Political Science, BA

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Department of Political Science, College of Humanities and Social Sciences

60 credits

Admission and Declaration Process

Declaration of Major

Grade Requirements

A grade of C- or better is required for a student’s major or minor courses, and supporting courses for majors and minors.

Requirements

PLSC 101, 366, 435, 443, 444, 447, 448, and 491 credits apply toward the major but do not count in any field. No more than 10 credits of internship or independent study may be counted toward the major.

Students select a first, second and third field of study from the three fields listed below
- American Politics and Public Policy
- Political Theory
- International and Comparative Politics
Core courses in each of the three fields are required. They are:
- PLSC 250 for American Politics and Public Policy
- PLSC 261 for Political Theory
- PLSC 271 or PLSC 291 for International and Comparative Politics
In the three fields, the students must complete:
- 15 credits in the first field plus required core course
- 10 credits in the second field plus required core course
- 4 credits in the third field plus required core course
- One course from:
  PLSC 431, PLSC 432, PLSC 433, PLSC 434

Courses in the three fields are organized as follows:

Departmental Honors

Entrance requirements

Students must satisfy the following eligibility requirements prior to registration for PLSC 496 Honors Tutorial. The student must:

Be a declared political science major with senior standing
Have a 3.50 GPA in all upper-division political science courses
Have completed both of the following:
Core requirements for the major (PLSC 250, PLSC 261, and PLSC 271 or 291)
Credit requirements in the area most closely related to the thesis topic
Have completed one of the following:
Two years of foreign language with a B (3.0) or better GPA; the Honors advisor, at his or her discretion, may choose to waive this requirement for students who demonstrate a satisfactory reading knowledge of the language
PLSC 366 Research in Politics, or an equivalent class in social statistics under advisement, and earn a grade of B (3.0) or better
Submit the completed Honors Contract to the political science department office with proper faculty signatures

Completion Requirements

To graduate with honors in political science the student must:

Maintain a 3.50 grade point average in all upper-division political science courses
Complete 4-10 credits of PLSC 496 Honors Tutorial over two quarters under the supervision of a faculty thesis advisor
Give an oral presentation of the thesis in arrangement with the faculty thesis advisor
Submit a copy of the honors thesis to the political science department office before the final grade is assigned

University Graduation Requirements

General University Requirements (GURS)
Writing Proficiency Requirement (WP)
180 Minimum Total Credits
60 Minimum Upper Division Credits
Residency Requirement
Minimum Grade Requirements
Final Quarter Requirement