General College Requirements

General College Requirements, including the following requirements to satisfy the major:

Breadth Requirement

Twenty-four (24) credit hours in required political science courses with at least one course in each of the four subfields of the discipline (as listed below),

• POSC 100: Introduction to Politics
• POSC 200: Scope and Methods of Political Science
• POSC 201: American Politics
• POSC 252: Comparative Politics
• POSC 262: Political Theory
• POSC 269: International Politics

Depth and Concentration Requirement

Students have the option of pursuing the general political science major or pursuing a specialized concentration within the major.

General Political Science Requirements

• Twelve (12) credit hours in upper level political science courses selected from any of the subfileds.

Concentration Requirements

• Twelve (12) credit hours in upper level courses approved for the student’s concentration. There are four concentration options available – American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Politics, and Political Theory. Courses approved for each subfield are listed in the course catalog.

Capstone Requirement

To fulfill the twelve (12) credit capstone experience in political science, students must complete one 400-level seminar course approved for their concentration. Students without a concentration may select a 400-level seminar course from any one of the four subfields (or POSC 408: Studies in Public Policy).

All students must then fulfill one of the two options listed below:

• Option One: Students must complete one additional 400-level seminar from any of the four subfields and one 300-level course. Students with a concentration must select a 300-level course approved for their concentration.*

• Option Two: Students must complete an eight (8) credit St. Mary’s Project with a mentor from the Political Science Department. Students pursuing a concentration must complete an SMP on a topic related to their chosen
  concentration. With the permission of the chair of the Political Science Department, students may do a St. Mary’s Project with a mentor in another department, provided the project topic is related in content and methodology to the discipline of political science.

Credit Requirements

• Students must earn a grade of C- or better, and maintain an overall GPA of 2.0 or better, in courses used to satisfy the major.
• The 48 credit hours of major requirements may include field experience and independentstudy approved by the department chair.

Double Majors

Environmental Studies and Political Science

• Students with a specific interest in Environmental Policy and Politics may consider a double major in Political Science and Environmental Studies. Students who complete the requirements for the Political Science major automatically satisfy the depth requirements for the Environmental Studies Public Policy and Social Science track.

*POSC 385: Topics in Political Science and Public Policy may be selected if they are approved for the student’s desired concentration.

General College Requirements

General College requirements.

Course Requirements

At least 24 credit-hours in political science as specified under the required and elective courses. The cumulative grade-point average of courses used to satisfy the minor must be at least 2.00.

• Required core course (four credit hours): POSC 100: Introduction to Politics
• Elective courses (20 credit hours) consisting of eight credit hours in political science courses at the 200-level and 12 credit hours in political science courses at the 300 or 400-level.