Majors in Political Science seek to understand the dynamics of politics and policy. They will build competencies across a common core plus concentration electives, and capstone courses.
Political Science majors focus their upper-level courses in one of the following concentrations:
43-55
Common Core, 19 credits
The Political Science common core, required of all majors, features a course introducing the discipline and one course in each subfield, along with research methods.
Electives, 6 credits
Political Science majors take two elective courses, with at least 3 credits at 300/400 level.
| | Any POLS courses; at least 3 credits at 300/400 level | 6 |
Capstone, 3-15 credit hours
Political science majors complete a senior capstone (internship or thesis) which should be selected upon completion of 60 total credit hours. The internship is variable depending on the interest of the student and needs of the sponsor(s) from 3-15 credit hours, but no more than 12 internship hours may be taken in one semester or term. Alternatively, a student may select the thesis option which is a 3 credit hour research paper.
| POLS 404 | Senior Thesis in Government and Politics | 3 |
| POLS 478 | Internship in Government, Politics, or Non-Profit Organizations | 3-12 |
Additional capstone options for the Global Politics and International Affairs concentration are EURO 369: Professional Experience and EURO 479: Practical Experience.
Students wishing to pursue foreign language proficiency should discuss the Bachelor of Arts option with an advisor.
Concentration 1: American Government and Politics (15 credits)
Institutions and processes, at least one course from each area (12 credits)
Institutions (3-9 credits)
Processes (3-9 credits)
Non-Federal (3 credits)
| POLS 337 | State and Local Politics | 3 |
| POLS 338 | Urban Issues and Governance | 3 |
| POLS 435 | Controversies in Federalism | 3 |
| POLS 466 | Administrative Problems in State Government | 3 |
POLS 403 (Issues in Political Science), POLS 405 (Reading and Special Study), POLS 407 (Workshop in Political Science) can replace required courses, if they cover American government and politics.
Concentration 2: Global Politics and International Affairs (15 credits)
International Relations and Comparative Politics, choose at least two courses from each
International Relations (6-9 credits)
Comparative Politics (6-9 credits)
POLS 403 (Issues in Political Science), POLS 405 (Reading and Special Study), POLS 407 (Workshop in Political Science) can replace required courses, if they cover global politics and international affairs.
Concentration 3: Public and Non-Profit Administration (15 credits)
Concentration 3 Core (12 credits)
Concentration 3 Elective (3 credits)
| POLS 406 | Issues in Public Administration | 3 |
| POLS 435 | Controversies in Federalism | 3 |
| POLS 453 | Public and Non-Profit Human Resources | 3 |
| POLS 447 | Environmental Law and Policy | 3 |
| POLS 455 | Administrative Law | 3 |
| POLS 456 | Equal Employment Opportunity and Discrimination Law | 3 |
| POLS 460 | Social Entrepreneurship and Change | 3 |
| POLS 466 | Administrative Problems in State Government | 3 |
POLS 405 (Reading and Special Study) and POLS 407 (Workshop in Political Science) can replace required courses, if they cover public administration and policy.