any of the elective sequences below. Two courses (18 units) must be taken from the Carnegie Mellon Institute for Security and Technology and have an 84-number.
| CMIST Electives | |
| 84-200 | Security War Game Simulation |
| 84-252 | Briefing in the Policy World |
| 84-303 | International Human Rights |
| 84-304 | In the News: Analysis of Current National Security Priorities |
| 84-306 | Latin American Politics |
| 84-307 | Economic and Political History of Contemporary China |
| 84-310 | International Political Economy |
| 84-312 | Terrorism in Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 84-313 | International Organizations and Law |
| 84-315 | Political Economy of International Migration |
| 84-316 | Political Economy of Transatlantic Partnership |
| 84-317 | Defense Resourcing: From Strategy to Execution |
| 84-318 | Politics of Developing Nations |
| 84-319 | Civil-Military Relations |
| 84-322 | Nonviolent Conflict and Revolution |
| 84-323 | War and Peace in the Contemporary Middle East |
| 84-324 | The Future of Democracy |
| 84-325 | Contemporary American Foreign Policy |
| 84-327 | Repression and Control in Dictatorships |
| 84-328 | Military Strategy and Doctrine |
| 84-329 | Asian Strategies |
| 84-351 | Bias, Objectivity, and the Media's Role in Politics |
| 84-352 | Representation and Voting Rights |
| 84-354 | The American Experiment: Unraveling the US Electoral System |
| 84-362 | Diplomacy and Statecraft |
| 84-365 | The Politics of Fake News and Misinformation |
| 84-369 | Decision Science for International Relations |
| 84-370 | Nuclear Security & Arms Control |
| 84-372 | Space and National Security |
| 84-373 | Emerging Technologies and International Law |
| 84-374 | Technology, Weapons, and International Conflict |
| 84-380 | US Grand Strategy |
| 84-383 | Cyber Policy as National Policy |
| 84-386 | The Privatization of Force |
| 84-387 | Remote Systems and the Cyber Domain in Conflict |
| 84-388 | Concepts of War and Cyber War |
| 84-389 | Terrorism and Insurgency |
| 84-390 | Social Media, Technology, and Conflict |
| 84-393 | Legislative Decision Making: US Congress |
| 84-402 | Judicial Politics and Behavior |
| 84-405 | The Future of Warfare |
| 84-421 | Advanced Topics in American Politics |
| 84-440 | Collaborative Research in Political Science |
| Additional Electives | |
| 19-452 | EPP Projects II |
| 70-342 | Managing Across Cultures |
| 70-365 | International Trade and International Law |
| 70-430 | International Management |
| 73-332 | Political Economy |
| 76-318 | Communicating in the Global Marketplace |
| 79-203 | The Other Europe: The Habsburgs, Communism, & Central/Eastern Europe, 1740-1990 |
| 79-205 | 20th Century Europe |
| 79-223 | Mexico: From the Aztec Empire to the Drug War |
| 79-227 | Modern Africa: The Slave Trade to the End of Apartheid |
| 79-229 | The Origins of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, 1880-1948 |
| 79-230 | Arab-Israeli Conflict Since 1948 |
| 79-257 | Germany and the Second World War |
| 79-262 | Modern China: From the Birth of Mao ... to Now |
| 79-264 | Tibet and China: History and Propaganda |
| 79-265 | Russian History: Game of Thrones |
| 79-266 | Russian History and Revolutionary Socialism |
| 79-267 | The Soviet Union in World War II: Military, Political, and Social History |
| 79-275 | Introduction to Global Studies |
| 79-288 | Bananas, Baseball, and Borders: Latin America and the United States |
| 79-301 | History of Surveillance: From the Plantation to Data Capitalism |
| 79-302 | Killer Robots: The Ethics, Law, and Politics of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems |
| 79-313 | "Unwanted": Refugees, Asylum Seekers, and Patterns of Global Migration |
| 79-314 | The Politics and Culture of Memory |
| 79-318 | Sustainable Social Change: History and Practice |
| 79-320 | Women, Politics, and Protest |
| 79-343 | Education, Democracy, and Civil Rights |
| 79-377 | Food, Culture, and Power: A History of Eating |
| 79-385 | Out of Africa: The Making of the African Diaspora |
| 80-135 | Introduction to Political Philosophy |
| 80-136 | Social Structure, Public Policy & Ethics |
| 80-249 | AI, Society, and Humanity |
| 80-335 | Social and Political Philosophy |
| 80-348 | Health, Human Rights, and International Development |
| 80-447 | Global Justice |
| 82-3xx or 4xx | Advanced Level Modern Languages Class |
| 88-281 | Topics in Law: 1st Amendment |
| 88-284 | Topics of Law: The Bill of Rights |
| 88-411 | Rise of the Asian Economies |