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The Department of Political Science requires its majors to complete a minimum of 11 courses in Political Science, including the Junior Year Writing and Integrative Experience requirements.  All courses counted toward the Major must be taken for a letter grade, and no fewer than six of the eleven required political science courses must be taken within the Department.  Students must maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA within the major as well as overall at the University in order to graduate.
 
Required introductory courses:
Three 100-level Political Science courses as follows (one in each category):
1.  POLISCI 101 American Politics, POLSCI 162 Introduction to Constitutional Law or
POLSCI 181 Controversies in Public Policy
2.  POLISCI 111 Comparative Politics or POLSCI 121 World Politics
3.  POLISCI 171 Introduction to Political Theory
Students may substitute another 100- level class not listed above for one of these requirements with advance approval from the Chief Undergraduate Advisor.

Minimum GPA or grades in prerequisite courses (if any):
Students must achieve a cumulative average of a C across the three required 100-level courses described above.

Upper-level Requirement

Eight (8) courses at the 200-level or above, at least 4 of which must be at the 300-level or above.  The Junior Year Writing course (399J) and the Integrative Experience course may be counted among these eight courses.  

Not more than one of these courses can be an independent study course or a graded internship.  Honors research, Honors Project, and Honors Thesis courses (POLSCI 499Y, POLSCI 499P, POLSCI 499T) are in addition to the 11-course requirement for the major.

Honors Program
The Political Science Honors Program is open to majors who have a grade point average of 3.400 or higher and who are in Commonwealth Honors College. Students are admitted to this program on application and, once accepted, they fulfill part of their departmental and college requirements with honors courses. These requirements include eight honors courses (three in the department) including an Honors Project (paper in a political science senior seminar or special capstone course sequence) or eight honors courses (two in the department) including an independent Honors Thesis. Political Science majors who complete this program as part of their Commonwealth Honors College requirements with a GPA of 3.400 or better may graduate with Departmental Honors and Commonwealth College Honors. Distinctions may be achieved for excellence in the capstone, project or thesis, combined with higher overall GPAs. For detailed information on diploma and transcript recognitions, and for criteria required to graduate with Latin honors, see the “University Graduation Requirements” section of this Guide. Enrollment preference in Honors courses is given to Commonwealth College and Political Science Department Honors students. More information is available from the department’s Honors Coordinator or on the department's website.

Education Abroad and Exchanges
Numerous opportunities are available for study at other institutions, including members of the local Five College Consortium, North American colleges and universities participating in the National Student Exchange, and a variety of foreign universities.

Questions about the applicability of exchange credits to the major should be directed to the department’s chief undergraduate advisor. Up to five Political Science courses may be taken in this manner. Students should consult with the department’s counseling office on course selection before starting the exchange.

Related Programs
Many certificate programs are available to undergraduates in fields closely related to Political Science, including the Five College International Relations Certificate and, Film Studies Certificate, and certificates in African Studies; Criminal Justice; Public Policy and Administration; Middle Eastern Studies; Latin American, Caribbean & Latino Studies, among others. Students also may pursue minors in conjunction with their Political Science major in such areas as Communication, Economics, Information Technology (IT), Journalism, Sociology, and Women’s Studies.

Internships
Several types of internships are available to Political Science majors.  Students regularly intern with government institutions at all levels, non-profit advocacy groups, research organizations, and other agencies with public service functions (including law offices).  Internships are designed to enable students to earn graduation credits while employed temporarily in a professional position to gain work experience. More information about internships is available from the department’s internship coordinator.