Department of Political Science and Public Policy (DPSPP) -

Introduction

To produce Cambodia well-rounded and skillful graduates with in-depth knowledge in politics and public policy for the country’s strong, well-responding, and robust system, IISPP’s Department of Political Science and Public Policy (DPSPP) offers rigorous, multi-disciplinary programs in political science and public policy. IISPP’s DPSPP offers Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Public Administration (BA-PPA) and Master of Science in Public Policy (MSc-PP) with English as the medium of instruction and incorporates in its programs holistic and integrative spirit of liberal thinking through series of interactive lecturers, seminars, workshops, case studies, and simulations.
IISPP’s DPSPP intends to equip its students with theoretical, conceptual, substantive, and methodological lenses in political science and public policy. The program will enable its students to study complex beings of state, nation, government, and their institutions, processes, ideologies, policies, and behaviors. The program will also deepen knowledge and understanding of its students of crosscutting themes including conflicts and transnational politics and equip them with critical skills and social scientific literacy for them to succeed in their careers. Likewise, the study of public policy at IISPP’s DPSPP will enable students to understand nature and roles of policy, policy design, and policy process and development. While exposing its students to challenges faced by states and their people, DPSPP will also enrich them with well-rounded perspectives on policy issues and a versatile base of knowledge and skills to comprehend, interpret, analyze, and/or develop policy solutions for challenges facing society.

Values

Excellence
Integrity
Professionalism
Selfless services

Vision

The DPSPP envisions an academic institution in which faculty, students and staff strive to learn, apply, share and ultimately create new knowledge such that the Cambodian people, regional partners and the world, benefit. DPSPP looks towards a future in which it is the recognized Cambodian leader in teaching, research, engagement and services in the fields of political science and public policy.

Program Learning Outcomes

DPSPP graduates will:
A. Knowledge
A1. Demonstrate core knowledge of socio-cultural, economic, political and security factors, facts, concepts, and generalizations that inform intra-state and cross-border relations among state and non-state actors;
A2. Possess knowledge of latest developments in the thematic clusters of international relations and governance, international law and organizations, international economics, and region and area studies;
B. Cognitive Skills
B1. Evaluate the perspective, quality and accuracy of information resources with reference to international relations and governance, international law and organizations, international economics, and region and area studies;
B2. Use a deep knowledge of diverse worldviews, experiences, power structures, different effects of human organization and actions on the global system to develop informed actions to address significant global/local problems;
C. Interpersonal skills and responsibility
C1. Execute tasks in an academic setting which require interpersonal skills, leadership skills, and independent learning skills useful for employment;
C2. Demonstrate an understanding of philosophical and social contexts and respect for ethics and ethical standards of the discipline when creating tools to address social, political, economic, and environmental challenges;
C3. Develop a sense of appreciation and respect for national interests, culture and cultural diversity;
D. Communication, Information Technology, and Numerical Skills
D1. Demonstrate an ability to effectively communicate information and ideas in English in both local and international contexts;
D2. Utilize the most appropriate information technology, statistical and mathematical techniques and tools in gathering, analysing, interpreting and presenting information.

Mission

The Department of Political Science and Public Policy aims to:

Develop undergraduate and graduate programs in Political Science, Public Administration, and Public Policy;
Equip students with in-depth knowledge in the fields of political science, public policy, governance, international relations, law, economics, sociology, psychology, philosophy, and media and digital politics;
Develop students’ critical and analytical thinking skills, independent learning, digital skills, and other transferable skills needed for a variety of careers in a globalized world;
Nurture students’ ability to apply theories learnt in class to real life situations; and
Cultivate students who are able to act responsibly as good citizens in a globalized world.

Admission Requirements

Program Duration

This program requires FOUR years of full-time study. Each academic year is scheduled into two semesters per year with additional elective (optional) courses conducted between academic years. Students are required to study five regular courses each semester, except for those admitted into the Honors Program, the second semester of fourth year. Each course consists of 30 one-and-half-hour sessions.

Graduation Requirements

Students must earn a minimum of 120 credit points to be eligible for the award of Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Public Administration (BA-PPA). The total accumulated credit points can be earned by attending required courses (3 credits for each course) and by passing the comprehensive examinations or successfully defending their senior project (for students in the Honors Program).
There are two strands for the BA programs at the senior year: (1) the regular Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Public Administration and (2) the Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Public Administration (Honors). The Regular Program does not require students to write the senior project but they must pass the comprehensive examinations. The Honors Program requires students to successfully complete and defend the project. Only limited outstanding students (those students with an average score of 80 or above in all the four years of study) are admitted into the Honors Program upon the recommendation from their academic advisors/teachers.

Assessment

For each course, students’ performance will be assessed using various criteria which are categorized into ‘the on-going assessment’ and ‘final examination.’ The former usually, but not always, accounts for 60%, and the latter another 40% of the overall assessment.
During each course, students will be assessed on an on-going basis including such items as students’ oral presentation, major written assignment, paper(s), mid-term examination, homework, quizzes, exercises, debate, and class participation.
Students must fulfill all academic and attendance requirements in order to be promoted to the next level. In order to pass a subject, students must achieve a score of AT LEAST 50%. This means that 50% is a borderline pass.

Assessment

For each course, students’ performance will be assessed using various criteria which are categorized into ‘the on-going assessment’ and ‘final examination.’ The former usually, but not always, accounts for 60%, and the latter another 40% of the overall assessment.
During each course, students will be assessed on an on-going basis including such items as students’ oral presentation, major written assignment, paper(s), mid-term examination, homework, quizzes, exercises, debate, and class participation.
Students must fulfill all academic and attendance requirements in order to be promoted to the next level. In order to pass a subject, students must achieve a score of AT LEAST 50%. This means that 50% is a borderline pass.

