Political Science


Faculty List
  • E. Acorn, B.A. (Victoria), M.A. (Dalhousie), J.D. (Toronto), Ph.D. (Cornell), Assistant Professor
  • A. Ahmad, B.A., M.A. (Toronto), Ph.D. (McGill), Associate Professor
  • E.G. Andrew, B.A. (British Columbia), Ph.D. (London), Professor Emeritus
  • N. Bernhardt, B. A. (Queens), Ph.D (York) 
  • C. Cochrane, B.A. (St. Thomas), M.A. (McGill), Ph.D. (Toronto), Associate Professor
  • S.J. Colman, M.A. (Oxon), Professor Emeritus
  • C. Cowie, B.A. (Western), M.A. (Manitoba), Ph.D. (Alberta), Assistant Professor
  • D. Fu, B.A. (Minnesota), M.Phil, Ph.D. (Oxford), Associate Professor
  • M. Hoffmann, B.S. (Michigan Technological), Ph.D. (George Washington), Professor
  • R. Hurl, B.A. (Toronto), M.A., Ph.D. (Cornell), Lecturer
  • F. Kahraman, B.A. (Boğaziçi), M.A., Ph.D. (Washington), Assistant Professor
  • P. Kingston, B.A. (Toronto), M.A. (London), D.Phil. (Oxford), Professor
  • M.L. Kohn, B.A. (Williams College), M.A., Ph.D. (Cornell), Professor
  • R. Levine, B.A. (Rochester), Ph.D. (Duke), Associate Professor, Teaching Stream
  • R. Manzer, B.A., B.Ed. (New Brun.), M.A. (Oxon.), Ph.D. (Harvard), Professor Emeritus
  • A. McDougall, B.A. (Toronto), M.A. (Queens), LL.B. (Queens), Ph.D. (Toronto), Assistant Professor 
  • C. Norrlöf, B.A., M.A. (Lund), Ph.D. (Geneva), Professor
  • S. Renckens, B.A., M.A., M.Sc. (Leuven), Ph.D. (Yale), Associate Professor
  • N. Roberts, B.A. (Brown), M.A., Ph.D. (Chicago), Professor
  • A. Rubinoff, A.B. (Allegheny), M.A., Ph.D. (Chicago), Professor Emeritus
  • R. Schertzer, B.A. (Carleton), M.Sc., Ph.D. (London School of Economics), Associate Professor
  • T. Shanks, B.A. (Berkeley), Ph.D. (Northwestern), Associate Professor
  • G. Skogstad, B.A., M.A. (Alberta), Ph.D. (British Columbia), Professor Emerita
  • S. Solomon, B.A. (McGill), M.A., Ph.D. (Columbia), Professor Emerita
  • T. Soremi, B.A. (Obafemi Awolowo), M.A. (Sussex), Ph.D. (Exeter), Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream
  • P. Triadafilopoulos, B.A. (Toronto), M.A., (Brock), Ph.D. (New School NY), Associate Professor
  • L. Way, B.A. (Harvard), M.A., Ph.D. (UC Berkeley), Professor


Chair: Christopher Cochrane
Program Advisor Email: pol-advisor@utsc.utoronto.ca
For more information, visit the Department of Political Science website.

Political Science is the study of enduring issues of power and authority, citizenship and governance, justice and legitimacy, and patterns of conflict and co-operation that arise around these issues from ancient to modern times. Political Science is divided into the following areas of focus:

  • Canadian Government and Politics: content covers the political-institutional foundations, political processes and public policies of Canada.
  • Comparative Politics: courses cover problems of political change and development in areas such as Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. Political participation and mobilization, transitions to democracy and ethnic and religious conflict are some of the themes dealt with in comparative politics courses.
  • International Relations: courses focus on studying the foreign policies of particular nation-states and the patterns of conflict and co-operation among states.
  • Political Theory: courses explore the ideas, such as justice and legitimacy, that are fundamental to political thought and practice, giving special attention to reading and interpreting the classic expositions of politics from ancient Greek philosophers to post-modern social theorists.
  • Public Law: courses cover the foundations of justice and human rights, the role of courts in democratic politics and policymaking in Canada, and the study of law and politics within a comparative and international context.
  • Public Policy: courses examine the context, institutions, and processes of policy-making and implementation, as well as concepts and criteria for policy evaluation.
  • Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis: courses focus on the logic of argumentation and evidence in political science, public policy, and public law.

