Department of Politics, Governance & Economics
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PGE Bulletin Board
- PGE Professor, Jennifer Poole, recently gave an interview in VoxDex entitled "Can labour policy support workers in the new digital economy?" Click this link to read the article.
- Over the summer, PGE Professor, Sumitra Badrinathan, " published a peer reviewed article through the British Journal of Political Science entitled "The Religious Roots of Belief in Misinformation: Experimental Evidence from India". Click this link to read the article.
- Barzani Scholar-in-Residence, Yerevan Saeed, was featured in New Lines Institute through an article he's written entitled "The Kurdish Gambit". Click this link to read the article.
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PGE is welcoming Tereza Varejkova as a new adjunct professr for the Fall of 2025. She recently gave an interview with SIS. Click here to see the interview.
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PGE Professor Keith Darden is hosting a showcase talk entitled, "The Russian-Ukrainian War and the Re-Nationalization of Europe" ahead of his new article. You can watch the session here.
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PGE partnered with the Balsillie School of International Affairs to host "Tariffs and Trade in the Wake of a New Trump Administration", a webinar featuring PGE Professor Bob Koopman to discuss Trump's trade threats. Missed the webinar? Watch the recording here.
Our Programs
The graduate programs and undergraduate thematic areas of the Department of Politics, Governance, and Economics prepare students with the knowledge and data analysis skills to resolve international, regional, and local issues spanning politics and state building, economics, and humanitarian assistance.
Master's degrees
MA in Global Governance, Politics, and Security
The Global Governance, Politics, and Security program takes a multidisciplinary approach to understanding relations among states and societies. Our students are dedicated to evidence-based policy and acquire foundations in politics and economics before specializing in one of four professional tracks: global security; multilateral diplomacy and global governance; international economic policy; and states, society, and politics. Our graduates find careers in multilateral organizations, government agencies, the private sector, and NGOs.
MA in Global Governance, Politics, and Security: Quantitative Economic Methods
The Global Governance, Politics, and Security: Quantitative Economic Methods (GGPS:QEM) STEM degree provides a focused education in quantitative methods and applied economics essential for students of global security, multilateral diplomacy, political economy, and economic development. Our graduates are well-positioned to shape policy with data-driven, effective solutions at ojbs in government affairs, multilateral organizations, and international business. The STEM designation enables international students to apply for a 24-month extension of Optional Practical Training (OPT), granting them the ability to work in the US for up to three years in their major field of study.
Undergraduate thematic areas
Global and Comparative Governance
The Global and Comparative Governance Thematic Area is designed for students who are interested in how a range of actors—local, national, global—seek to understand and solve the compelling security, development, environmental, and economic problems of our time. This thematic area focuses on the role that states, regional and global institutions (the United Nations, EU, World Bank, etc.), civil society, and the private sector play in addressing regional and global problems. Students also have the option of specializing in a geographical region. Students will take a multidisciplinary approach and will acquire the skills to empirically evaluate phenomena, anticipate emerging trends, and interpret data through an innovative curriculum that emphasizes theory and applied knowledge.
Gateway Course
SISU 280 Ruling the World: Global and Comparative Governance (multiple sections available)
Thematic Area Courses
*Course offerings vary by semester. Alternative and/or additional options may be available.
- SISU 329 Global Economic Governance
- SISU 380 Empire and Imperialism
- SISU 380 International Law
- SISU 380 Conquest, Cold War, Globalization
- SISU 386 Contemporary Africa
The Global Economy
A more integrated world has raised the living standards of millions of people, yet it is blamed for causing all sorts of damages to societies, the environment, national cultures, and domestic sovereignty. In the Global Economy Thematic Area, students will study the political economy of this evolving international landscape and analyze economic growth, winners and losers, and the legitimacy of these changes. They explore how globalization changes the world and alters the political, economic, and social prospects of nations and their citizens. They also consider how international organizations struggle to manage this complex process and create governance structures to adapt to these changes, and how national governments attempt to balance their sovereign mandate to govern and protect their people with the frequently disrupting financial and trade-related impacts of global competition.
Gateway Course
SISU 220 International Political Economy (multiple sections available)
Thematic Area Courses
*Course offerings vary by semester. Alternative and/or additional options may be available.
- SISU 320 International Money and Finance
- SISU 320 International Trade Relations
- SISU 321 Political Economy of Africa
- SISU 324 Breakfast in the Americas
- SISU 324 Political Economy of Latin America
- SISU 329 Global Economic Governance