UC Merced Poli Sci Graduate Discipline to Debut in Fall

Professor Jessica L. Trounstine

Graduate students interested in studying at UC Merced will have one more discipline to pursue this fall.

The political science group will launch its doctoral degree track within the Social and Cognitive Sciences graduate emphasis in August. The deadline to apply as a graduate student at UC Merced is Jan. 15.

In keeping with UC Merced's commitment to approaching research questions in innovative ways, the political science faculty structured the track in a different way.

Political science Professor Jessica L. Trounstine said most political science programs have four subfields — American politics, comparative politics, international relations and political theory.

"We think that is an outmoded way of thinking about political science," Trounstine said. "We think there are more interesting intersections."

Political science graduate studies at UC Merced will have two subfields, Political Cognition and Behavior (CAB) and Political Institutions and Political Economy (PIPE).

The Cognition and Behavior subfield will analyze how people behave and think politically, Trounstine said. This track has natural synergies with the fields of psychology and cognitive science.