Department of Politics at Princeton University

The Formal and Quantitative sequence is actually a collection of courses in formal theory and quantitative methods. While many of these courses build on the material covered in other F/Q courses, there are many different combinations of courses in F/Q that students can take. The choice depends on the starting background in mathematics and statistics, the degree of interest in formal versus quantitative methods and how much time is available to devote to the study of F/Q.

The formal theory sequence: Students interested in pursuing coursework in formal theory must master the material covered in POL 502, Mathematics for Political Science. This course is typically offered in the Fall Term and should be taken in the first year if possible. Students who are comfortable with real analysis, calculus, optimization and linear algebra may be prepared to skip this course. Students interested in skipping this prerequisite must gain the approval of the F/Q coordinator.

Upon completion of 502, students should enroll in POL 575, Formal Political Analysis I. This course is typically taken in the spring. After completion of POL 575, students are prepared to enter POL 576 Formal Political Analysis II.

POL 577 is a course cross-listed with the Economics department. It offers additional coverage of formal theory and applications to political science. Advanced students who have completed at least POL 576 can also seek out faculty to customize a Seminar in Formal Theory (POL 579) or to design a reading course.

The quantitative methods sequence: Student interested in pursuing coursework in quantitative methods typically begin with POL 502, Mathematics for Political Science and POL 571, Quantitative Analysis I. Both of these courses are offered in the fall and should be taken in the first year if possible. Students who are comfortable with real analysis, calculus, and linear algebra may be able to omit 502. Students who have had experience in basic data analysis and graphics, and who are comfortable with probability theory and basic statistics through bivariate regression, may consider skipping 571. Students wishing to pass over these prerequisites must gain the approval of the F/Q coordinator.

Upon completion of both 502 and 571 students should enroll in POL 572 Quantitative Analysis II. This course is typically offered in the spring. Following POL 572, students can enroll in POL 573 Quantitative Analysis III. Advanced students that have completed at least POL 573 can also seek out faculty to customize a Seminar in Quantitative Methods (POL 578) or design a reading course.

The comprehensive exam: The purpose of the departments’ field requirements is to ensure that students attain mastery of several areas of political science. Questions are categorized into level I questions, level II questions and level III questions according to their difficulty. Each exam contains a total of 6 questions (3 formal theory questions, with one from each level, and 3 quantitative methods courses with one from each level). In order to pass the F/Q exam a student must successfully answer any three questions. Level I questions correspond to the topics and difficulty of POL 572 and POL 575 respectively. Level II questions correspond to the topics and difficulty of POL 573 and POL 575 respectively. Level III questions are typically challenging enough so that a passing answer would require work in POL 577, POL 578, POL 579 or an advanced reading course.

Coursing out of F/Q: Students may take F/Q as a third field and avoid the exam. This requires that students complete a sequence of coursework that demonstrates mastery of formal theory or methods or an adequate exposure to both of these areas. In particular students may course out by passing any three courses from the following list: POL 572, POL 573, POL 575, POL 576. Remember that these course have prerequisites; in many cases coursing out would also require taking the preparatory courses, POL 502 and (for quantitative courses) POL 571.

What should I take my first year? While it is possible to wait until the second year to start the F/Q coursework, this strategy does not work well for the majority of political science graduate students, who will need to read F/Q materials and use them in their own work. Mastering the material at a solid intermediate level requires three semesters of coursework.Thus starting F/Q in the second year means that comprehensive exams will be taken and a prospectus written before students have a solid grasp of their research tools. Early F/Q study helps in another way, too. Students who have already gained exposure to F/Q courses are in a better position to understand the formal and quantitative readings for their seminars and independent research, so that classes are more understandable and valuable if F/Q study is begun in the first year.

Thus the F/Q faculty recommend that students with any interest in coursework in either formal theory or quantitative methods should either take POL 502, Mathematics for Political Science, in the fall of their first year. In addition students with an interest in quantitative methods should take POL 571, Quantitative Analysis I, in the fall of the first year. As already noted, students who believe they have had equivalent coursework elsewhere may be able to omit these courses. Conversations about skipping POL 502 or 571 should occur in early September prior to the first class of the semester.

In the second semester of the first year, students who seek F/Q training should take POL 572 and/or POL 575.

What if I think I am underprepared for POL 502 and POL 571? Students who have not had exposure to calculus of one variable and elementary linear algebra, as well as students who may have taken those courses but no longer remember them well, may want to begin with some self-study (or undergraduate level coursework) prior to beginning the F/Q sequences at Princeton. If you fall in this category, please discuss the issue with the field coordinator.

What if I think I am overprepared for the sequence in the department of Politics? In addition to the Politics department, several other departments including Economics, the Woodrow Wilson School, Operations Research, and Mathematics offer courses that might be of interest to well-prepared students. If you are arriving with extensive graduate level coursework in game theory or statistical methods, pleas discuss the issue with the field coordinator.

Summary of courses taught in the Politics Department

POL 502 Mathematics for Political Science:
This course presents basic mathematical concepts that are essential for formal and quantitative analysis in political science research. It prepares students for POL 572, 573, 575, 576. The topics include logic, real analysis, optimizations, vector spaces and probability. Some application to political science will be introduced.

POL 571 Quantitative Analysis I
Introduces elementary data analysis, graphical methods, and statistical techniques. Topics covered include introductions to probability theory, contingency tables, hypothesis testing, estimation theory, and bivariate regression.

POL 572 Quantitative Analysis II
Regression analysis and its extensions, building on the concepts, theory, and experience taught in POL 571. Emphasis on using standard tools to do skillful analysis of political data with more than one explanatory factor.

POL 573 Quantitative Analysis III
Topics from systems of equations, time series, panel analysis, scaling methods, and other intermediate topics in econometrics and psychometrics. Emphasis on application of these methods to important problems in political science research.

POL 575 Formal Analysis I:
This serves as a rigorous introduction to choice theory, social choice theory and non cooperative game theory. Much of the semester is spent on the last topic. The course focuses on normal form games, extensive form games and some topics on extensive form games of imperfect information. This is a lecture course with an emphasis on tools and results. However, some applications are developed in depth.

POL 576 Formal Analysis II:
This course continues where POL 575 ends with a rigorous development of extensive form games of imperfect information, repeated games, and mechanism design. While this is primarily a lecture course that covers tools and results, more time is spent on applications than in POL 575.

POL 577 Economics and Politics
This course is taught in the economics department (and is also part of the Political Economy sequence). The course builds upon material covered in the first year microeconomics sequence and POL 575,576. The course content varies by year but the emphasis is on recent applications of game theory to political science and political economy. This class is primarily oriented to the study of papers.

POL 578 Seminar in Quantitative Analysis
Topics in quantitative methods for political scientists. The course content varies by year, but may focus on maximum likelihood, Bayesian methods, matching techniques, or other advanced topics, applied to a range of political science problems.

POL 579 Seminar in Formal Theory
Topics in formal theory. The course content varies by year, but may focus on bargaining theory, agency theory, mechanism design, behavioral game theory, epistemology or other topics in game theory and their applications to political science problems.

POL 584 Foundations of Political Economy
This course builds on the material in the first year microeconomics sequence and POL 575. The course is also part of the Political Economy sequence. It focuses on modeling the interaction of politics and economics. Topics include taxation and redistributions, governmental structure, political economy of constitutional arrangements, development and growth.

Courses taught in other departments

The departments of Economics, Operations Research and Mathematics as well as the Woodrow Wilson School also offer courses that may be appropriate for advanced students. Interested advanced students may benefit from seeing related material in a different department and should discuss these options with the filed coordinator.