Beginning in Fall 2013, Political Science courses have a new numbering system and rationale.  The new numbers are below, accompanied by their previous number.  The new numbering rationale is listed below the new numbers.

POL 101 - Contemporary Political Ideologies (formerly POL 102)
POL 101W - First-Year Writing Seminar
POL 121 - American Politics (formerly POL 111)
POL 140 - Comparative Politics (formerly POL 130)
POL 161 - International Politics (formerly POL 141)
POL 201 - Methods and Statistics in Political Science (formerly POL 221)
POL 202 - Classical Political Theory (= CLA 268) (formerly POL 208)
POL 203 - Medieval Political Theory (formerly POL 209)
POL 204 - Modern Political Theory (formerly POL 300)
POL 206 - Contemporary Political Theory (formerly POL 301)
POL 220 - The Legislative Process (formerly POL 311)
POL 222 - Parties and Interest Groups (formerly POL 210)
POL 223 - The Presidency (formerly POL 312)
POL 224 - Political Institutions
POL 225 - Public Policy (formerly POL 314)
POL 226 - Racial and Ethnic Politics
POL 239 - Special Topics in American Politics (formerly POL 210)
POL 242 - West European Politics (formerly POL 230) 
POL 246 - Comparative Environmental Politics (formerly POL 335)
POL 247 - Narrative and Conflict in the Middle East and North Africa (formerly POL 237)
POL 259 - Special Topics in Comparative Politics
POL 269 - Special Topics in International Politics
POL 280 - Contemporary Political History (formerly POL 250)
POL 288 - Davidson in Washington Independent Study (formerly POL 294)
POL 289 - Independent Study (formerly POL 295)
POL 290 - Politics of Africa (formerly POL 240)
POL 291 - Politics of the Middle East (formerly POL 241)
POL 293 - Politics of the Americas (formerly POL 233)
POL 302 - Special Topics in Classical Political Theory
POL 303 - Family and Justice (formerly POL 205)
POL 304 - Foundations of Liberalism
POL 305 - Education and Politics
POL 306 - Special Topics in American Political Theory
POL 318 - Special Topics in Contemporary Political Theory (formerly POL 303)
POL 325 - Constitutional Law (formerly POL 315)
POL 327 - Civil Liberties (formerly POL 316)
POL 328 - The Politics of Information: Case Studies of Sustainability Assessments
POL 330 - Campaign Strategy (formerly POL 318)
POL 334 - Public Opinion (formerly POL 319)
POL 336 - Politics and the Media (formerly POL 323)
POL 337 - Southern Politics (formerly POL 352)
POL 341 - The Rise of New Democracies (formerly POL 331)
POL 342 - Chinese Politics (formerly POL 332)
POL 343 - The Politics of Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea (formerly POL 333)
POL 347 - Politics of Development (formerly POL 337)
POL 348 - Russian/Post-Soviet States' Politics (formerly POL 336)
POL 350 - Politics in North Africa
POL 353 - The Latin American Political Novel (formerly POL 360)
POL 360 - International Political Economy (formerly POL 340)
POL 361 - Evolution and Practice of U.S. Policy in the Americas (formerly POL 345)
POL 362 - American Foreign Policy (formerly POL 346)
POL 363 - International Organization (formerly POL 347)
POL 364 - Contemporary National Security (formerly POL 348)
POL 365 - The International Relations of the Asia Pacific (formerly POL 349)
POL 366 - Diplomacy in Africa (= CIS 360) (formerly POL 341)
POL 379 - Topics in International Relations (formerly POL 380-382)
POL 380 - Symposium: Davidson in Washington (formerly POL 393)
POL 381 - Philanthropy and the Non-Profit Sector (formerly POL 324)
POL 382 - Politics and Film (formerly POL 326)
POL 389 - Tutorial (formerly POL 390)
POL 398 - Environmental Politics (formerly POL 338)
POL 399 - Legislatures (formerly POL 325)
POL 400-419 - Seminars in Political Theory (formerly POL 450-459)
POL 420-439 - Seminars in American Politics (formerly POL 460-469)
POL 440-459 - Seminars in Comparative Politics (formerly POL 470-479)
POL 460-479 - Seminars in International Politics (formerly POL 480-489)
POL 485 - Advanced Independent Study (formerly POL 495)
POL 488 - Honors Thesis (formerly POL 498)

Course Numbering Rationale

• Courses at the 100 level provide a general introduction to one area of the discipline of Political Science. These courses are limited to first year students and sophomores.
• Courses at the 200 or 300 level may be appropriate for any student. Courses at the 200 level address broad topics; courses at the 300 level are more narrow in focus. There is no standard progression or consistent difference in difficulty between one level and the next.
• Courses at the 400 level are seminars, all of which require instructor permission. Students wishing to take any of those courses should consult the professor directly as to suitability, given the student's prior study.
• Courses whose second digit is 0 or 1 count for the Political Theory sub-field.
• Courses whose second digit is 2 or 3 count for the American Politics sub-field.
• Courses whose second digit is 4 or 5 count for the Comparative Politics sub-field.
• Courses whose second digit is 6 or 7 count for the International Politics sub-field
• Courses whose second digit is 8 do not confer sub-field credit.
• Courses whose second digit is 9 can be used to satisfy the sub-field requirement in either of two sub-fields. See the course description for which sub-fields can be satisfied by a particular course. Students choose the sub-field to which they wish to apply credits in this category.

All courses are open to non-majors.