Academic Register 2014-2015 
    
    Nov 28, 2024  
Academic Register 2014-2015 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Political Science, B.A.


Requirements for the Interdepartmental Major:


Eight courses in the department, which must include the following courses. To fulfill the research requirement Interdepartmental majors must take at least one “R” course. ID majors must also fulfill the foreign experience requirement described above. Internship courses, such as PSC 277  and PSC 280T  , may not be counted toward the eight courses required for the interdepartmental major. Students considering interdepartmental majors must petition the department for approval of their proposed course programs.

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.

Interdepartmental Political Science Majors Seeking Secondary School Certification:


Students must be interdepartmental majors in political science and history. In addition, students must take at least one course from each of the remaining social science departments (economics, sociology, and anthropology).