Application Procedure

Potential applicants must submit a completed application form (available from Room 03, IFL) along with the following documents:
A copy of a provisional or permanent High School Certificate or Bachelor’s Degree certified by a provincial or municipal authority, along with an original copy, which will be immediately returned to the candidate; or
A certified copy of an Associate Degree Certificate deemed equivalent by the Accreditation Committee of Cambodia; or
For recent high school graduates, an original transcript with a stamped photo certified by the School Director, and
One 4 x 6 photo.
Students must submit their application form with attachments to an application form checker at IISPP, pay an entrance examination fee, and collect a receipt from the stamp officer. This receipt must be presented to examiners before students can take the entrance examination.

Regular and Elective Courses

Regular courses are compulsory, while elective courses are optional. Credits earned from elective courses cannot be transferred to the regular courses.
Students are strongly encouraged to enroll in elective courses to better prepare themselves for the next-year level. Elective course credits will be included on academic transcripts.
I. Approaches and Issues Group
This group covers the respective history, development, related issues, as well as major philosophical, theoretical, and methodological approaches to the study of the area.
Courses under this group:
WHC101     World History and Civilization
HPT101     History of Political Thoughts
AMS101     Applied Mathematics and Statistics
IPS102     Introduction to Political Science
AWR101&2     Academic Writing and Research in Social Science 1&2
PS201      Introduction to Political Philosophy
PS202      Introduction to Comparative Electoral Systems
PS203     Theory of International Politics and Current Affairs
PS205     Professional Communication
PS207     Pathways to Public Service
PS301     Political Thoughts and Ideologies
PS303     Introduction to Research
PS307     Comparative Politics
PS308     Political Parties and Interest Groups
PS309     Research Methods in Political Science
PS409     Political Leadership
II. Cambodian History and Politics
Courses under this group:
CC102     Cambodian Constitutions
KC102     Khmer Civilization
KHR101     Khmer and Regional History
PS206     Cambodian Government and Politics
PS406     Cambodian Foreign Policy
PS410     Public Policy Analysis (Cambodia Focus)
III. CGovernance and Transnational Study Group
Courses under this group:
PS204     Politics and Governments in Southeast Asia
PS209     Critical Thinking for Global Affairs and Local Development
PS210     ASEAN in Regional and Global Contexts/li>
PS304     Good Governance in the 21st Century
PS305     International Human Rights Law
PS401     Foreign Policy and Diplomacy of Small States
PS402     Governance Issues in Developing Countries/li>
PS404     Conflict Resolution and Negotiation
PS405     Western and Asian Political Systems
PS408     Human Resource and New Public Management
IV. Political Economy and International Political Economy Group
This group offers students a deeper understanding of the changing dynamics of global economy, finance and trade. They are the basic building blocks for economic policy analysis and application to real international economic settings. This group also allows students to draw upon Cambodia’s relevant development and economic issues for class discussion and policy analysis.
Courses under this group:
PS302     Politics of Economic Development
PS310     International Political Economy (IPE)
PS403     Politics and Economics of Globalization
V. Public Administration and Public Policy Group
Courses under this group:
IPA102     Introduction to Public Administration and Public Policy
PS208     Theory of Public Administration
PS306     Ethics and Values in Public Policy
PS407     Administrative Litigation and Law
VI. Elective Courses
PS101     Geopolitics
PS102     Thesis Writing Seminar

Career Prospect

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA Officer) and other government institutions
Public Policy and Development Affairs (Public Affairs Specialist)
Royal School of Administration Entrance
Embassies and Consulates (Ambassador, Consul, Embassy Employee)
Think Tanks (Research Fellow, Executive positions)
Universities (Researcher, Lecturer)
NGOs and Civil Society Organizations (NGO Manager)
Businesses (International Business Manager)
Public Relation Officers
United Nations and other international organizations (Employee at different UN Departments or other international organizations)
Foreign Services (Foreign Services Officer, Foreign Correspondent)
Intelligence and Journalism (Intelligence Officer)
Foreign Investment (Foreign Investment Specialist)

PROGRAM COURSE THEMES

The curriculum offered for the Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Public Administration provides each student with a comprehensive understanding of the following five interrelated groups:

Approaches and Issues Group
Cambodian History and Politics
Governance and Transnational Studies Group
Political Economy and International Political Economy Group
Public Administration and Public Policy Group

