Course Listings
The Graduate School of Political Management offers a variety of courses covering politics, communications, and advocacy. Students should consult the GW Registrar to determine what courses are available in a given term.
Schedule of Classes
Academic Calendar
2024-2025 Academic Calendar for all GSPM programs.
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Course Descriptions and Syllabi Links
IMPORTANT NOTE: Syllabi that are listed here from past terms are intended as samples for general guidance and should not be used when ordering textbooks or planning your schedule. If a syllabus on this list differs from the one being distributed by your instructor via Blackboard or email, please defer to your instructor's version.
If you have questions or do not see your syllabus listed below, please email us at [email protected].
- Political Management
- Legislative Affairs
6201 Politics and Public Policy
Examination of political processes that influence policy formulation, policy implementation, and the uses of policy analysis.
6202 Legislative Politics
Theory, structure, and process of the U.S. Congress, with emphasis on member-constituency relations, individual and collective decision making, party and committee activities, executive-legislative relations, and interest-group activities.
6203 Executive-Legislative Relations
Political and institutional relationships between executive and legislative branches of the federal government.
6204/6205 Research Methods
Alternative approaches to political analysis, construction of research designs, and problems of measurement.
6212 Congressional Committees
An examination of Congressional committees, including their history, processes, and protocols.
6217 Budgetary Politics
Examines major economics, budget, and tax issues in American politics.
6219 The American Presidency
Personalized and institutionalized aspects of the presidency, with emphasis on the politics of contemporary policymaking.
6220 Congress and the Courts
Institutional and political relationship between the U.S. Congress and the federal courts.
6222 American Political Parties and Elections
Nature and function of American political parties; organizational status, nominating and electoral politics, and role in governing.
6223 Public Opinion and Political Socialization
Sources and dynamics of public opinion and political socialization.
6224 Interest Group Politics
Theory, structure, and activities of interest groups in American politics.
6228 Media and Politics
Role of the media in American politics, with emphasis on television news coverage, political debates, political advertising, and their impact on the electorate.
6233 Comparative Legislatures
Selected problems of legislative theory and behavior from a comparative perspective, with particular reference to the parliamentary systems of Germany, France, and Britain.
6234 PACs and Congress
Selected problems of PAC management and their interaction with Members of Congress. Special emphasis on the laws governing PAC participation in political and policy debates.
6235 Ethics in Congress
The purpose of this course is to bring ethics to the surface. We want to think critically about its role in
Congress both as a collection of individuals, an institution, and the contextual environment within which both operate.6240 Special Topics in Legislative Affairs
In-depth coverage of significant theoretical and empirical issues in American politics, including such topics as political behavior, electoral politics, and race and politics:
Politics and Race Syllabus
Congressional and Political Reforms Syllabus
Congressional Oversight6241 Legislative Writing and Research
Two skills are most valuable for professionals whose careers are focused on legislative affairs: the ability to find and use government and non-government documents and resources, and the ability to communicate to a sophisticated, policy-driven audience. This course is designed to help students in Legislative Affairs accomplish both of those goals.
6242 Legislative Drafting
Introduction for non-lawyers to the process of legislative drafting in the U.S. Congress.
6243 Advanced Legislative Procedure
Detailed study of the rules, procedures, traditions, and constitutional underpinnings that govern the work of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.
6244 Running and Representing in the U.S. Congress
This course is about what it means to be a representative in Congress. Most political analysts and commentators, indeed most academics, start with the member after they are elected. The course begins with a much earlier stage where nascent ambition transitions to the decision to seek office and dissects the many varied roles that the job requires and how that ambition transforms.
6246 Congress and U.S. Foreign Policy
The role of Congress in setting foreign policy.
6247 Managing a Congressional Office
Through focused engagement of academic and practical readings, congressional guidance documents,
and practical exercises, this advanced graduate course provides a detailed understanding of the
operations of a Member of Congress’s personal office.6248 Religion and Politics
The influence of religion on politics in the United States.
