Majors

MAJOR REQUIREMENTS

Students selecting a major in Political Science must complete at least 52 credits of Political Science coursework, of which at least 36 credits must be upper division coursework (300-400 level). As part of these overall credit totals, Political Science majors must complete:

I. 5 Foundation Courses (20 credits)

PS 201 Introduction to American Politics and Government
PS 204 Introduction to Comparative Politics
PS 205 Introduction to International Relations
PS 206 Introduction to Political Thought
PS 400 Political Analysis

Normally, foundation courses are taken in a student's first two years. Majors must take the lower division foundation course in a given subfield before enrolling in upper division subfield courses.

II. Upper Division Subfield Courses

Students must complete at least one course from three out of the four subfields:

American Politics

PS 321 American Constitutional Law
PS 322 American Constitutional Law
PS 323 American Constitutional Law
PS 326 Judicial Process and Politics
PS 331 State and Local Government and Politics
PS 371 Public Policy Problems
PS 411 Legislative Politics
PS 412 Presidential Politics
PS 413 Political Parties and Elections
PS 414 Interest Groups
PS 415 Politics and the Media
PS 416 Public Opinion and Politics
PS 418 Electoral Politics
PS 424 Administrative Law
PS 425 Gender and Law
PS 472 Public Administration
PS 474 Bureaucratic Politics and Natural Resources
PS 475 Environmental Politics and Policy
PS 476 Science and Politics
PS 477 International Environmental Politics and Policy
PS 485 Consensus and Natural Resources

Comparative Politics

PS 317 Gender and Politics
PS 340 Eastern and Central European Politics
PS 341 Politics of Western Europe and the European Union
PS 343 Russian Politics
PS 344 Latin American Politics
PS 345 Politics of Developing Nations
PS 348 Chinese Politics
PS 350 Government and Politics of Modern Japan
PS 446 East Asian Political Economy

International Relations

PS 451 American Foreign Policy
PS 452 Alternative International Future
PS 454 International Law and Organizations
PS 455 The U.S. as Viewed from Abroad
PS 456 International Politics of Asia Pacific
PS 457 U.S.-China Relations
PS 458 International Political Economy
PS 477 International Environmental Politics and Policy

Political Philosophy

PS 361 Classical Political Thought
PS 362 Modern Political Thought
PS 363 Gender and Race in American Political Thought
PS 365 American Political Thought
PS 461 Environmental Political Theory

III. A Capstone Course

Students must complete one of the following Writing Intensive Courses (WIC):

PS 419 Topics in American Politics
PS 429 Topics in Judicial Politics
PS 449 Topics in Comparative Politics
PS 459 Topics in International Relations
PS 469 Topics in Political Philosophy
PS 479 Topics in Public Policy or Public Administration

Alternatively, students can complete a three-term, three-course Senior Thesis sequence, consisting of PS 401 Research, PS 402 Independent Study, and PS 403 Thesis. To elect the Senior Thesis option, students must have a 3.0 grade point average in all Political Science course work. Please note that completing this sequence does not meet the university WIC requirement, only Political Science's capstone course requirement.

IV. Political Science Internship (4-6 credits)

All Political Science majors are required to participate in an internship, and students should meet with the Internship Coordinator before pursuing an internship. An internship has two components:

PS 410 Internship (2-12 credits; only 4 credits may be applied toward the PS major or minor); and
PS 406 Projects (2 credits)

Students can petition the Internship Coordinator in writing to accept other political field experience in lieu of the internship requirement.

V. GPA Requirement

Political Science majors are required to maintain at least a 2.5 cumulative GPA in all Political Science coursework. Students failing to maintain the minimum GPA will not be awarded a degree in this major. S/U grading (satisfactory/unsatisfactory) in Political Science courses is not allowed for the major.

NOTE: Blanket Numbered Courses

Together, internship and other blanket-numbered courses cannot exceed 12 credits applied to satisfy major requirements. Credits in excess of 12 earned in these courses do count, however, toward university graduation requirements.

PS 401 Research
PS 402 Independent Study
PS 403 Thesis
PS 405 Reading and Conference
PS 406 Projects
PS 407 Seminar
PS 408 Workshop
PS 409 Practicum
PS 410 Internship

Political Science