Oct 06, 2024  
2023-2024 Pitzer Catalog 
    
2023-2024 Pitzer Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

International Political Economy Major


Requirements for the Major:


Thirteen courses are required: four required introductory-level courses, four required upper-level courses and five electives.

Students are also required to undertake some form of international field research or internship.

All Pitzer Study Abroad programs and most exchanges provide such opportunities.

Students may not major in International Relations at CMC as this field is equivalent to International Political Economy.

Four Introductory Level Courses:

  1. ECON 051 PZ -Principles of Macroeconomics  
  2. ECON 052 PZ -Principles of Microeconomics  
  3. POST 030 PZ -Comparative Politics  
  4. POST 040 PZ -International Politics  

Four Upper-Level Required Courses:

  1. POST 070 PZ -Research Methods in Political Studies  
  2. ECON 104 PZ -Macroeconomic Theory  or ECON 105 PZ -Microeconomic Theory 
    (Note: MATH 030 PZ -Calculus I  is a prerequisite for ECON 104 PZ  and ECON 105 PZ ).
  3. POST 141 PZ -International Political Economy  
  4. POST 198 PZ -Senior Seminar in Political Studies   
    (Note: The senior seminar should be selected in consultation with your adviser)

Five Elective Courses:

Five elective courses selected from the following list.  Appropriate courses at Pitzer or the other Claremont Colleges not on the list may be substituted in consultation with your adviser. The five courses must include at least two courses in Economics and at least two courses in Political Studies. Additionally, at least one course labeled A (or other appropriate course studying low- and/or middle-income country/ies) and one course labeled B (or other appropriate course studying high-income country/ies) must be included. The two economics electives must be taken within the Claremont Colleges consortium.

In addition to required courses IPE majors are recommended to take (a) a course in world history and (b) an area focused course (such as ECON 141 PZ -The Chinese Economy  or CGS 125 PZ -African Politics ) where relevant.

Honors:


Honors candidates will be expected to achieve a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or better in the required coursework and submit a deserving honors thesis. Normally, the thesis readers should include readers from both Political Studies and Economics.