6249 Congress and National Security Policy
The role of Congress in setting defense policy.
6251 Budgetary Policy
Analysis of U.S. monetary and fiscal policy.
6260 Special Topics in Domestic Policy
Analysis of U.S. policy on selected domestic problems.
6261 Congress and Defense Policy
The role of Congress in U.S. defense policy.
6262 Congress and Intelligence Policy
The role of Congress in U.S. intelligence policy.
6263 Congress and Cybersecurity Policy
The role of Congress in U.S. cybersecurity policy.
6264 U.S. Energy and Environmental Policy
This course provides an overview of energy and environmental policymaking in the United States and of energy resources worldwide and in the United States. It focuses on the use of fossil fuels, non‐fossil sources of energy, and renewable energy sources.
6266 Congress and Trade Policy
The role of Congress in setting U.S. trade policy.
6267 Congress and Healthcare Policy
The role of Congress in U.S. healthcare policy.
6270 Special Topics in Foreign Policy
Analysis of U.S. policy on selected issues, challenges, or world regions.
Domestic Energy Policy
Congress and Homeland Security Policy6290 Independent Study
Directed readings in a topic related to Congress and public policymaking. Limited to Legislative Affairs degree candidates. Written permission of program director required.
6299 Thesis Research I
6300 Thesis Research II
- Strategic Public Relations
PSPR 6201 – Strategic Public Relations Principles & Practices
This course examines public relations history, theory, trends, tools and tactics, and provides an in-depth analysis of major theory and practices. Students analyze real-world case studies as context for an applied understanding of how and why to plan, execute and evaluate these programs, and they prepare a detailed professional communications plan that addresses an important management issue affecting a public relations or public affairs challenge.PSPR 6202 - Advanced Writing for Communications Professionals
This course examines the essentials of effective public relations and public affairs writing, emphasizing strategic thinking and compositional precision as the source of their efficacy and power. Students learn to write time-tested professional communications for the media and other target audiences such as legislators or voters, creating and editing their classmates’ as well as their own backgrounders, press releases, media alerts, issue primers, stump speeches, pitch letters, plans, and proposals.PSPR 6203 – Research Methods
This course examines proven pre- and post-program methods for measuring and evaluating effective public relations and public affairs campaigns and initiatives. Students learn basic and advanced tools and techniques, including statistical analysis, and analyze the panoply of research concepts and technology, including the use of online and social media surveys, that affect consumer and/or political action.PSPR 6204 – Media Relations in a Digital World
This course deconstructs the art and theory of media relations from the public relations and public affairs perspective. Students analyze the state of contemporary media – online and off – and its impact on commerce, politics, and the human contract, examining key factors influencing reportorial and editorial coverage of business, government, and not-for-profit interests.PSPR 6205 – Fundamentals of Business and Finance for PR/PA Professionals
This course will explore the fundamentals of business that can be applied to small, mid-size, and large organizations, public relations agencies, and start-up consultancies. Students will learn how to effectively integrate communications/PR skills with a financial “lens” to real-world business situations.PSPR 6206 – Ethical Standards in Public Relations & Public Affairs
This course explores the growing role and importance of ethics in public relations and public affairs. Students analyze personal and professional ethical assumptions and norms in American society and consider standards, guidelines, and codes of conduct that should guide relations with clients, the media, public officials, legislators, voters, employees, and others.PSPR 6207 – Sustainability Communications
This course will examine the global corporate social responsibility (CSR) movement, explore the unique communications challenges it presents and offer practical suggestions and tactics to respond to this trend. The class will feature in-class activities, current research and guest speakers from NGOs, communications firms, and major corporations with practical advice on meeting this challenge in the global marketplace.
