Optional Programs in Political Science
Requirements may differ according to date of enrollment. Current students should check their 
college catalog.
In addition to the 33 credits for a Political Science major, students may also choose to concentrate in one of the following areas by fulfilling the requirements defined below. Students who choose to concentrate in one of the following areas will need to take an additional 6 credit hours for a total of 39 credit hours.
Concentrations
Law Concentration
Students wishing to concentrate in Law must take POLI 370 to fulfill the requirement under Area A and one of the Law courses under Area B. In addition, students must take either POLI 276 or POLI 277 and an additional Law course from the Area B list.
Campaigns and Elections Concentration
Students wishing to concentrate in Campaigns and Elections must take POLI 324 to fulfill the requirement under Area A and two additional Politics and Processes courses from the Area A list.
Public Administration and Policy Concentration
Students wishing to concentrate in Public Administration and Policy must take POLI 311 to fulfill the requirement under Area A and one of the Policy courses under Area B to fulfill the Section B requirement. In addition, students must take two additional Policy courses from the Area B list.
Civic Education Concentration
Students wishing to concentrate in Civic Education must take two additional courses from the following list: POLI 348 (and participate in EuroSim); POLI 287; Internship (of any variety from the Political Science Internships – must be 3 credits or more).
Comparative Politics Concentration
Students wishing to concentrate in Comparative Politics must take two additional courses from the Area C list.
Government and Political Organization Concentration
Students must take either the Washington or Albany internship. In addition, they must take one of the following: POLI 311, 321, 322, 324.
Political Economy Concentration
Students must take both ECON 201 and 202. In addition they must take two courses from the set: POLI 341, 344, 346, 355, 387. Lastly, they must take one course from the set: ECON 220, 335, 345, 355, 380, 405.
International Relations Concentration
Students wishing to concentrate in International Relations must take two additional courses from the Area D list.
Political Theory Concentration
Students wishing to concentrate in Political Theory must take two additional courses from the Area E list.
Note: The Political Economy concentration requires 45 credit hours.
Honors Program
Students may also obtain Honors in Political Science. Students may nominate themselves, but the department will select students for admission to the Honors Program. If accepted into the Honors program, the student must take POLI 495 and POLI 496. These are taken in the place of the Capstone Seminar (POLI 450).
Geographic Information Systems
This program is sponsored jointly by the departments of Political Science and Geosciences.
Certificate in International Political Economy
A certificate program in International Political Economy is available. The program is open only to Business Administration and Economics majors. The certificate is awarded by the political science department following successful completion of the following:
| 1. POLI 150 |
U.S. and World Affairs |
3 |
2. Nine credit hours from among the following: |
| POLI 334 |
African Politics |
3 |
| POLI 341 |
Political Economy of Development |
3 |
| POLI 344 |
Public Policies in Advanced Industrial Democracies |
3 |
| POLI 346 |
East Asian Political Economy: Japan, China and Korea |
3 |
| POLI 354 |
Middle East in World Affairs |
3 |
| POLI 355 |
International Political Economy |
3 |
Special Programs
Internships: No more than 3 credit hours of internship credit may count toward the Political Science major or minor.
The department participates in various Interdisciplinary Studies majors and minors such as Legal Studies and International Studies.
The Department of Political Science also participates in the Cooperative Engineering program.