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.

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. Senior Seminar in Political Studies
   (Note: The senior seminar should be selected in consultation with your advisor)

Five Elective Courses:

Five elective courses must be selected from the following list, designed to encourage breadth within the field. Appropriate courses at Pitzer or the other Claremont Colleges not on the list may be substituted in consultation with your advisor. 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.

• ECON 140 PZ -Development Economics  (A)
• ECON 145 PZ -International Trade  (B)
• ECON 182 PZ -Economic History of Globalization  
• POLI 102 SC -Cooperation and Rivalry in the European Union  
• POLI 119 SC -Public Policy in the European Union  (B)
• IIS 120 PZ -State and Development in the Third World  (A)
• IIS 122 PZ -Contemporary Political and Social Movements in the Third World  (A)
• IIS 123 PZ -Third World Socialism  
• IIS 127 PZ -Environment and Development in the Third World  (A)
• POST 142 PZ -The Third World and the Global Economy  (A)
• POST 174 PZ -U.S. Immigration Policy  
• POST 187 PZ -The Political Economy of Global Soccer  
• IIS 141 PZ -Agricultural Economic Development in the Third World  (A)
• IIS 017 PZ -History and Political Economy of Natural Resources HIST 017 PZ -History and Political Economy of Natural Resources  

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 IIS 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.