Chairperson: Jennie Schulze, Ph.D.
Political Science students learn about political leaders, institutions, processes, and values in the United States and other countries. Politics is an expression of mankind's deepest human concerns for justice, freedom, equality and order. Students will gain understanding of democratic and authoritarian politics, elections and campaigns, domestic and foreign policy making, national and international conflicts, and political institutions and law.
Learning Objectives
- Students are able to identify and understand how key actors, processes, ideas, and institutions shape domestic and international politics.
- Students communicate political concepts, theories and policies clearly, logically, and effectively in both oral and written communication.
- Students are able to apply core concepts, theories, and research methods to analyze domestic and international politics.
Requirements for the Major
30 credits required for B.A.
Required Core Courses (15 credits)
POSC 105 American National Government, 3 credits
POSC 208 Politics of Great Powers, 3 credits OR POSC 209 Politics of Emerging Powers, 3 credits
POSC 245 International Relations, 3 credits
POSC 298 Introduction to Political Analysis, 3 credits
POSC 317 Western Political Thought I, 3 credits OR POSC 318 Western Political Thought II, 3 credits
Elective Courses (15 credits)
Any political science courses (other than required courses)
No more than 6 elective credits at the 100 level
Capstone: At least 3 of the 15 elective credits must be at the 400 level (other than
POSC 400 and POSC 430) and taken for a letter grade (not P/F)
Concentrations
Political science majors may choose from the following three concentrations (but are not required to have a concentration).
American Politics
International Politics
Law and Politics
Fifteen elective credits must come from the list of approved concentration courses listed below. Special Topics courses in political science may count with the approval of the Chair of the Political Science Department. Multiple concentrations are permitted.
American Politics
105: American National Government
202: State and Local Politics
203: American Congress
220: Politics of Public Finance
235: Media and Politics
276: Elections, Campaigns, and Voting
290: American Political Thought
292W: Public Policy
294: The American Presidency
294W: American Presidency
303: Politics of Immigration (Can count for either International Politics or American
Politics concentration – no double counting for double concentrators)
307, Groups and Identities in American Politics
406W: Social and Public Policy Analysis
409: Public Administration
International Politics
110: Current Problems in International Politics
116: Current Challenges for Liberal Democracies
208: Politics of Great Powers (if not taken as required course)
209: Politics of Emerging Powers (if not taken as required course)
245: International Relations
255: American Foreign Policy
303: Politics of Immigration (Can count for either International Politics or American
Politics concentration – no double counting for double concentrators)
321: Politics of Russia and Eastern Europe
345W: Security Ethics
408W: Democracy, Security and World Politics
419W: Nationalism, Ethnicity and Conflict
497: Advanced IR Theory
Law and Politics
214: Politics, Religion, and First Amendment Rights
215: National Security and Liberty
301: Introduction to Legal Education, the Life of Lawyers and the Legal Profession
326W: Constitutional Law and Politics: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
327W: Constitutional Law and Politics: The Powers of Government
385: International Law and Organization
413W: Human Rights: Politics and Policy
448W: American Presidents and the Constitution
EQ 105: Law + Morality = ?
Minors
Non-Political Science majors may choose from the following minors:
American Politics
International Politics
Law & Politics
Political Science
For International Relations and International Security Studies majors, up to six credits of cross-listed POSC/IR courses from the lists of approved courses below may count towards political science minors, with approval of the political science chair.
Political Science Minor (general): 15 credits
Any 15 political science credits; no more than 3 credits at the 100 level.
American Politics Minor: 15 credits
Any 15 political science credits from the approved list of courses below. Special Topics courses in political science may count with the approval of the Chair of the Political Science Department.
1105: American National Government
202: State and Local Politics
203: American Congress
215: National Security and Liberty
220: Politics of Public Finance
235: Media and Politics
276: Elections, Campaigns, and Voting
290: American Political Thought
292W: Public Policy
294: The American Presidency
294W: American Presidency
303: Politics of Immigration
307: Groups and Identities in American Politics
406W: Social and Public Policy Analysis
409: Public Administration
International Politics Minor: 15 credits
Any 15 political science credits from the approved list of courses below. Special Topics courses in political science may count with the approval of the Chair of the Political Science Department.
110: Current Problems in International Politics
116: Current Challenges for Liberal Democracies
208: Politics of Great Powers
209: Politics of Emerging Powers
245: International Relations
255: American Foreign Policy
303: Politics of Immigration
321: Politics of Russia and Eastern Europe
408W: Democracy, Conflict and World Politics
419W: Nationalism, Ethnicity and Conflict
497: Advanced IR Theory
Law and Politics Minor:
Any 15 political science credits from the approved list of courses below. Special Topics courses in political science may count with the approval of the Chair of the Political Science Department.
