Requirements for the Major:
Twelve courses in the department - students must take PSC 111 or PSC 112 , PSC 113 , PSC 498 -PSC 499 (a two-term senior project), and eight other courses. No more than two of these twelve courses may be internship courses (i.e., PSC 277 , PSC 280T ). Of the eight non-specified courses at least three of the four major areas of the discipline must be covered: Political Theory (courses normally numbered in the 230’s or 330’s), U.S. Politics (courses normally in the 260’s, 270’s, 280’s, 360’s, or 370’s), Comparative Politics (courses normally in the, 240’s or 340’s) and International Politics (courses normally in the 250’s or 350’s). Introductory courses may not be used to satisfy these distribution requirements.
Students must take two courses to fulfill the department’s research requirement and to prepare for the senior project. First, all students must take at least one “R” course. The presence of the “R” designation next to a course number in the registration materials (i.e., PSC 272R) denotes that the course will have a major research assignment as a central component of the course. Second, students must take an additional “R” course, or a seminar (PSC 339 , PSC 349 , PSC 359 , PSC 369 ), or a methods course (appropriate PSC and cross-listed methods courses are listed under “Research Methods Courses” below; students may request from the political science chair that a research methods course in another department qualify as a methods course for satisfying this requirement). Both research courses should be taken by the end of the student’s junior year as preparation for the senior project (PSC 498 -PSC 499 ). Students are welcome and encouraged to take more than two research courses; these are simply minimum requirements. Please note that, normally, a GPA of 3.0 is required to gain admittance to a seminar.
Majors also must complete a foreign experience requirement. The primary option to fulfill this requirement will be the completion of a three-course language sequence. If students begin their language sequence beyond the introductory course, only two language courses are required. We recommend that all political science students begin a language track early in their academic career and do not wait until senior year. The foreign experience requirement can also be completed by going on a full-length term abroad (mini-terms will not fulfill this requirement). We strongly advise students to not count on acceptance into a term abroad program as they have highly competitive application processes. If students make the decision not to start a language early and are not admitted to a full-length term abroad, they will not be guaranteed the language of their choice if they must fulfill the language requirement in their senior year.
Majors are also required to take at least two courses in any of the other social sciences (economics, history, sociology, and anthropology) and/or psychology and philosophy.
Any request for exceptions to these requirements must be approved by the department chair.
Requirements for Honors:
To receive departmental honors the student must fulfill the following requirements: (1) a minimum index of 3.30 in political science (3.50 beginning with the Class of 2017); (2) completion of a political science seminar with a grade of “A minus” or better; (3) a grade of “A minus” or higher on the senior project, and (4) delivery of an oral presentation of the senior project research at the Steinmetz Symposium unless exceptional circumstances warrant an alternative forum. Students who do not attain an A minus or better grade in the seminar may still be eligible for honors if their departmental grade point average is a 3.5 or higher (3.70 beginning with the Class of 2017). In addition the student must satisfy College requirements for departmental honors, which are described in the Academic Policies section of this catalog. Please note: you must take a seminar to get honors.
Course Selection Guidelines
Placement: Students who received a score of 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement exam for U.S. Government and Politics may earn credit for PSC 111 . Students who earned a 4 or 5 on the Comparative Government and Politics Advanced Placement exam may earn one political science course credit (specifically, PSC 005; the course topic is thus unspecified). Credits earned from Advanced Placement exams can count toward the Political Science major or minor.
Course Numbering: These guidelines are offered so that students may make informed choices in the selection of courses appropriate to their level of education. 200-level political science courses are oriented towards a wide student audience from across the College whereas 300-level courses are focused more on advanced political science issues and therefore are more appropriate for upperclass political science majors as well as interested juniors and seniors from other majors. More specific descriptions of 200- and 300-level courses in specific subfields of political science appear below.
It is important for students to know that 200-level courses are not “easier” than 300-level courses in terms of reading load, course assignments, or the amount of work and effort expected of students. That said, as a general rule, 300-level courses will be more theoretically and/or conceptually challenging. Non-majors are welcome, but should understand that such courses typically will demand that students embrace key theories, concepts, frameworks, and/or methods in the discipline.
Requirements for Secondary School Certification in Social Studies:
PSY 246 , EDS 500A, EDS 500B, EDS 500C and at least one year of a foreign language. PSC 281 is strongly recommended. Required political science courses are identical to those of the major. Majors seeking social studies certification are required to take at least seven courses in the Department of History and at least one course from both the Department of Economics and the Departments of Sociology and Anthropology.
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