A political science major requires 45 hours of coursework:
- 33 hours come from political science classes (core requirements)
- 12 hours come from supporting coursework
Declaring a Concentration
All incoming students are admitted to the political science major without a declared concentration. Students may declare a concentration after they have completed three political science courses:
- PS 100 (Introduction to Political Science)
- a required political science 100- or 200-level course within the sought-for concentration*
- any political science 100- or 200-level course outside the sought-for concentration
*Students may elect the general concentration after completing PS 100 and any two 100 or 200-level courses.
If a student has completed the requirements to declare the sought-for concentration, they may contact an academic advisor to request the concentration declaration.
Concentrations
Select the concentration below to view information on the concentration's requirements, course lists, and supporting coursework.
General Political Science
The General Political Science concentration provides students with a broad understanding of government and politics, political behavior, and public policy, both in the US and around the world.
Citizen Politics
The Citizen Politics concentration focuses on the study of mass behavior and explores questions regarding how and why citizens form political attitudes and beliefs, how they engage with politics and the issues of identity.
Civic Leadership
The Civic Leadership concentration aims to provide students interested in careers in public life with an informed appreciation for American democracy, the values and structures on which it is based, and the challenges and opportunities it faces in the 21st century.
International Relations
International Relations is the study of interaction across borders of nation-states. Students explore how global, regional and domestic factors influence relations among states as well as non-state actors in the interstate system.
Law and Power
The Law and Power concentration teaches students about how power, law, and ideas about justice shape political life. Courses cover questions concerning the procedures for social and legal change, the status of citizens in social and political institutions in society, and the ways that ideology and identity categories shape the pursuit of equality and justice.
Public Policy and Democratic Institutions
This concentration explores political institutions and processes and how and why they work as they do. Students study institutions such as the presidency, Congress, courts, the bureaucracy, and political parties, with a focus on their organizing and important patterns of behavior within them.
World Politics
The World Politics concentration compares internal political dynamics and patterns of political behavior in the world's more than 200 countries. Major comparative themes include democracy, dictatorship and regime change; political institutions; voting behavior, attitudes, and the creation and dissemination of political information; religious and ethnic identity politics; political economy of development and developing countries; social change and political violence; and the impact of globalization and transnational forces such as migration.