COURSE DESCRIPTION

WHC101: World History and Civilization
World History and Civilization is the story of great human adventures, their cultural development and their achievements in human history. World History and Civilization provides a variety of knowledge to students from religious ideas to scientific achievements. This course focuses on the development of academic English to understand major world civilizations chronologically. It starts from the development of Egypt Civilization, Sumerian Civilization, Indus Civilization, Chinese Civilization, and the Mayan Civilization, which are considered to be the predecessors of later development. This course also emphasizes the building of these major civilizations as well as their achievements in the fields of religion, literature, science and technology.
HPT101: History of Political Thoughts
This course provides a critical introduction to the development of the political theory and the predominant ideas of political philosophers of each era. History of Political Thoughts aims not only to examine questions raised on the creation of social and political order, but also to offer a variety of knowledge to the students pertinent to democracy, justice, legitimacy, equality, liberty, sovereignty, and the proper relationship of the individual to the state. This course emphasizes how political thinkers have responded to a particular problem of various political regimes and philosophical approaches at their time and how they can contribute to a critical perspective and understanding of the impact of the ideas and strategies on the contemporary politics. Political philosophers include but not limited to Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Marx, and Tocqueville.
KRH101: Khmer and Regional History
The aim of this subject is to increase students’ understanding of Cambodia’s unique national identity through its history, which is one of the oldest in Southeast Asia and of the development of the histories of other countries in the region through interaction with outsiders, political tendencies and acculturation as well as cultural transformation. Students will examine, discuss and analyze the roles of two great civilized countries in Asia, India and China, in influencing the region in ancient times; how certain countries in the region emerged and developed their ancient and modern states before and after the emergence of Western Superpower; and the rise in nationalism in Southeast Asia during and after World War II.
AMS101: Applied Mathematics and Statistics
Modern technology yields large amounts of data that can be well understood with the help of statistics. The main objective of this subject is to provide an accessible introduction to statistics. It starts with the concept of data, what it is, and how it can be collected and summarized. There is a brief review of the basic concepts of probability. Students will study important statistical tools and understand their use by solving specific applied problems.
AWR101: Academic Writing and Research in Social Science 1
This course is designed to develop students’ academic writing skills by having them engage in various academic writing activities such as writing paragraphs and essays, citing sources, quoting, referencing, paraphrasing, and summarizing. The course is primarily aimed to provide students with practical information about the essential conventions of academic writing and to improve students’ academic writing skills through frequent practice. The course places high emphasis on how to avoid plagiarism and how to write unified, cohesive, coherent, and adequately developed paragraphs and essays. This course also aims to introduce students to the key stages and writing process in social science research. Students have familiarized themselves with various qualitative and quantitative researches in social science by identifying a viable research question, research design, data collection and analysis, ethical issues of social science research, and a formal research proposal.
IPA102: Introduction to Public Administration and Public Policy
This introductory course aims to introduce first-year students to the basic concepts of public administration and public policy. The course helps students to be acquainted with the theoretical and practical knowledge of how to lead effectively and efficiently in public service delivery in various sectors. The course explores fundamental ideas on public administration and public policy within political, economic, social, and legal conditions in different contexts. It examines the causes of success and failure in governance and public administration. The course also introduces students to major challenges and issues occurred in public administration and critical perspectives on viable solutions for existing problems in public administration and public policy.
IPS102: Introduction to Political Science
This introductory course provides a critical overview of nature of politics and government in terms of how effective government and political institutions can be structured. The course aims to deepen students’ understanding of basic principles of political science and political theories and ideologies with an analysis of contemporary issues. Introduction to Political Science covers various topics with regard to the role and functions of state and government, various political regimes, changing nature of power, legitimate governance, constitutional design, institutions of government based on checks and balances system, policy formulation and implementation, political culture and political behavior, interest groups, political parties, electoral systems, and mass media.
CC102: Cambodian Constitutions
This course introduces first-year students to the Constitution of Cambodia. It provides a critical overview of the history of the establishment of Cambodian Constitutions. The preamble, state sovereignty, king institution, and basic structures of the Constitution will be discussed thoroughly. The course examines the fundamental rights and duties of Cambodian citizens, followed by a discussion of the political, economic, and social contexts in Cambodia and three branches of government. This course also focuses on some of the important sections including the administrative organization, constitutional council, and the revision and the amendment procedure of the constitution.
KC109: Khmer Civilization
Khmer Civilization is concerned with Khmer culture and how it has been influenced by foreign cultures since ancient time. Its themes include the relationships between Cambodian and foreign cultures, religions, architecture, arts, beliefs, and ritual ceremonies. It aims at helping students to appreciate Cambodian cultural identity and distinguish it from foreign cultural identities. In addition, students will learn how to spread Cambodian culture in the global context appropriately and know how to link it to some world and regional cultures. The course book is a collection of texts from various sources including Cambodian Culture and History and Cambodian and Indian Cultures.
AWR102: Academic Writing and Research in Social Science 2
This course is designed to develop students’ academic writing skills by having them engage in various academic writing activities such as writing paragraphs and essays, citing sources, quoting, referencing, paraphrasing, and summarizing. The course is primarily aimed to provide students with practical information about the essential conventions of academic writing and to improve students’ academic writing skills through frequent practice. The course places high emphasis on how to avoid plagiarism and how to write unified, cohesive, coherent, and adequately developed paragraphs and essays. This course also aims to introduce students to the key stages and writing process in social science research. Students have familiarized themselves with various qualitative and quantitative researches in social science by identifying a viable research question, research design, data collection and analysis, ethical issues of social science research, and a formal research proposal.

Year Two Subject

PS201: Introduction to Political Philosophy

This course explores the central issues of political philosophy through the examination of some of the major political texts and thinkers of the Western political traditions. This course emphasizes the study of the nature and values of politics that deal with a critical discussion and examination of an ideal form of government. The course covers various substantive topics, including but not limited to democracy, justice, freedom, equality, political obligation, the ideals of citizenship, the challenges of cultural diversity, and the meaning and values of sovereignty and nationalism.

PS202: Political Psychology

Political Psychology aims to investigate a scientific study on the ways in which individuals’ attitudes are formed, how they influence political institutions, and vice versa. This course provides a conceptual overview of historical and contemporary examination of central issues and ideas in psychology towards political phenomenon. The course emphasizes theoretical arguments and empirical evidence used to describe and explain the factors and conditions that shape the political attitudes and behavior of the people. Students will be exposed to a variety of topics including political identities, political cultures, political preferences, leadership and persuasion, effective civic engagement, political ideologies, public opinion, voting, the roles and importance of mass media, individual and group decision making and the causes and effects of revolution.

PS203: Theories of International Politics and Current Affairs

This course is designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of how the nature of international politics and current affairs can be described, explained, and interpreted. The course provides a well-rounded analysis of different frameworks that can be developed and applied to a particular dilemma of international politics and affairs. Moreover, students will become accustomed to a variety of theoretical perspectives and approaches employed to critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of various policy options that relevant legitimate actors come up with in international affairs.

PS204: Politics and Governments in Southeast Asia

This course explores contemporary dynamic politics of the eleven countries in Southeast Asia in a new international era following the end of the Cold War. Despite heavy load of region’s sensational headlines and stereotypical images, the current Southeast Asia populated by more than 600 million people has currently been experiencing unprecedented and dynamic political and socio-economic changes. Neo-paradigm of wealth and poverty; conflict over rights, identity, social justice, and particularly power; emergence of new actors advocating against the governments; centrality of ASEAN in the region and the world at large; and the like are emerging across the countries in Southeast Asia. Therefore, the interconnectedness between institutions and social groups, state-society relations and democracy, economy and development, and foreign relations of those eleven countries transforming the entire Southeast Asia has become a primary focus of international attention and thus has been recently subjected to careful scrutiny.

