Minor in Political Science–Requirement
Nothing needs to be done to designate you as a minor in Political Science or a related sub-field in advance of completing the requirements for the minor. After you have satisfactorily completed the course requirements, or in the semester in which you are taking the last of the courses necessary to satisfy the minor requirements, bring a copy of your transcript and your current semester’s course schedule to the Political Science Counseling Office (room 222, Thompson) or, the Undergraduate Office (room, 218, Thompson) where a staff person/adviser will certify that you have met the requirements, or will have met them when that semester’s courses have been satisfactorily completed. Then you must return the signed Minor Form to the Undergraduate Records Office (207 Whitmore Administration Building), where your minor will be recorded.
The following is a list of concentrations for you to select from:
American Politics Concentration
Comparative Politics and Area Studies Concentration
International Relations Concentration
Public Law Concentration
Political Theory Concentration
Public Administration/Public Policy Concentration
General Concentration
American Politics Concentration
Especially desirable for students majoring in professions (e.g. engineering, business, public health, education) in which governmental policy plays an increasingly important role.
PoliSci 101—American Politics
plus at least 4 of the following:
PoliSci 203—American Political Thought
PoliSci 208—Political Parties and Elections
PoliSci 214—Urban Government and Politics
PoliSci 219—State and Local Government
PoliSci 302—The American Presidency
PoliSci 305—Congress and the Legislative Process
PoliSci 307—Black Politics
PoliSci 308—Public Opinion in Politics
PoliSci 317—Massachusetts Politics
Comparative Politics and Area Studies Concentration
Especially desirable for students who intend to continue their studies abroad, those interested in the foreign service, international business, and language majors who want to know more about the culture and politics of the region where their language predominates.
PoliSci 111—Comparative Politics
plus at least 4 of the following:
PoliSci 236—Russian Politics
PoliSci 239—Government and Politics of Western Europe
PoliSci 245—Government and Politics of English-speaking Caribbean
PoliSci 249—Canadian Politics
PoliSci 255—American Foreign Policy
PoliSci 331—Political Development and Modernization
PoliSci 332—Government and Politics of Scandinavia
PoliSci 335—Governments of East Central Europe
PoliSci 336—After Communism
PoliSci 338—Nationalism, Ethnicity and Identity in Politics
PoliSci 340—Government and Politics of Latin America
PoliSci 341—Government and Politics of Central America & Hispanic Caribbean
PoliSci 343—Government and Politics of East Africa
PoliSci 344—Political Systems of Spain and Portugal
PoliSci 346—Government and Politics of West Africa
PoliSci 385—Comparative Public Policy
International Relations Concentration
Especially desirable for students interested in the foreign service, international business, the international civil service, and journalism majors who hope to cover the international scene.
PoliSci 121—World Politics
plus at least 4 of the following:
PoliSci 250—Russian Foreign Policy
PoliSci 252—Globalization, Governance and World Order
PoliSci 253—International Environmental Politics & Policy
PoliSci 255—American Foreign Policy
PoliSci 258—International Relations of Asia
PoliSci 259—European Foreign Policy
PoliSci 351—International Security Policy
PoliSci 352—Inter-American Relations
PoliSci 353—Representations of War and Peace
PoliSci 354—International Relations
PoliSci 355—North—South International Relations
PoliSci 356—International Law
PoliSci 357—International Organization
PoliSci 359—International Political Economy
Public Law Concentration
Especially desirable for students interested in law school, legal studies majors, and journalism and communications majors.
PoliSci 101—American Politics, plus at least 4 of the following:
PoliSci 360—Constitutional Law
PoliSci 361—Civil Liberties
PoliSci 362—Politics, Law and Judicial Behavior
PoliSci 363—The Politics of Law
PoliSci 364—Comparative Judicial Systems
PoliSci 365—The Bill of Rights and Equal Protection
PoliSci 366—The First Amendment
PoliSci 367—The Supreme Court
Political Theory Concentration
Especially desirable for philosophy majors, Social Thought and Political Economy (STPEC) students, and those interested in general liberal education.
PoliSci 171—Problems in Political Thought
plus at least 4 of the following:
PoliSci 270—Ancient and Medieval Political Thought
PoliSci 271—Modern Political Thought
PoliSci 373—Contemporary Political Theory
PoliSci 374—Issues in Political Thought
PoliSci 375—Feminist Theory and Politics
Public Administration/Public Policy Concentration
Especially desirable for those seeking policy or management positions in the public, nonprofit, or private sectors, and for those applying to graduate programs in public policy, public administration, or public affairs.
Students must take at least five of the following courses:
PoliSci 181—Controversies in Public Policy
PoliSci 220—Public Administration
PoliSci 280—Public Policy
PoliSci 321—Public Human Resources Management
PoliSci 32_—Public Management
PoliSci 380—Social Welfare Policy
PoliSci 381—Health, Education, and Arts Policy
PoliSci 382—Environmental Policy
PoliSci 383—Land and Resource Policy
PoliSci 384—Comparative Public Policy
PoliSci 38_—Public Policy Analysis[Note: Public Management and Public Policy Analysis are not currently available, but will be forthcoming in future years.]
General Concentration
Especially designed for those students who want an overview of the discipline of political science, those interested in general liberal education, and students considering graduate work in political science, economics, sociology or history.
An introductory course, plus at least 4 additional courses distributed among at least 2 of the subfields listed above.
