This certificate provides students with the requisite knowledge and skills to engage in political economy research across the social sciences and humanities. Students are required to complete three (3) core courses from three (3) different departments in the College of Liberal Arts (CLA) to develop an understanding of theories of political economy and their application in social scientific and humanities research and wherever questions of social choice are involved.

Students interested in graduate work should refer to the Graduate and Professional Bulletin.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this certificate, students will be able to:

  1. Explain problems, concepts, and phenomena based on the complex relationships between politics, economics, culture, society, and the environment.
  2. Define, explain, and combine a range of theoretical approaches to political economy from different disciplinary fields.
  3. Apply diverse theoretical approaches of political economy in social science or humanities research, and wherever social choice is involved.
  4. Effectively communicate complex concepts, theoretical perspectives, and empirical evidence from the field of political economy.

Effective Fall 2023

Additional coursework may be required due to prerequisites.

Core Courses (Must complete nine (9) credits in three (3) different departments. Additional core credits can be used to satisfy elective credits)9
Women, Health, and Culture
Theoretical Topics in Cultural Anthropology
History of Economic Thought
Political Economy of Race and Gender
Political Economy of Global Media
Governance of the World Political Economy
Political Economy of Change and Development
Theories of State, Economy, and Society
Global Inequality and Change
Media Industries
Electives (see list below)6
Program Total Credits:15
Elective Courses (Any six (6) credits from these courses can be used to satisfy the elective requirements of the certificate)
ANTH 521Gender, Sexuality, and Culture3
ANTH 530Human-Environment Interactions3
ANTH 538Food, Hunger, and Culture3
ANTH 540Medical Anthropology3
ANTH 551Historical Archaeology3
ANTH 553Archaeology of Complex Societies3
ANTH 571Anthropology and Global Health3
ECON 640International Trade Theory3
ECON 705Heterodox Approaches to Economics3
ECON 772Marxian Political Economy3
POLS 670Politics of Environment and Sustainability3
POLS 672Power, Justice, and Democracy3
POLS 739International Environmental Politics3
SOC 502Foundations of Theoretical Sociology3
SOC 564Environmental Justice3
SOC 630Social Stratification3
SOC 666Globalization and Socioeconomic Restructuring3
SOC 668Environmental Sociology3
SPCM 508Deliberative Theory and Practice3
SPCM 634Communication and Cultural Diversity3
SPCM 792ASeminar: Rhetoric and Civic Engagement3

*This certificate may have courses in common with other graduate certificates. A student may earn more than one certificate, but a given course may be counted only in one certificate.