The undergraduate Certificate in Political Risk Analysis prepares students to work in this highly interdisciplinary area, which requires a keen understanding of business practices and the political situation facing countries. Political risk analysis focuses on the effect of country characteristics and events on sovereign risk (the ability of a country to repay its debts), company security, supply chains, and the safety of individuals working or traveling in a country. Understanding this risk is part of helping companies better manage their investments, assets, and activities in foreign countries based on threats that a company might face. The Department of Political Science collaborates with the College of Business to offer the undergraduate program in political risk analysis; the Department of Political Science administers the certificate.
The undergraduate Certificate in Political Risk Analysis requires a minimum of 18 s.h. of credit. Students must maintain a grade-point average of at least 2.00 in work for the certificate. Coursework for the certificate may not be taken pass/nonpass. Courses graded on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis may not count toward certificate requirements. A maximum of 6 s.h. of transfer credit may be accepted toward certificate requirements, with the approval of the political risk analysis advisor.
The certificate may be earned by any student admitted to the University of Iowa who is not enrolled in a UI graduate or professional degree program. Undergraduate to Graduate (U2G) students may earn the certificate when the undergraduate classification is primary.
The Certificate in Political Risk Analysis requires the following coursework.
Core Courses
Financial Risk Principles
Course List
| Course # |
Title |
Hours |
| |
| FIN:3400 | Principles of Risk Management and Insurance | 3 |
Quantitative Analysis
Course List
| Course # |
Title |
Hours |
| |
| POLI:3000 | Analyzing Political Data | 3 |
| STAT:1020 | Elementary Statistics and Inference | 3 |
| STAT:1030 | Statistics for Business | 4 |
| STAT:2020 | Probability and Statistics for the Engineering and Physical Sciences | 3 |
| STAT:3510 | Biostatistics | 3 |
Politics Foundation
Course List
| Course # |
Title |
Hours |
| |
| POLI:1400 | Introduction to Comparative Politics | 3 |
| POLI:1500 | Introduction to International Relations | 3 |
Elective Courses
Students select three courses from the following.
Country and International Risk
Experiential Learning Requirement
All students select one of the following after consultation with the political risk analysis advisor.
Study Abroad
Students may register for a study abroad course (prefix ABRD).
Research
Course List
| Course # |
Title |
Hours |
| POLI:3001 | Hawkeye Poll | 3 |
| POLI:3127 | Legislative Policy Seminar | arr. |
| POLI:3160 | Applied Research in Political Science | 1-3 |
| POLI:3525 | Iowa Policy and Opinion Lab | 0-3 |
| POLI:3527 | Civil War Research Lab | 3 |
| POLI:3530 | Diplomacy Lab | arr. |
| POLI:3994 | Political Science Undergraduate Research Projects | 1-4 |
| POLI:4701 | Undergraduate Research Tutorial | 3 |
| URES:3991 | Undergraduate Research and Creative Projects | 0 |
| URES:3992 | Undergraduate Research and Creative Projects | 0 |
| URES:3993 | Undergraduate Research and Creative Projects | 1-4 |
| URES:3994 | Undergraduate Research and Creative Projects | 1-4 |
| URES:3995 | Independent Creative Research by Undergraduates Summer Internship | 0 |
Internship
Course List
| Course # |
Title |
Hours |
| POLI:3124 | Guided Political Science Internship | 1-9 |
| POLI:4900 | Government and Politics Internship | 1-3 |