PS205: Professional Communication Skills

Given the critical importance of effective communication to enhance performance and productivity, both personally and professionally, this course aims to introduce students to fundamental principles of communication, and effective applications of communication. The principles to be discussed include, inter alia, communication cycles and barriers, six rules of effective message, communication by objective, and communication through technology. Subsequently, the course shifts to practical applications at workplace, namely job search skills, presentation skills and writing skills of memos, reports and proposals. Apart from literature, exercises and case studies are also integral parts of this course.

PS206: Cambodian Government and Politics

Cambodian Government and Politics walks students through the historical and contemporary examinations of politics and government in Cambodia. The course will introduce students to theatrical and practical perspectives on historical and contemporary examinations of political phenomenon in Cambodian context. The topics include but not limited to constitutional features, basic structure of government, the roles of government, democracy, relationship between state and citizens, political attitudes and behavior, political parties and interest groups, mass media, elections, public policy, and civil rights and political liberty. The students will not only gain a better social and political orientation but also develop ideal form of political civic culture conducive to stable democracy and effective civic engagement in response to any social issues based on political pragmatism.

PS207: Pathways to Public Services

This course is designed to introduce students to potential careers in public services. Students will obtain deep insights into the functions, roles, issues, policy challenges, and practical solutions that have been discussed in public organizations. The course equips students with necessary theoretical knowledge and transferable skills so that they can be ready for any public and community services. The course helps prepare students to contribute to socio-economic development in various levels and serve the best interests of people in the community, government, or non-profit organizations.

PS208: Theory of Public Administration

This course aims to introduce students to the theories and practices of public administration. The students will accumulate theoretical knowledge and practical applications of public management based on democratic values, transparency and accountability, and political capability and political participation in improving public service delivery and policy formulation and implementation. The course examines contemporary issues and perspectives on how government works and why they come up with certain political decisions and actions. In this connection, the course investigates the undermining and contributing factors that potentially lead to the failure or success in public administration.

PS209: Critical Thinking for Global Affairs and Local Development

This course is designed to improve students’ critical thinking and analytical skills by looking at global, regional and local affairs. To this end, the course includes several special features aiming at equipping students with necessary skills and knowledge such as critical thinking, logical fallacies, reasoning methods, rational judgment and more.

PS210: ASEAN in Regional and Global Contexts

ASEAN in Regional and Global Contexts looks at the situation in Southeast Asia during the Cold War period and the emergence of regionalization leading to the formation of ASEAN. It discusses the roles and functions of ASEAN, the impact of ASEAN in regional politics and economy, ASEAN’s norms and practice and the transformation of ASEAN in response to international, regional and sub-regional changes. Also, the engagement of ASEAN with the world’s major powers, regional groupings such as EU, and international institutions like UN will be discussed.

Year Three Subject

PS301: Political Thoughts and Ideologies

Political theory can be considered a tradition of discourse or a mode of thinking about the significance of political events that can pave ways to a better understanding of our contemporary societies, but is politics necessarily driven purely by sub-rational motives such as material interests or can ideas make a difference? This course is designed to introduce and explore the history, nature, and evolution of political theory—a realm of intellectual inquiry where we examine our most basic concepts and definitions, engage in normative judgment of our existing systems of government, and articulate and defend a vision of the system of political organization we envision to be ideal. It is meant to offer critical insight into the different ways in which political thinkers have responded to the challenges and divisive issues in the complexity of our contemporary political world. By studying the evolving constructs of political theory mainly in the past several centuries, students will gain insight into different approaches that leaders use to solve complex problems of governance and maintenance of social order and that which revolutionizes the ways we come to understand democracy, justice, rights and politics in a broader sense mainly from the 18th Century, if not ancient time.

PS302: Politics of Economic Development

This course aims to provide a critical overview of the politics that directly impacts the economic development. The course introduces students to the theoretical and empirical studies of international development. One of the core objectives of the course is to deepen students’ knowledge and insights into analytical framework and empirical evidence of the influence of politics on economic development so that students can draw on viable policy solutions and recommendations that can be applied in various policy contexts. The course covers numerous substantive topics, including but not limited to state capacity, economic development based on democratic principles, political competition, political inequality and exclusion, corruption, transparency and accountability, political clientelism, political parties and interest groups, political conflicts, and international politics.

PS303: Introduction to Research

This course is intended to provide students with basic, essential research concepts and how-to approaches to research that can be applied to most social settings, especially in International Studies. This course will be very helpful for conducting small-scale projects and for writing the senior project in the final year. In addition, the concepts in the course will help students critically read and deal with various research findings they may encounter in the future.

PS304: Good Governance in the 21st Century

Good Governance in the 21st Century considers a wide variety of desirable features of democratic political regimes pertinent to government transparency and accountability, political participation, economic growth and development, equality, social and economic predictability, political stability, rule of law, effectiveness of public service delivery. This course is designed to provide a critical examination and insight into conceptual debates, contemporary issues, challenges of policy practices, and viable policy solutions associated to the quality of good government.

PS305: International Human Rights Law

This course examines the philosophy of human rights protection; the universal protection of human rights in international human rights law, in particular through the work of the UN Human Rights Council and other treaty-based committees. It offers an overview of the existing conventions and institutions. Indeed, this course is designed to equip students with the knowledge and skills—notably legal expertise sensitivity to cultural differences and knowledge of the UN system and its NGOs interfaces—necessary to be effective human rights workers and/or advocates within governments, NGOs and organizations more generally.

