Feb 06, 2025  
2009-2010 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2009-2010 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Political Science Major


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Politics is essential to the human condition. It is expressed in patterns of influence among individuals, in the actions of states in world affairs, and in collective efforts to achieve our most noble goals. The political science curriculum links moral issues to empirical analysis of political life and explores the realities of political behavior at local, state, national, and international levels. A political science major helps students prepare for careers in government, social and political organizations, international relations, business, and education, and for graduate study or law school.

General Program Requirements

Students in political science satisfy the university core curriculum requirements as given in this Bulletin, and must complete the general program requirements of the College of Arts and Sciences. Macroeconomics is required as partial fulfillment of the social science core. Political science majors are strongly encouraged to take additional courses in history, economics, and languages. Advisors may recommend electives in public affairs, business, sociology, philosophy, and writing. Students who plan to attend law school should consult the prelaw section of this Bulletin and see a prelaw advisor.

 

Requirements


In order to earn the bachelor of arts degree with a major in political science, students must complete a minimum of 180 credits with a cumulative and major/program grade point average of 2.00, including the following:

I. Core Curriculum Requirements


 

NOTE:


*Included in major GPA.

II. College of Arts and Sciences Requirements


  • Modern Language 115, 125, 135, or equivalent (15)

NOTE:


All students with a major in the College of Arts and Sciences must demonstrate competency through the level of 135 in a language other than English. This competency is ordinarily achieved by successful completion of the three-course sequence: 115, 125, and 135. Because these courses are a college requirement, no courses in the sequence may be taken on a pass/fail, correspondence, or audit basis. Placement into other than the beginning course of the sequence is achieved by acceptable performance on the Modern Language Competency Examination. See the Modern Languages Department  for details on the examinations. Courses used to satisfy the College of Arts and Sciences modern language requirement may not be used to fulfill political science major requirements.

NOTE:


1. Transfer students are required to take at least one course at Seattle University from each of the four fields: American politics, comparative politics, international politics, and political theory and law. 2. Several PLSC courses have been identified as satisfying the senior synthesis and the core interdisciplinary requirements. Those courses may be used to fill major requirements or major electives while also fulfilling university core requirements. The credit for each course completed is included in totals only once.

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