This class is meant to introduce undergraduate students at MIT to the discipline of political science, and to the study of Comparative Politics in particular. The course examines the fundamental problems of governance through a comparative politics lens, covering why states exist and what they should provide; how leaders are selected and constrained; the design of democratic, participatory, and decentralized institutions; strategies to improve state capacity, accountability, and economic development; and the roles of national identity, immigration, technology, and regime change in shaping democratic performance and political order.

This is the second course in the quantitative research methods sequence at the MIT political science department. The goal of the four-course sequence is to teach students how to understand and confidently apply a variety of statistical methods and research designs that are essential for political science research.vBuilding on the first course which covers probability, statistics, and linear regression analysis, this class provides a survey of more advanced empirical tools, with a particular focus on causal inference. It covers a variety of research designs and statistical methods for causal inference, including experiments, matching, regression, panel methods, difference-in-differences, synthetic control methods, instrumental variable estimation, regression discontinuity designs, causal mediation analysis, nonparametric bounds, and sensitivity analysis.  Applications are drawn from various fields including political science, public policy, economics, and sociology.

This class is an introduction to contemporary political thought centered around the ideal of justice and the realities of injustice. It examines what a just society might look like and how we should understand various forms of oppression and domination. It begins by studying three theories of justice - Utilitarianism, Libertarianism, and Egalitarian Liberalism - then brings them into conversation with other traditions of political thought that shed light on topics such as power, ideology, racism, sexism, colonialism, and alienation.

The Kaufman Teaching Certificate Program (KTCP) is an interactive workshop series intended for late-program graduate students and postdocs interested in academic careers or developing skills to support their teaching at MIT.  KTCP consists of eight practice-based workshops, where students learn evidence-based teaching techniques grounded in the scholarship of teaching and learning. Topics include constructing a syllabus, designing a course, preparing a lesson plan, assessing and providing feedback to students and creating an effective and welcoming classroom climate. Students also practice these teaching skills through microteaching workshops, in which they receive individual feedback from peers and teaching experts.