PS306: Ethics and Values in Public Policy

This course places a great emphasis on ideal conceptions of the common good, moral reasoning, and normative values in public policy that influence how policy actors develop and justify policy preferences. Students will familiarize themselves with various critical situations whereby the policy analysis processes and the practical policy solutions can be formed based on moral and ideological values in order to address ethical challenges and contemporary domestic and international policy issues. The course examines the tensions between politics and ethics, different moral theories, the justification and interpretation of policy preferences by various political actors, institutional arrangements, moral arguments, systematic analysis of values, and policy analysis and recommendations.

PS307: Comparative Politics

Designed as a guide to comparative politics, this course looks at institutions and policies of various countries and regions from cross-national/regional perspectives. Topics covered include what comparative politics is, the history of comparative politics, political development, political culture, challenges and alternatives to the development approach, communism, democracy and democratization, and applicability of the various models and paradigms of comparative politics, as well as what lies ahead in comparative politics. Students will be exposed to mono-country, bi-country, and multi-country comparative studies in various fields.

PS308: Political Parties and Interest Groups

This course aims to investigate not only a theoretical examination of the roles that political parties and interest groups play in politics but also an empirical examination of their political activities and political tactics they use to pursue their goals. These two groups are commonly known by negative claims about their roles that can undermine democratic values and generate sectional interests of a small portion of population. In this connection, the course encourages students to critically evaluate the claims about the roles of political parties and interest groups so that they can make a rational judgment of what roles these two entities actually play with a great emphasis on the recent and current issue areas.

PS309: Research Methods in Political Science

This course is designed to equip students with fundamental concepts and methods of research in political science. Students will familiarize themselves with the ways in which scientific methods of research can be designed to study human behaviors through both qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis. Students will learn how to identify research questions, conduct literature review, develop hypotheses, and measure variables. Furthermore, research design in political science will be discussed precisely throughout the course. In the end, students will build up their research knowledge by applying the concepts they have learn in a real research project in order that they can identify and work on research findings and discussions within this course or in the future.

PS310: International Political Economy

This course aims to equip students with broad critical thinking on the current knowledge of the global political economy through the discussions of different theories, approaches, and definitions. This course will look into specific practical applications of economic and political theories at regional and global levels. It helps students understand the current issues surrounding development and financial system.

Year Four Subject (Regular program)

PS401: Foreign Policy and Diplomacy of Small States

This course aims at introducing students to the various methods by which foreign policies of states are analyzed and compared. It is divided into two parts. The first part examines theoretical approaches to foreign policy analysis. There are essentially three approaches to foreign policy studies. The course will examine: (a) studies that explain foreign policy at the level of individual policy makers; (b) studies that explain foreign policy in terms of factors at the level of domestic politics (including bureaucratic politics, domestic power politics, and national identity); and (c) studies that explain foreign policy at the level of international system.

PS402: Governance Issues in Developing Countries

This course equips students with theoretical and empirical knowledge of governance issues in developing countries. It is divided into two parts. In the first part of the course, students are familiarized with various major governance issues in developing countries. The themes covered in this course include inequality, human rights, gender, environment, development, etc. The second part of the course illustrates these issues with country-specific case studies from different parts of the world with a heavy focus on Southeast Asian countries.

PS403: Politics and Economics of Globalization

The course will allow students to grasp an understanding of ways to comprehend and explain diverse global political and economic policy conundrum, and to engage public policy debates on key issues facing the world today. The course will examine concepts, history, and theories of globalization – a complex notion which influences domestic and international political, economic and social life. The course will delve into analyzing economic, political and socio-cultural dimensions and exploring causes and effects of globalization. Students will attend to major debates and theories in relation to globalization through utilization of conceptual and analytical tools. Such tools also enable students to understand facets of globalization, its merits and shortcomings, and the ways in which they affect politics and decisions. The course permits students to learn various analytical framework to comprehend, explicate and question political and economic structure, namely constitutional democracy, market system, to name a few. This process will pave ways for students in their future career in the fields of public policy, public service, business, law, etc.

PS404: Conflict Resolution and Negotiation

This course surveys theoretical and empirical knowledge of conflict resolution. The first part of the course introduces the students to the field of conflict studies, which is rich in theoretical and methodological approaches. Next, students are engaged with a variety learning activities designed to help them understand and to explain the causes of conflict. The final part explores a variety of theoretical approaches and practical policy measures to resolve conflicts.

PS405: Western and Asian Political Systems

The course gives students an overview of analytical concepts and tools to explain political systems – democratic, non-democratic, and pseudo-democratic, amongst others. Focus is on institutions, political processes, leadership, and major public policy of earlier systems to shed light on the role history of socio-economic forces on evolution of various types of political systems in Western and Asian countries. This involves an application of concepts and theories in political science to analyze examples in Asia to illustrate typology, patterns and dynamisms.

PS406: Cambodian Foreign Policy

The course will enable students to explore history, traditions, approaches and theories of Cambodia in its foreign policy conduct. In addition to theoretical and analytical framework, students will examine empirical case of decision-making in selected circumstances. Students will explore the political processes whereby circumstances, priorities, actors, history, and power dynamics help shape and predict foreign policy decision, a foundation to critically explain how and why Cambodia’s foreign policy is made.

PS407: Administrative Litigation and Law

The course is designed to assist students in analyzing features of disputes between administrative authorities and citizens, and appropriate solutions to diffuse such tension. This will involve analysis of disputes stemming from exercising administrative jurisdiction by authorities, which requires an alteration of social-economic behaviors and positions of ordinary citizens. The course also explores value dilemma involved in political-economy calculus by the state, later trickling down to authorities, even in the face of stiff popular resistance; and coping mechanisms to refine a new social cohesion and order.

PS408: Human Resource and New Public Management

This course will expose students to theories, practices, and critical discussions in human resource management domain in both public and non-profit agency sector. It deals with the interconnection between human resource management and operational functions of organizations, which contributes to individual, work team, organizational and societal goals. Central to this is also an understanding of legal environment of human resource management in public, non-profit organization, and the employer’s responsibility to insure a safe and productive workplace. At its core, the course will discover the means by which public policy contentions and decisions shape the practice of human resource management in public and non-profit sector, which could be done through an application of analytical tools, techniques and problem-solving skills in the context of human resource management.

