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The School of Politics and Economics (SPE) includes the Department of Politics and Policy and the Department of Economics at Claremont Graduate University (CGU). Over the years, we have built an integrated political economy program between the two disciplines, while maintaining the distinct fields of knowledge in political science and economics. Our integrated curriculum and research have made possible substantial transdisciplinary work by faculty and students who wish to examine substantive issues from broader perspectives and a wider range of methodologies are provided by many of the traditional disciplines. Our public policy program and our unique interfield PhD program in politics and economics reflect this commitment to transdisciplinarity, which often results in joint research and publications between economists and political scientists. SPE has also created innovative joint MA or Ph.D. programs in policy and evaluation with the School of Behavioral and Organizational Sciences and in politics, economics and business with the Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management here at Claremont Graduate University. In many fields, we also draw on the contributions from faculty at the other Claremont Colleges.
Transdisciplinary research and teaching are very important within the School of Politics and Economics, but we also have substantial strength in more traditional fields within economics and political science, as well as several developing fields. For several decades, our economics program has had an applied focus. International economics is a major focus within economics, with international money and finance drawing especially large numbers of students. Other areas of strength include international trade and development, public choice and public economics, industrial organization and the new institutional economics as subsets of applied microeconomics and financial economics. SPE offers the first neuroeconomics Ph.D. field in the United States. We especially emphasize the links between the areas of finance and political economy.
Within political science we offer five main fields of study: American politics, comparative politics, political philosophy, public policy and world politics. The political economy focus is a major element within the world politics and comparative politics tracks, as well as within public policy. One of the more innovative features of our program lies in the interconnection between our offerings in political philosophy and American politics, which has made SPE a particularly good place to study the foundations of American democracy, as well as national institutions. We also offer classes on emerging fields, such as women and politics, religion and politics, and the politics of race and ethnicity.
At SPE, you will find academic programs which emphasize both theoretical rigor and empirical significance. We also have a particularly strong focus on the interactions among domestic and global considerations. We highly value academic contributions to the study of societal wellbeing. Our faculty is deeply engaged in both teaching and research on a variety of subjects that connect theory with policy. We teach theories, mathematical and statistical methods to shed light on real world issues, rather than just for their own sake - this gives us what we call the SPE Advantage.
Students have many opportunities to be involved in collaborative research with faculty mentors which often leads to joint publications. We attract a diversified student body from a wide variety of countries, cultures and religions.
The following section offers a number of examples of how SPE faculty (and students) approach a wide range of issues. We hope that you will review these web pages and contact us with questions. We also invite you to visit us in Claremont and observe us in real time. On behalf of SPE, I look forward to meeting you personally.
Thomas D. Willett,
Dean & Horton Professor of Economics
School of Politics & Economics
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CONTACT
Dr. Thomas D. Willett, Dean
SPE Administration Offices
McManus Room 242
Telephone: (909) 621-8079
Make it Stick Stories from the SPE faculty
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