Political Science, BA or BS; Global Politics Concentration

Print Degree Planner (opens a new window) |

The optional Global Politics concentration of the Political Science major requires 30-33 credits of core political science courses, 15 credits of courses focusing on regional area studies, and 9 credits of courses focusing on transnational communities and related issues.

The Political Science major also offers an option with no concentration (Political Science, BA or BS ) and a Pre-Law Concentration option (

Political Science, BA or BS; Pre-Law Concentration

Political science majors may earn either the Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts degree.

No grade below “C-” will be accepted for courses applied to the major.

Civitae Core Requirements (39-40 credits)

Civitae Core Curriculum

Political Science majors in the Global Politics concentration may count Civitae Core courses satisfying major requirements as also satisfying their respective Civitae Core requirements, up to two Pillar courses and one Perspectives course. The following are the courses in this major that may be used in this way:

POSC 200 can satisfy the Global Citizenship Pillar requirement, for students who place into a 211-level language course or above
POSC 100 can satisfy the Human Behavior and Social Institutions Pillar requirement
MATH 171 can satisfy the Quantitative Reasoning Pillar requirement
A 212-level language course can satisfy the World Languages Perspectives requirement

Courses satisfying major requirements that are designated as Civitae Core courses subsequent to the print deadline of this Catalog will not appear in the above listings but will be eligible to also satisfy Civitae Core requirements, subject to the same rules as the others. (If doing so would otherwise decrease the total credits required for the degree below 120, General Elective credit must be substituted to restore the total.)

Additional Degree Requirements

Additional Degree Requirements BA degree/3 credits

Additional Degree Requirements BS degree/3-4 credits

Major Requirements (56-59 credits)

Some courses that meet major requirements are also designated Civitae Core Curriculum courses; such courses taken to meet Civitae Core requirements will be considered to also satisfy the associated major requirements (up to two Foundations pillars and one Perspectives course).

Core Political Science Courses (30-33 credits, plus additional 6 credits in Civitae)

HIST 308 - United States Diplomatic History 3 credits.
MATH 171 - Statistical Decision Making 3 credits
POSC 100 - The American Political System 3 credits
POSC 200 - Global Politics 3 credits
POSC 250 - Political Science Research Methods 3 credits
POSC 305 - International Relations 3 credits
POSC 331 - Ancient and Medieval Political Philosophy 3 credits
POSC 332 - Modern Political Philosophy 3 credits
POSC 343 - American Foreign Policy 3 credits
POSC 442 - International Law 3 credits
POSC 443 - United States Foreign Policy and National Security: 1990-Present 3 credits.
POSC 455 - Constitutional Law 3 credits
Students must complete one modern language course at the 212 level or higher - 3 credits

Regional and Area Studies (15 credits)

Choose 15 credits from the following:

POSC 314 - Political History of Africa 3 credits
POSC 335 - Western European Politics and Government 3 credits
POSC 375 - Latin American Politics and Government 3 credits
HIST 241 - Colonial Latin America 3 credits.
HIST 330 - History of Central Asia and Afghanistan 3 credits.
HIST 336 - History of Japan 3 credits.
HIST 339 - Conflict in the Modern Middle East 3 credits.
HIST 341 - East Africa: Pre-History to the Present 3 credits.
HIST 356 - Europe in the Twentieth Century, 1900 to the Present 3 credits.
HIST 360 - Russia Since 1861 3 credits.
HIST 375 - Modern Germany 3 credits.

Transnational Community and Issues (9 credits)

Choose nine credits from the following:

POSC 270 - Introduction to Public Administration 3 credits
POSC 360 - Citizen Politics 3 credits.
POSC 420 - Democracy and Democratization 3 credits.
ECON 218 - Principles of Macroeconomics 3 credits
GEOG 352 - World Regional Geography 3 credits
HIST 338 - History of Islamic Civilizations 3 credits

Senior Seminar (1 credit)

POSC 461 - Senior Seminar 1 credit

One credit from one of the following three courses

POSC 490 - Directed or Independent Study in Political Science 1-6 credits
POSC 492 - Internship in Political Science 1-15 credits
POSC 498 - Senior Thesis in Political Science 3 credits (must be approved by the Senior Honors Research Committee)
**A minimum GPA of 2.5 is required to enroll in an internship.

General Electives (17-22 credits)

Total Credits Required

BA and BS in Political Science with a Concentration in Global Politics 120