PS409: Political Leadership

The course will explore nuances of leadership: conceptions, power dynamics, skills, and competences. The course attempts to grasp challenges in setting political leadership and its essence in the conduct of politics. An understanding of the contexts and rationales in exercising hard and soft powers is fundamental. Through the process, students will also be equipped with necessary non-cognitive qualities to apply earlier toolkits in simulated political situations comprised of dilemma and stalemates.

PS410: Public Policy Analysis (Cambodia Focus)

This course centers on contestation of vested interests and clashing values in determining public policy decisions. It diagnoses the process whereby a public policy is usually formulated: setting goals; defining issue; proposing possible solution; evaluation of solution; to name a few. Students will gain the skills necessary to conduct policy researches and content writing, and to assess data and evidence that constitute the bulk of public policy making cycle. To enhance such cognitive qualities in empirical (Cambodian) contexts, students will also learn contextual process whereby policy analysis in government organization – such as non-profit organization and think tanks. Besides, students will also be able to practice the skill of communicating policy content and advocating the proposal across stakeholders in a simulation fashion.

Academic Policy and Discipline

In accordance with standard university assessment procedures, each course is assessed separately in each semester. Students are notified at the end of each semester whether they have satisfied the program requirements.

1. ASSESSMENT AND EXAMINATION

Students’ academic performance is assessed by semester. In other words, a pass or good score in one semester cannot compensate for a fail or poor score in the other. And students are assessed in two ways:

On-going assessment (60%) based on class tests, homework, assignments, projects, oral presentations and class participation, and
Final Examination (40%) taken by all students at the end of each semester.

2. PROMOTION

Students must fulfill all academic and attendance requirements in order to be promoted to the next level.

In order to pass a subject/course, students have to achieve a score of AT LEAST 50%. This means that 50% is a borderline pass. Please read the following policy carefully to avoid any possible problem.

If a student fails any course in any semester, s/he will be allowed to sit for a supplementary examination for that semester provided that s/he has fulfilled the attendance requirements. However, in year 4 semester 2, there is no supplementary examination. Students who fail one or more subjects in that semester will have to repeat the subject.
If a student has failed THREE courses or more in one semester after taking supplementary exams, s/he will have to repeat that respective semester. However, students are allowed to repeat only ONE whole year for each year level.
If any student fails THREE courses or more in both semesters, s/he is required to repeat all those courses and will NOT be promoted to the next year level.
Under no circumstances can students take more than 6 years to complete the Bachelor’s degree.
All students are eligible for all semester exams. However, if a student has failed the attendance of any course, his/her exam score (no matter how high) will be considered invalid and s/he will have to repeat that course automatically and will NOT be eligible for its supplementary exam (see the Attendance Regulations below).In this case, both the attendance and score columns will be marked ‘F’.
Foundation Year students will not be promoted to year 2 if they fail even ONE single course after taking the supplementary exam.
For year 2 and 3, if a student fails fewer than THREE courses after taking supplementary exams in a semester, s/he will have to repeat only those courses and can still be promoted to year 3 and 4 respectively.
Year 3 students who repeat the total of ONE course in year 2 or 3 twice may be promoted to year 4.
Year 3 students who repeat more than one course in any year and have studied at the department for five years will be promoted to year 4 and have to retake all those courses. However, they will not be awarded a Bachelor’s degree if they still fail even ONE single course in any year.

3. REWARDS

To enhance competition and quality, the institute has unanimously adopted a student reward system in which students are rewarded on the basis of their overall academic performance and lecturers’ evaluation of other qualities stated in the Student Evaluation Form, which will be distributed to you.

Awards of Excellence and/or gifts in-kind will be presented annually to most outstanding students in each group of the first three years during the Opening Ceremony/Orientation of each new academic year and to the most outstanding students in year 4 in their Graduation Ceremony.

4. CREDIT TRANSFER

In line with the sub-degree of the government, students of other universities who wish to enroll in the BA-PPA Program are required to follow the procedures below.

Submit a credit transfer form and their official foundation year transcripts.
Take a test designed by the department.
Wait for the approval from the Institute of Foreign Languages.

Students who go on an overseas exchange program and wish to have credits transferred to the department must have their selected courses approved by the DPSPP management. The content of the subjects must be consistent with those of the DPSPP.

Early Exams: Students who miss their final exams due to personal emergencies may request a permission to sit for early finals or in supplementary exams.

5. RULES OF CONDUCT FOR TESTS AND EXAMS

Throughout the Test or Examination period:

 Students must be careful to follow any instructions given by invigilators.

Before the Test or Examination:

 Enter the room quietly and sit at the place assigned by the invigilators at least five minutes before the test or examination starts.

 Do not talk once you have entered the test or examination room.

 Leave all personal belongings at the front or the shelves at the back of the room.

 Do not begin reading and writing until the invigilators indicate to do so.

During the Test/Examination:

 Do not cheat or attempt to cheat (see the Academic Penalties below.)

 Turn off your phone and put it away from you during the whole test/examination period.

 Do not talk to or communicate with your classmates by whatever means.

 Do not borrow pens, erasers or other stationery

 Do not use correction pens or cover fluid. If you want to change your answers, simply cross them out and write new ones.

 Write all your answers clearly in blue ink, not pencil.

 Raise your hand if you have a problem. An invigilator will come to your desk to help you.

 Do not leave the test/exam room throughout the whole exam period.

 You may use dictionaries only if course lecturers have specifically stated that they may be used for a particular section or part of a test or examination.

 If you have finished, leave the room quietly after having carefully checked every item in your test or exam paper. Do not disturb others.

At the end of the Test/Examination:

 Stop writing immediately after the invigilator has said “pens down” or “stop writing”

 Remain silently seated whilst papers are being collected and checked.

