Academic Programming Policies

A graduate certificate is earned through the completion of eight full courses with a C (70%) or passing grade or above. A maximum of four courses can be taken per term. Each term is designed to last 10 weeks, with a certificate normally requiring 20 weeks.

Tuition is locked based on number of courses per term for students submitting applications prior to December 15th, 2026.

Currently accepting applications for new cohorts starting weekly.

Register for Core Certificate – $24/week

Register for Advanced Certificate – $48/week

Tuition and Enrollment are processed by the Polaris Foundation

Core Course Catalogue – through Fall 2026

• Political Violence and Extremism
  • Terrorism and Insurgency
  • Social Movements
  • EITHER Political Ideologies OR International Relations
  • Civil War and Political Collapse

• International Politics
  • International Relations
  • Advanced IR Theory and Applications
  • Methodology of International Relations

• Quantum Social Science
  • International Relations
  • Political Ideologies
  • Advanced International Relations Theory
  • Quantum Social Science

• Biological Social Science and Anthropology
  • Biological Social Science
  • Political Anthropology
  • Primate Societies and Culture

• Populism and Hate Studies
  • Comparative Politics Social Movements
  • Political Ideologies

• Propaganda Science
  • Political Ideologies
  • Comparative Politics
  • Advanced Propaganda Studies
  • Political Communication

• Chinese Politics
  • Political Ideologies
  • Chinese Politics
  • Critical Chinese Communists

• Taiwanese and Cross-Strait Politics
  • Political Ideologies
  • International Relations
  • Taiwanese Politics Cross-Strait Relations

• Chinese Communism and Propaganda
  • Advanced Chinese Literature I OR Advanced Chinese Media I
  • Chinese Politics
  • Chinese Propaganda OR Chinese Censorship Techniques
  • Advanced Propaganda Studies OR Asian Politics

• Asian Politics
  • Terrorism and Insurgency OR Civil War and Political Collapse
  • Social Movements
  • Political Ideologies
  • EITHER Chinese Politics OR North Korean Politics OR Taiwanese Politics

• Middle Eastern Politics
  • Politics Terrorism and Insurgency
  • Middle Eastern International Relations
  • Middle Eastern Media and Propaganda

• Soviet Communism
  • Critical Soviet Communists
  • Political Ideologies

• Linguistics and Socioculture
  • Linguistics
  • Political Anthropology OR Political Communication

• Counterinsurgency and Terrorism
  • Terrorism and Insurgency
  • Advanced Counterinsurgency Studies
  • Civil War and Political Collapse
  • Social Movements

Elective Courses

Any course can be requested by any cohort, but availability is subject to faculty timing:

Abrahamic Religion
Advanced Counterinsurgency Studies
Advanced Data Mining Techniques (second term students only)
Advanced Deep Web Scraping Techniques (second term students only)
Advanced IR Theory and Applications (second term students only)
Advanced Propaganda Studies
Applied Machine Learning for Social Science (second term students only)
Asian Politics
Authoritarian Ideologies and Governance
Biological Social Science
Central Asian Politics
Chinese Censorship Techniques
Chinese Communism and Propaganda
Chinese Language Discourse and Literature
Chinese Politics (PRC post-1945)
Chinese Popular Media
Chinese Propaganda
Civil War and Political Collapse
Comparative Communist Regimes
Comparative Eastern Religions
Comparative Politics
Comparative State Media
Concepts of Afterlife
Concepts of God
Counterinsurgency and Terrorism
Critical Chinese Communists
Critical Soviet Communists
Cross-Strait Relations
Data Mining for Social Science (second term students only)
Foreign Policy under Authoritarianism
Gazan Politics
Genocide Studies
Global Finance and Trade
Internal Politics of Gaza
International Relations
Iranian Politics
Israeli Politics
Israeli Popular Media
Linguistics
Methodology of International Relations
Methodology of Political Science
Middle Eastern International Relations
Middle Eastern Media and Propaganda
Middle Eastern Politics
North Korean Politics
Palestinian Politics
Political Anthropology
Political Communication
Political Geography of Taiwan
Political Ideologies
Populism and Hate Studies
Post-Soviet Politics and International Relations
Predictive Functions (through partnership with Polaris College of Machine Learning)
Primate Societies and Culture
Propaganda Science
Propaganda Studies
Psychometrics in Python (through partnership with Polaris College of Machine Learning)
Quantum Social Science (second term students only)
Religious Practice and Mysticism
Republican Chinese Politics (pre-1991 ROC)
Social Movements
Soviet Communism
Taiwanese and Cross-Strait Politics
Taiwanese Language Discourse and Literature
Taiwanese Politics (post-1991 ROC)
Taiwanese Popular Media
Terrorism and Insurgency
The White Terror in Taiwan (second term students only)