214: Politics, Religion, and First Amendment Rights
215: National Security and Liberty
301: Introduction to Legal Education, the Life of Lawyers, and the Legal Profession
326W: Constitutional Law: Civil Liberty/Rights (if not taken as required minor course)
327W: Constitutional Law: Powers of Govt. (if not taken as required minor course)
385: International Law and Organization
413W: Human Rights: Politics and Policy
448W: American Presidents and the Constitution
EQ 105: Law + Morality = ?
Up to 6 credits from the approved list below may also count toward the Law & Politics minor with the approval of the Chair of the Political Science Department.
PHILOSOPHY 106- Introduction to Logic (3 credits)
PHILOSOPHY 260- Philosophy of Law (3 credits)
PHILOSOPHY 108- Business Ethics (3 credits)
BLAW 251- Business Law (3 credits)
BLAW 351- Fundamentals of Logic (3 credits)
BLAW 353W- Contracts (3 credits)
BLAW 354- Commercial Transactions (3 credits)
BLAW 355W- Law of Business Organization (3 credits)
BLAW 357- Real Estate Law (3 credits)
BLAW 454- Law of International Commercial Transactions (3 credits)
BLAW 456- Legal Aspects of Human Resources (3 credits)
ACCT 414- Corporate/Partnership Tax (3 credits)
SPMK 470- Legal Env. Sports Mgmt. Mktg. (3 credits)
FORE 101-Intro to Forensic Sci & Criminal Law (2 credits)
FORE 201-Philosophical Ethics of Law & Science (2 credits)
FORE 401-American Legal History (1 credit)
FORE 402-Torts (1 credit)
FORE 421-Environmental Law (1 credit)
HLTM 477 Legal Issues in Healthcare (2 credits)
PHBA 340W- Pharmacy Law & Ethics (2 credits)
PHBA 412W-Advanced Law & Ethics Applications (2 credits)
PHBA 425 Health Policy, Ethics and the Law (2 credits)
PHYT 421W- Principles of Practice III: Ethical, Moral and Legal Issues (1 credit)
Political Science Majors and Non-Political Science majors may minor in the following:
Public Policy Minor
Required Core Courses (minimum required – 6 credits)
The following courses may double count for the Political Science Major and the Public Policy Minor. These are the only courses that may double count.
POSC105 American National Government
POSC292W Public Policy
Elective Courses – 12 credits
Students must complete one 3 credit course in each of the following areas from the list of approved courses below. Special Topics courses may be approved by the Chair of the Political Science Department. Students may not double count courses to fulfill multiple area requirements.
Policy Area Courses (minimum required – 3 credits)
ECN331 Environmental Economics and Policy
GLBH210/HLTM210/PBHL201 Introduction to Public Health
GLBH425 Health Policy, Ethics and Law
GLBH441 Health Care Ethics and Public Policy
HADM311W/PBHL310 Healthcare Law and Policy
PJCR371/SOCI371 Race, Crime and Justice
POSC202 State and Local Government
POSC303 Politics of Immigration
POSC422W American Defense Policy
SOCI304 Introduction to Peace and Justice
SOCI309 Social Stratification
SOCI312 The American Drug Problem
SOCI409 Correctional Policy and Practice
SOCI415 Health, Illness and Social Policy
SOCI416 Minorities and Public Policy
SOCI421 Criminal Justice Policy
Interpersonal Communication Skills (minimum required – 3 credits)
CATH322/COMM307 Public Advocacy
COMM208W Advanced Public Speaking
COMM350 Communication and Community Relations
COMM369 Urban Communication
COMM445 Non-Profit Development and Philanthropy Communication
ENGL460W Writing and Social Justice*
MGMT261 Management and Organizational Behavior
WSGS422 Communication and Gender
Analytical and Research Skills – (minimum required – 3 credits)
ASPR 367 Applied Media and Audience Research
BLAW351 Fundamentals of Logic
BUBA285 Foundations of Business Analytics
CECT350 Data Visualization
COMM422 Communication Research Methods
DTSC110 Introduction to Data Science
ECON353 Public Economics
ECON481W Econometrics
ENGL326W Legal Research and Writing
GLBH340 Research Ethics for Global Health
HIST206 Introduction to Oral History
HIST330 Grant Writing in the Humanities
MATH125 Fundamentals of Statistics
PBHL325 Introduction to Health Economics
PBHL401W Research Methods
PHIL106 Logic
POSC298 Introduction to Political Analysis*
POSC300 Research in Political Science*
PSYC201 Research Methods in Psychology*
SOCI201 Research Methods*
SOCI202 Quantitative Analysis
SOCI404 The Social Landscape
Experiential Learning Requirement - (minimum required - 3 credits)
Tailored to individual students’ academic programs and career goals, the experiential learning requirement may be fulfilled through an internship, an approved community engaged class, or a service learning project approved by the Chair of the Political Science Department. Students are required to find their own experience. This requirement must be fulfilled separately from the above listed requirements. The goal of this requirement is to provide students with an opportunity to use knowledge and practice skills gained in other settings.