 Leave the room when the invigilators indicate that everything is in order.

6. ACADEMIC PENALTIES

Cheating in all forms is a serious crime, and so is plagiarism (an act of stealing or copying another person’s idea or part of their work and pretending that it is your own). Penalties for a student’s act(s) of cheating or plagiarism are: warning, mark deduction, invalidation of particular work (such as homework, assignments, tests and examinations), repetition of the course(s) that student was found cheating or plagiarizing, or even repetition of the whole year. In the most serious cases, a student can be expelled from the institute.

Please carefully read Penalties for Cheating in Tests and Exams, which are strictly enforced with NO exception.

Behavior	Action taken
a. An attempt to cheat	Warning
b. First cheating	20%
c. Second cheating	50%
d. Third cheating	100% (paper invalidated)

7. RESULT ANNOUNCEMENTS

All semester results shall be announced not later than one month after the exams are administered. And all supplementary exams shall be administered no later than TWO weeks after the semester results are released. Students who miss any supplementary exam during this period will not be allowed to take any supplementary exam if they take leave NOT permitted by the Department.

8. DISCIPLINE

Sexual harassment and other improper sexual behaviors, for example kissing and hugging, are strictly prohibited on the IFL premises.
Cursing, vulgar or disrespectful words, immoral facial expressions and body language, especially directed to lecturers, are not tolerated.
Guns and other weapons are not allowed.
Sexy, see-through, and skimpy clothes are prohibited.
Jeans or T-shirts are not allowed.
Flip-flops are not allowed in the classrooms.
Negative attitudes towards and malicious acts against others are punished.

9. ATTENDANCE REGULATIONS

Attendance is mandatory for all the subjects and largely maintains the quality of the department. Therefore, observe the following attendance regulations carefully and comply with them strictly. Non-compliance with any of these regulations will result in a Fail in attendance, a Fail in a course or the invalidity of leave forms.

You must use a leave form obtained from the photocopy office.
Your class patron or course lecturers may NOT grant leaves for more than ONE day. These leaves have to be requested from the DPSPP coordinator by depositing the Leave Form at the office.
You should produce two copies of one-day leaves for two different lecturers.
Reasons in phrases are not accepted. They must be written in full sentences in a formal way.
Class monitors are NOT allowed to write in the ‘Official Use Only’ box and/or grant leaves to their classmates.
For one-day leaves, the starting date and the ending date must be the same.
The period of leave should indicate the number of days or sessions, excluding public holidays and weekends.
Write a class code NOT a room number, for example A1.1 (DPSPP) NOT G14.
Write dates NOT days, for example 27 October, 2006 NOT Friday October.
1Leave forms may not be written by anyone other than you. If you change class during a semester, show your new class lecturers your former class attendance records and academic scores (if any) signed by your former lecturers.
Absence from a test/exam without a permitted leave will incur a zero (0) in that test/exam.
Only students absent from a test with a permitted leave will receive the lowest score in that test, or only under rare circumstances will he or she be allowed to take a make-up.
Any student who takes a granted leave from any semester exam well before the exam takes place is qualified for its supplementary exam and for his or her actual exam score (not a borderline pass of 50%), but is not allowed to take any other additional exam.
Before you submit a request for leave for more than 1 day, make sure that you attach a valid supporting document. Otherwise, it will be rejected.
Notifications of Absence submitted LATER THAN TWO DAYS after returning from leaves are not accepted.
Leaves for the maximum period of 6 weeks may be granted to fee-paying students and scholarship students per semester for missions and other serious situations with valid supporting document(s). With this maximum leave period, the leave taker shall receive only a borderline pass in attendance in all the courses. In these cases, one-week leave incurs 5% deduction of attendance in each subject.
If you fail the attendance of any subject in any semester, you will fail both the subject and its attendance. You will not be allowed to take its supplementary exam and you will repeat the subject.
There is no guarantee that leaves you request or notify are accepted. They are granted on the merits of your reasons and supporting documents.
Notification after taking long leaves without informing any relevant lecturer in advance are not accepted even if they are submitted within two days after returning from leaves.
Three 15-minute late attendances without permitted leaves are equal to one absence.

NUMBER OF ABSENCES ALLOWED Years 1, 2, 3 & 4

Courses	No. of sessions absent with leave granted	No. of sessions absent without leave granted	Attendance percentage
All DPSPP courses at all year levels	4	4	70%

10. FINANCIAL POLICY

A. PAYMENT

The fee paid by year isUSD1200 and the fee paid by semester is USD600. Fee payment should be made at the beginning of each academic year or at the beginning of each semester.

Please note that classes are arranged according to the ‘first come, first served’ basis. This means that if you want to stay in your previous class or in a different class with your friends, you must register and pay together. In order not to harm our quality and image, there is a limit to the size of each class. If a class is over-sized, certain students will be moved to other small classes on this ‘first come, first served’ basis.

Semester 1:

Students are required to apply for their studies and pay their tuition fees for a new academic year by the closing date specified by the Institute of Foreign Languages so that classes and times they choose can be arranged in time.

Semester 2:

Students have to make their payments by the closing dates set by the institute, which is NO LATER THAN 10 DAYS after the release of semester one results. If s/he fails to do so, s/he will have to pay a penalty of USD20.

B. FEES FOR SUBJECTS REPEATED

1) Foundation-year students who fail any subject and wish to attend their repeated classes again must pay the following rates.

SUBJECT	Per Semester	Per Year
Introduction to Political Science	$120	N/A
History of Political Thoughts	$120	N/A
Introduction to East and Southeast Asia	$120	N/A
World History and Civilization	$120	N/A
Academic Writing and Reading 1 & 2	$120	$240
Khmer and Regional History	$120	N/A
Applied Mathematics and Statistics	$120	N/A
Khmer Civilization	$120	N/A
Professional Communication	$120	N/A

2) If a foundation-year student does not have time to retake repeated classes, they have to pay the following fees examinations for each course. But this does not apply to those who failed attendance because they have to attend classes and pay the fee specified in (1).

