World Politics Summer Institute

The Department of Political Science at UCLA offers one of the nation’s most prestigious programs in the social sciences.

We are delighted to offer a three-week Summer Institute program on World Politics that is designed specifically for high school students. Students will receive foreign policy briefings from UCLA experts on topics like the Russian invasion of Ukraine, foreign policy in the 2024 US Presidential election, how terrorist organizations work, the politics of immigration, and the role of international law in US courts. Students will also work on group projects that entail writing and presenting reports on critical foreign policy problems and how they can best be addressed. These final presentations will be shared with a public audience in a capstone culminating event.

Students will leave the program with a strong understanding of World Politics, five units of letter grade or pass/no pass college credit to use towards their high school or Bachelor degrees, and a mentor who can attest to their readiness for college-level studies.

For questions about the program, please contact gradinfo@polisci.ucla.edu.

Curriculum Overview:

Morning lectures will give students an overview of world politics using theoretical perspectives, applied statistical analysis, and case studies. Topics will include: the causes of war, international institutions, violence by nonstate actors, international trade, international law, human rights, and the global environment. Afternoon sessions will allow students to apply their knowledge of world politics to contemporary foreign policy issues.

In the expert-led discussion sessions, students will learn professional skills like:

  • the difference between clarifying versus non-clarifying questions
  • how to manage a queue in a professional discussion
  • when it is appropriate to jump a queue to consolidate a line of questioning
  • professional methods and standards for attributing information to sources (e.g. “Chatham rules” and methods of citation)

While preparing final projects, students will gain professional skills through:

  • a comprehensive introduction to university library resources, including academic research databases, archival news resources, off-site storage facilities, interlibrary loans, and discussions with library staff
  • writing skills workshops to foster both individual writing skills and writing as a collaborative exercise
  • workshops on how to organize a public presentation, how to speak effectively, and how to supplement oral communication with slides

Meet the Instructor:

Abigail Farison

My name is Abbey Farison and I will be your instructor for the 2024 World Politics Summer Institute! I am a PhD student at UCLA in my fifth year and I received my Masters from UCLA in 2023. I grew up just outside Joshua Tree National Park and often return for the beautiful hikes. I also love baking, and have four rabbits who keep me on my toes (you will probably see pictures of them in the coming weeks)! I have been teaching at UCLA for four years, including both teaching and TAing for the regular undergraduate version of this very same world politics course. I study the politics of climate change adaptation and migration and am working on my prospectus and dissertation. Over my time in academia, I have discovered that my real love lies in teaching, and have spent years gaining experience and trainings to pursue constant growth in my understandings of how to effectively teach my subject matter as well as how to create the best possible classroom environment. I am very excited to spend these three weeks with you and am confident we will all leave the classroom with deeper understandings of politics as well as the college experience