PSPR 6208 – Integrated Marketing Communications
This course examines the evolution of integrated marketing communications (IMC) as a new paradigm for extending the reach and influence of public relations and public affairs through the use of both traditional and non-traditional communications approaches and technologies. Students learn about the theoretical and tactical advantages and disadvantages of integrated strategies in for-profit and not-for-profit enterprises, and they design an integrated marketing communications program, making use of both traditional and new media tools and techniques.PSPR 6222 - Multicultural Marketing and Engagement
As multicultural communities increase in size and reach and as diverse institutions gain national prominence, the need for engagement is clear. Today, the general market is necessarily multicultural. The course prepares students for effective and ethical public engagement on behalf of contemporary organizations communicating issues and commitments to diverse audiences and multicultural messages to the general market. From a base of cultural understanding, students will study effective engagement strategies and techniques.
PSPR 6223 - Public Opinion, Political Socialization, and Public Relations
Through analytical research, first-hand accounts, and theoretical constructs, this course explores key questions related to the formation of public opinion and political socialization. More specifically, this course looks at the process by which people view their engagement in public debates and politics and how they acquire and maintain their attitudes, biases, beliefs - in short, their opinions and the decisions they make as a result.
PSPR 6224 - Global Public Relations and Public Affairs - Strategy and Practice
This course builds on students’ prior academic and/or on-the-job experience to develop a global understanding and practical tools for using public relations and public affairs to promote and defend companies, government entities, non-profit organizations, and individual candidates on the world stage. The course surveys how global public relations and public affairs strategies are developed and implemented, emphasizing successful case studies and failures.
PSPR 6225 - Managing Trade Association and Nonprofit Communications in a Changing Environment
This course is designed to help communicators currently working - or hoping to work - in trade associations and nonprofit (ANP) organizations become more effective in the planning and execution of their programs. By its very nature, this course will be practical and reality-based, with guest speakers drawn from many organizations and communications backgrounds.
PSPR 6226 - Digital Communications Platforms and Strategies
The course will examine the theories and approach to digital communications and review the major digital platforms utilized by companies, government agencies, non-profits and associations to accomplish their strategic communications goals and objectives. The class will provide active hands-on opportunities for students to become familiar with the major platforms and the tactics and techniques top organizations deploy to further their objectives.
PSPR 6230 - Crisis and Issues Management
The practice of Issues Management involves the intersection of a number of communications and policy disciplines, including environmental scanning, public policy analysis, public policy advocacy, strategic communications, media relations, grassroots mobilization, coalition management, and corporate reputation management. This course will explore all of the approaches in detail and examine ways in which they work together to further the broad strategic goals of organizations.
CPS 6300 – Public Relations & Public Affairs Capstone Research Project
Students apply the knowledge and lessons gained in their courses in a major independent research project on a topic of immediate interest to their current employer or another organization that has a bearing on their professional aspirations. They design the project with the approval of faculty and in cooperation with the staff and management of the organization in question, conducting primary and secondary research, and preparing a publishable quality research paper, incisively elucidating their views and opinions with the goal of building greater understanding about and insight into the project topic.PMGT 6420 Corporate Public Affairs
Exploration of major functional areas in corporate public affairs, with a focus on the political and policy dynamics operating in the United States and other democracies abroad. Development and deployment of appropriate strategy, research, and tactics for corporations managing the complexities related to a global economy and shifting political alliances.
PMGT 6452 Digital Strategy
Development of an integrated digital strategy for use in advocacy and electoral campaigns. Introduction to the theoretical concepts, distinctive technologies, applied skills, and managerial challenges associated with digital campaigning. Search engine optimization, GPS, online payment systems, customizing back- and front-end systems to meet strategic goals and budget parameters, working with IT vendors and distance volunteers, legal and cultural considerations in the U.S. and other regimes, site rollout and scaling, security and privacy. NOTE: This is a pre-requisite for all PMGT Digital courses.
PMGT 6456 Speechcraft
Analysis and techniques used in speechwriting and presentations for public officials and candidates. Managing the political optics and understanding a speech's visual context and non-verbal communication capabilities (Rose Garden, Oval Office, campaign stump speech, ceremonial occasion, congressional testimony). Modulating speaker style, tone, and pacing, and staging the speech for effect.