Political Science Areas of Focus:

Canadian Government and Politics

POLB56H3* Understanding Canadian Politics
POLB57H3* The Canadian Constitution and the Charter of Rights 
POLC21H3* Voting and Elections 
POLC32H3* The Canadian Judicial System
POLC52H3   Indigenous Nations and the Canadian State
POLC53H3* Canadian Environmental Policy
POLC54H3* Intergovernmental Relations in Canada
POLC56H3* Indigenous Politics and Law
POLC57H3* Intergovernmental Relations and Public Policy
POLC58H3* The Politics of National Identity and Diversity
POLC59H3* Sources of Power: The Crown, Parliament and the People
POLD46H3* Public Law and the Canadian Immigration System
POLD50H3* Political Interests, Political Identity, and Public Policy
POLD51H3* Topics in Canadian and Comparative Politics
PPGB66H3* Public Policy Making
POLD52H3* Immigration and Canadian Political Development
POLD53H3  Political Disagreement in Canada
POLD54H3  Michi-Saagiig Nishnaabeg Nation Governance and Politics
POLD55H3  The Politics of Equality and Inequality in Canada
POLD58H3  The New Nationalism in Liberal Democracies
POLD59H3  Politics of Disability
(PPGC66H3)*
PPGC67H3* Public Policy in Canada

Comparative Politics 

POLB90H3  Comparative Development in International Perspective
POLB91H3  Introduction to Comparative Politics
POLC21H3* Voting and Elections 
POLC16H3  Chinese Politics
POLC21H3* Voting and Elections 
POLC22H3  Ethnic Conflict and Democratization in Europe After the Cold War
POLC34H3* The Politics of Crime
POLC39H3* Comparative Law and Politics
POLC42H3  Topics in Comparative Politics
POLC43H3  Prejudice and Racism
POLC58H3* The Politics of National Identity and Diversity
POLC65H3* Political Strategy
POLC69H3* Political Economy: International and Comparative Perspectives
POLC83H3* Applications of American Foreign Policy
POLC90H3  Development Studies: Political and Historical Perspectives
POLC91H3  Latin America: Dictatorship and Democracy
POLC92H3  U.S. Government and Politics
POLC93H3* Public Policies in the United States
POLC94H3  Globalization, Gender and Development
POLC96H3  State Formation and Authoritarianism in the Middle East
POLC97H3  Protest Politics in the Middle East
POLD44H3* Comparative Law and Social Change
POLD50H3* Political Interests, Political Identity, and Public Policy
POLD51H3* Topics in Canadian and Comparative Politics
POLD58H3  The New Nationalism in Liberal Democracies
POLD67H3* The Limits of Rationality
POLD90H3* Public Policy and Human Development in the Global South
POLD91H3 Protests and Social Movements in Comparative Perspective
POLD92H3 Survival and Demise of Dictatorships
POLD94H3  Selected Topics on Developing Areas
PPGB66H3* Public Policy Making
(PPGC66H3)*
PPGD64H3* Comparative Public Policy

International Relations

POLB80H3 Introduction to International Relations I
POLB81H3 Introduction to International Relations II
POLC09H3 International Security: Conflict, Crisis and War
POLC33H3* Politics of International Human Rights
POLC38H3* International Law
POLC69H3 Political Economy: International and Comparative Perspectives
POLC80H3 International Relations of Africa
POLC83H3* Applications of American Foreign Policy
POLC87H3 Great Power Politics
POLC88H3 The New International Agenda
POLC98H3 International Political Economy of Finance
POLD09H3 Advanced Topics in International Security
POLD38H3* Law and Global Business
POLD87H3 Rational Choice and International Cooperation
POLD89H3* Global Environmental Politics 

Political Theory

POLB30H3* Law, Justice and Rights
POLB72H3 Introduction to Political Theory
POLC31H3 Contemporary Africana Social and Political Philosophy
POLC35H3* Law and Politics: Contradictions, Approaches, and Controversies
POLC37H3 Global Justice
POLC70H3 Political Thought: Democracy, Justice and Power
POLC71H3 Political Thought: Rights, Revolution and Resistance
POLC72H3 Liberty
POLC73H3 Modern Political Theory
POLC74H3 Contemporary Political Thought
POLC79H3 Feminist Political Thought
POLD02Y3* Senior Research Seminar in Political Science
POLD45H3* Constitutionalism
POLD67H3* The Limits of Rationality
POLD70H3 Topics in Political Theory
POLD74H3 The Black Radical Tradition
POLD75H3  Property and Power