SUBJECT	Semester 1	Semester 2
Introduction to International Relations	$60	N/A
History of Political Thoughts	$60	N/A
Applied Mathematics and Statistics	$60	N/A
ASEAN Studies	$60	N/A
Academic Writing and Reading 1 & 2	$60	$60
Introduction to East and Southeast Asia	N/A	$60
World History and Civilization	N/A	$60
Khmer Civilization	N/A	$60
Professional Communication	N/A	$60

3) Year 2-4 students who fail any subject and wish to attend their repeated classes again must pay USD120 per subject per semester.

4) If year 2-4 students do not retake repeated classes, they have to pay USD60 for examinations for each course. But this does not apply to those who failed attendance because they have to attend classes and pay the fee specified in (3).

C. FEES FOR ELECTIVE COURSES

The amount of annual fee does not cover the additional fee for elective courses; a fee of USD120 per course/subject is to be paid for each elective course. Each elective course will be offered when there are more than 25 enrolled students in a class. Elective courses and credits will be presented in the enrolled students’ academic transcripts. Enrollment for elective courses will start at the beginning of the second semester of each year in Room 03. Each elective class is arranged according to the ‘first come, first served’ basis. The Institute will announce further notice on the specific enrollment date and deadline.

Facilities And Resources

SELF-ACCESS CENTRE

One of the main objectives of all our programs is to encourage students’ independent learning. The Self-Access Centre (SAC) is an excellent place to provide the opportunity for this. The SAC is open from 7:30 am to 11:30 am and from 2:00 pm to 7:30 pm on weekdays and from 7:30 am to 11:30 am on Saturdays. The SAC assists you to overcome your language and content area difficulties. You can spend your free time reading books, magazines, periodicals and other reference materials. You can also have discussions with friends or sometimes with lecturers, listen to the radio or tapes, watch news or videos in English. The Teacher’s Reference Library (TRL) is for lecturers’ use only. And the MA section in the SAC is for MA students only. There is a separate section for the Department of International Studies.

INTERNET FACILITIES

Internet and word processing are available on the ground floor for free.

LANGUAGE LABORATORY

Students and lecturers have access to a wide range of resources in our Language Laboratory, which is funded by the Japanese government. These include video shows, slide and PowerPoint presentations, and listening-interpretation resources.

USING THE FACILITIES AND RESOURCES

The main building of the Institute of Foreign Languages has been maintained in very good condition. And a new building has been constructed to accommodate the growing number of students and to provide more spacious premises for all. It is, therefore, very important that everyone take pride in the institute so that it can be kept in its present condition. It is expected that everyone using it will have respect for the property and consideration for others by looking after the building and its facilities. The following points must be observed:

1. Toilets

Use the toilets that are assigned for your use. Certain toilets are reserved for staff and for female students only. Please show consideration for others by using the facilities properly and making sure that you leave the toilet clean for the next person

2. Smoking

Smoking is not permitted anywhere inside the building.

3. Spitting

No spitting is allowed anywhere inside the building on the terraces.

4. Eating

Students are not permitted to consume any food, even chewing gums, in the classroom. Food must be consumed in the canteen behind the main building.

5. Rubbish

Always use the bins provided for rubbish. Please show responsibility and consideration for others by keeping all classrooms and common areas clean and tidy. To achieve this, you must use fewer tissues at the canteen and not write, draw or paint anything on the classroom or toilet walls, chairs, and tables.

6. Parking

Students are not permitted to park under the IFL main building or behind the CJCC Multi-purpose Hall. These areas are reserved for staff only. Secure parking for motorbikes is available behind Building B; and parking for cars is available behind Building A, in front of Building B, and behind Building C. If you use any other areas for parking, no responsibility will be taken for your vehicle and motorcycle/bicycle loss or damage. Please observe all traffic rules and follow all signs on the campus.

7. Property damage

All furniture and facilities are now in good condition. Please treat them with care and respect. Students who cause damage to them will be asked to pay the cost of replacement or repair.

Assignment guidelines

As a student of the department, you will be required in all subjects to submit assignments at regular intervals throughout the course. Grades on these pieces of written or oral work will become part of your ‘On going Assessment’ which will provide 50% of your final course marks. Therefore, it is extremely important that you be clear about what lecturers expect in assignments. Assignment work is one of the most important aspects of your life as a university student. It is your chance to develop and show your own ideas and skills.

Reading and following the general guidelines on this page will enable you to plan and present your assignments well. In addition, you will need to note the requirements specific to each subject, task and lecturer.

Assignment does and doesn't

Preparation of Assignments

You should allow yourself at least one week to prepare for an assignment.

Read the topic/question carefully and if uncertain ask your lecturer or fellow students for clarification.
Note the particular requirements of the assignment especially genre, length and due date.
Think and read about the topic well before you write and make notes as you read.
Collect information and brief quotations by always noting book names and authors for use in your essay footnotes and bibliography.
Reread your assignment and edit it carefully before making a final copy for submission.

Presentation of Assignments

Neat, clear assignments are expected from all students.

Always write or type clearly and legibly in black or blue.
If you write by hand, use line notebook paper with straight edge. Always leave margins on both sides free for comments by lecturers.
Complete, check and hand in your assignment by or on the due date.

Grading of Assignments

All major assignments will receive a score or grade.

Each lecturer might have his or her own style of marking but all lecturers will give you a numerical mark. Care will be taken to maintain consistency of marking and weighting of assignments in any one subject across a year level.
Class participation, assignment and test marks will form the basis of the mid semester feedback given on your progress as well as of the final ‘on going assessment’.
Marking penalties will apply if you do not hand in an assignment on time unless illness or other emergencies occur. In those cases, you must bring a note of explanation to your lecturer.