Curriculum
Major Course of Study Requirements
To graduate with a major in political science, a student must complete 43 credit hours distributed as follows. Students must earn a grade of C or better for all major courses. The core consists of HPSC 228 Comparative Politics, HPSC 251 National Government of the United States, HPSC 253 Scope and Methods in Political Science, HPSC 253L Scope and Methods Data Lab, HPSC 285 Introduction to International Relations, HPSC 294 Introduction to Political Theory, HPSC 348 American Constitutional Law, HPSC 497 Senior Seminar in Political Science, HECO 201 Macroeconomics and HECO 202 Microeconomics. In addition, there are 12 hours of electives and three hours of a special skills course that are required for completion of the major.
General Education (Core)
33-48 hours
Refer to the general education requirements for more information.
Political Science Major
42 hours
Core Curriculum
- HPSC 228—
Comparative Politics
- HPSC 251— National Government of the United States
- HPSC 253— Scope and Methods in Political Science
- HPSC 253L— Scope and Methods Data Lab
- HPSC 285— Introduction to International Relations
- HPSC 294— Introduction to Political Theory
- HPSC 348— American Constitutional Law
- HPSC 497— Senior Seminar in Political Science
Cognate Courses
- HECO 201— Macroeconomics
- HECO 202— Microeconomics
Special Skills Requirement (choose one course)
- HCOM 253— Public Speaking
- HCOM 351— Professional Communication
- HCOM 352— Communication in Small Groups and Teams
- HCOM 354— Intercultural Communication
- HCOM 355— Argumentation and Debate
Approved Electives
Each student is required to choose four upper-level courses. These courses can come from any subject area: American government and politics, comparative politics, international relations, and political theory. Students may take only one of these four courses outside of the department—whether through cross-registration, study abroad, or transfer. Directed study and internships do not count as one of these courses. HPSC 351— Introduction to Moot Court does count as one of these courses. HPSC 354— Moot Court Skills Practicum does not count as one of these courses.
American Government and Politics
- HPSC 321— The American Presidency
- HPSC 322— The American Congress
- HPSC 350— Race and Law
- HPSC 351— Introduction to Moot Court
- HPSC 371— Introduction to Public Management
- HPSC 372— Urban Management and Policy Analysis
- HPSC 410— Political Parties, Elections, and Interest Groups
- HPSC 411— Financial Management in Local Government
- HPSC 429— Seminar in Policy and Urban Politics
- HPSC 460— Black Politics
Comparative Politics
- HPSC 302— Third World Politics
- HPSC 475— Latin American Politics
- HPSC 476— Political Anthropology
- HPSC 477— Contemporary African Politics
- HPSC 486— Political Ideologies
International Relations
- HPSC 385— Theories of International Relations
- HPSC 468— Seminar on International Security after the Cold War
- HPSC 479— Comparative Foreign Policy
- HPSC 482— International Ethics
- HPSC 484— International Law
- HPSC 487— International Organizations
- HPSC 488— International Political Economy
- HPSC 489— Problems of International Politics
- HPSC 490— Conflict and Conflict Resolution
- HPSC 491— Diplomacy
Political Theory
- HPSC 361— Ethics and Public Policy
- HPSC 461— History of Political Thought
- HPSC 462— Modern Political Theory
- HPSC 463— Contemporary Theories of Justice
- HPSC 464— Black Political Thought
- HPSC 482— International Ethics
- HPSC 486— Political Ideologies