Public Law

POLB30H3* Law, Justice and Rights
POLB56H3* Understanding Canadian Politics
POLB57H3* The Canadian Constitution and the Charter of Rights 
POLC30H3 Law, Politics and Technology 
POLC32H3* The Canadian Judicial System
POLC33H3* Politics of International Human Rights
POLC34H3* The Politics of Crime
POLC35H3* Law and Politics: Contradictions, Approaches, and Controversies
POLC36H3* Law and Public Policy
POLC38H3* International Law
POLC39H3* Comparative Law and Politics
POLC56H3* Indigenous Politics and Law
POLC59H3* Sources of Power: The Crown, Parliament and the People,
POLD30H3* Legal Reasoning
POLD31H3* Mooting Seminar
POLD38H3* Law and Global Business
POLD42H3  Advanced Topics in Public Law
POLD44H3* Comparative Law and Social Change
POLD45H3* Constitutionalism
POLD46H3* Public Law and the Canadian Immigration System

Public Policy

POLB40H3* Quantitative Reasoning for Political Science and Public Policy
POLC11H3 Applied Statistics for Politics and Public Policy
POLC12H3 Global Public Policy and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
POLC13H3 Program Evaluation
POLC36H3* Law and Public Policy
POLC53H3* Canadian Environmental Policy
POLC54H3* Intergovernmental Relations in Canada
POLC57H3* Intergovernmental Relations and Public Policy
POLC65H3 Political Strategy
POLC83H3* Applications of American Foreign Policy
POLC93H3* Public Policies in the United States
POLD50H3* Political Interests, Political Identity, and Public Policy
POLD52H3* Immigration and Canadian Political Development
POLD67H3* The Limits of Rationality
POLD89H3* Global Environmental Politics 
POLD90H3* Public Policy and Human Development in the Global South
PPGB11H3 Policy Communications with Data
PPGB66H3* Public Policy Making
(PPGC66H3)*
PPGC67H3*  Public Policy in Canada 
PPGD64H3* Comparative Public Policy
PPGD68H3 Capstone: The Policy Process in Theory and Practice

Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis

POLB40H3* Quantitative Reasoning for Political Science and Public Policy
POLC11H3* Applied Statistics for Politics and Public Policy
POLC13H3 Program Evaluation
POLC35H3* Law and Politics: Contradictions, Approaches, and Controversies
POLC78H3 Political Analysis I
POLD30H3 Legal Reasoning
POLD56H3 Politics and Computational Social Science
POLD78H3 Advanced Political Analysis
POLD87H3 Rational Choice and International Cooperation
PPGB11H3 Policy Communications with Data

Special Topics and General Courses

POLA01H3 Critical Issues in Politics I
POLA02H3 Critical Issues in Politics II
POLC40H3 Current Topics in Politics
POLD02Y3* Senior Research Seminar in Political Science
POLD41H3 Advanced Topics in Politics
POLD82H3 Politics and Literature

Guidelines for First-Year Course Selection

Students who intend to complete the Political Science programs should include the following in their first-year course selection: 1.0 credit at the A-level in Political Science.

Program Combination Restrictions in Political Science

The Department of Political Science hosts the Specialist, Major, and Minor programs in Political Science, the Major and Major (Co-Op) Programs in Public Policy, and the Major and Minor programs in Public Law.

The Specialist, Major and Minor programs in Political Science cannot be combined.

The Major and Minor programs in Public Law cannot be combined.

Students are eligible to combine the Programs in Public Policy and Public Law with Programs in Political Science. Students combining programs in Political Science, Public Policy and Public Law (2 major programs or 1 major and 2 minors) must ensure the combinations of programs used to meet the degree requirement include at least 12.0 distinct credits.

For more information on the Major Program in Public Policy and the Major Program in Public Policy (Co-op), refer to the Public Policy section of the Calendar.

For more information on the Major and Minor Programs in Public Law, refer to the Public Law section of the Calendar.

Students will be able to request the Major Program in Public Law in Spring 2025.  

Experiential Learning and Outreach

For a community-based experiential learning opportunity in your academic field of interest, consider the course CTLB03H3, which can be found in the Teaching and Learning section of the Calendar.