Political Science Major

Political Science Major Requirements

Political Science majors complete 39 credits in political science. In addition, majors must satisfy the University Studies and College of Arts and Sciences Distribution Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts degree. Students must maintain at least a 2.0 GPA in the major in order to graduate.

Political Science Major forms

PSC major tracking form
The major change/declaration and student leave of absence/withdrawal forms are available under Student Forms

Program options

Full time undergraduate—for traditional, undergraduate degree seekers.

Online bachelor's degree—earn 120 credits online or transfer up to 75 credits from a regionally accredited institution to earn your BA in Political Science. Learn more about this fully online program.

Foundation Courses

Twelve (12) credits required. These foundation courses should generally be taken in the first or second year:

PSC 101 Introduction to American Politics
PSC 151 Introduction to Comparative Politics
PSC 161 Introduction to International Relations
PSC 171 Introduction to Political Theory

Research Methods

Three (3) credits required.

PSC 349 Political Science Research Methods
NOTE: PSC 249 Intermediate Writing in Political Science meets the University Studies 1.C Intermediate Writing requirement and is a pre-requsite for PSC 349

Internship

Three (3) internship credits are required; up to fifteen (15) Internship credits may be earned.

Recommended in senior year; may be waived in lieu of a study abroad of at least 4-weeks duration plus an upper-division course in PSC. See the PSC Internship page for more information.

PSC 305 Political Science Internship

Specialized Courses

Seven (7) specialized courses, for a total of twenty-one (21) credits. Specialized PSC courses must be above the 100 level, not including PSC 249, PSC 349, or PSC 305.

A maximum of 2 of the 7 PSC specialized courses can be completed at PSC 200 level
A minimum of 2 of the 7 PSC specialized courses must be completed at PSC 400 level

The specialized courses must be taken in a minimum of 2 of the 4 main subfields: American Politics/Policy, Comparative Politics, International Relations, Political Theory

Examples of Specialized Courses include:

American Politics/Policy