PSC Major Requirements

General Requirements

For the Political Science major a Columbian College student must complete the general education curriculum requirements and meet the residency, GPA, and hour requirements. If you are in another division of the university, the Columbian College core requirements do not apply.

Political Science Requirements

Complete three Political Science Intro courses, 30 hours (10 courses) in upper level or 2000, 3000 and 4000 level coursework in Political Science that meet the group distribution requirement and include a Pro-Seminar (PSC 3992), and six courses in the Social Sciences that include at least 6 credits of ECON or 6 credits of HIST.
» PSC checklist

Sample syllabi for many PSC courses can be downloaded here.

Intro courses

Note:

1. A score of 4 or 5 on the AP US Government exam gives credit for PSC 1002.
2. A score of 4 or 5 on the AP Comparative Politics exam gives credit for PSC 1001.
3. PSC 1011 and PSC 1012, Politics and Values, count as PSC 1001, PSC 1002, and PSC 1003 as well as one Upper level Group E class.
4. Honors Introduction to Comparative Politics counts as PSC 1001.
5. Honors Intro to American Politics and Government counts as PSC 1002.
6. Honors Introduction to International Relations counts as PSC 1003.

Political Science Upper level Requirements

Thirty hours of upper level or 2000, 3000 and 4000 level PSC courses must include:

1. At least one course from each of Group A, Group B, Group C, Group D, and Group E
2. A Pro-seminar
3. Four PSC upper level electives (from any group or groups)

Group A, Comparative Politics

Note: PSC 1001 or the equivalent is a pre-requisite to all Group A courses.

At least one of the following courses:

Group B, American Government and Politics

Note: PSC 1002 or the equivalent is a pre-requisite to all Group B courses.

At least one of the following courses:

Group C, International Politics, Law, and Organizations

Note: PSC 1003 or IAFF 1005 or the equivalent is a pre-requisite to all Group C courses

At least one of the following courses:

Group D, Research Methods

At least one of the following courses:

Note:

1. PSC 2104 is restricted to students with a declared Public Policy focus in PSC.
2. PSC 2101 is restricted to at least junior standing.
3. The following courses waive the PSC 2101 requirement: SOC 2101, SMPA 2151, PSYC 2101.
4. A student making the substitution for PSC 2101 must take an additional PSC upper level elective class, i.e., thirty hours of upper level PSC credits are required for the major.

Group E, Political Thought:

At least one of the following courses:

One Pro-seminar, PSC 3192W

Note:

1. All PSC 3192W sections are WID classes
2. PSC 3192W is restricted to declared PSC majors with at least junior standing with priority given to those with senior standing.
3. A senior PSC major may, with the permission of the professor teaching the course, complete a graduate class to substitute for PSC 3192W. Graduate classes do not count as WIDs.

Four PSC Upper level electives

1. These may come from any group or groups.
2. Transfer credit listed as PSC 1099 counts as upper level elective credit hours towards the major.
3. A maximum of three credits of PSC 2987, Internship, will count towards the upper level PSC electives.

Other PSC Upper level Classes

1. PSC 1099 can be counted as an upper level Political Science elective when a student transfers the credit from a Study Abroad or another institution.
2. PSC 4991, Independent Study: A senior PSC major may enroll in PSC 4991 provided the student has a full time Political Science professor to sponsor the independent study, is researching a topic not on the regular PSC course list, and has developed a syllabus and planned course work equivalent to the number of credits of PSC 4991 enrolled in.

Six courses (18 credit hours) in the social sciences outside PSC

1. Two of these courses (6 credits) must be HIST or ECON.
2. For this requirement any course on the CCAS Social and Behavioral Sciences GCR counts with the exception of PSC. Any HIST, WSTU, PSTD, or IAFF class also counts towards this requirement.