Political Science, BA

Program Description:

Students of political science study governments: how they evolve, why they exist, the forms and social functions they assume, why they change, and who controls them. To understand governments, students of political science also study politics: how people behave in their relationship to government, what they do to influence government, and how government attempts to influence people’s behavior and beliefs about what it does. Students of politics also must appreciate how cultural, historical, and economic forces affect the evolution of governments and mass political behavior.

The Bachelor of Arts program in political science focuses on three areas of instruction:

1. American government, including legislative and executive institutions, political parties and interest groups, public administration, public opinion and elections, and state and urban government; and public law, including constitutional law, criminal justice, civil liberties, and environmental law
2. International relations and comparative politics, including American and post-Soviet foreign policy; European and Latin American governments; Middle East, Russian, and Asian governments; African politics; national security policy; terrorism; international political economy; and developing political systems
3. Political philosophy, theory, and analysis, including feminist theory, political philosophy, political ideologies, the history of political thought, and political analysis; and quantitative methods of political research

Program Learning Outcomes:

• Be effective writers
• Be able to produce analytical work across the spectrum of domestic and international political issues

Departmental Honors

Majors in political science may earn departmental honors by completing the following requirements:

1. Achieving a minimum GPA of 3.4 in all political science course work and in overall course work
2. Attaining senior standing
3. Completing the Model United Nations Seminar or a comparable limited enrollment advanced course with a grade of A or B (see the department chair for more information), or

By completing these requirements and the eight-course Honors Program requirement, majors may earn the designation “University Honors Scholar” upon graduation. Interested students should contact the University Honors Program for more information.