Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) Major in Political Science
Minimum required: 120 semester credit hours
General Requirements
- The general education core curriculum courses are listed in the degree plan below along with the statewide component code number. See the General Education Core Curriculum section of this catalog for the Texas State requirements and options in the core curriculum, including Honors courses.
- In addition to the general education core curriculum requirements, the Bachelor of Arts degree (B.A.) requires three additional hours of English literature, three hours of math/science/logic/computer science courses, six hours of 2000-level modern language courses, and a minor.
- Students must select a minor from the approved list of Undergraduate Minors.
- Students must complete a minimum of 36 advanced hours (3000 or 4000 level courses).
- Nine hours of writing intensive (WI) courses are required for graduation.
- The minimum number of hours required for this degree program is 120. The number of free elective hours a student will complete depends on the number of hours a student may need to achieve the required 120 total or 36 advanced hours.
-
For transfer students, 12 semester credit hours in government and mathematics (or their equivalents) may be transferred from a Texas public institution of higher education for the Political Science and Government Field of Study and be applied to the Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Political Science at Texas State University. More information about the Field of Study is available in the Academic Policies section of this catalog. The transferable Texas Common Course Number (TCCN) is listed below the Texas State University course number in the following course list.
Course List Code Title Hours PS 2304 Introduction to Political Science 3 TCCN: GOVT 2304 POSI 2310 Principles of American Government 3 TCCN: GOVT 2306 POSI 2320 Functions of American Government 3 TCCN: GOVT 2305 Any MATH course coded Mathematics Core Curriculum Component Code 020 3 TCCN: MATH 1342 Total Hours 12 - Students in the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree with a major in Political Science must take a minimum of 36 hours in Political Science including the following courses:
Course List Code Title Hours POSI 2310
& POSI 2320Principles of American Government
and Functions of American Government6 PS 2304 Introduction to Political Science 3 PS 3300 Basic Political Ideas 3 or PS 3301 Basic Political Institutions One advanced course from four of the five groups: 12 I. Political Theory and MethodologyII. American GovernmentIII. Public Law and Public AdministrationIV. Comparative GovernmentV. International RelationsAdvanced PS electives 9 PS 4399 Senior Seminar in Political Science 3 Total Hours 36
Course Requirements
| Freshman | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| Communication Component Code 010 | 3 | Communication Component Code 010 | 3 |
| Mathematics Component Code 020 | 3 | Language, Philosophy, and Culture Component Code 040 | 3 |
| POSI 2310 (Government/Political Science Component Code 070 [TCCN GOVT 2306]) | 3 | American History Component Code 060 | 3 |
| Modern Language 1410 | 4 | POSI 2320 (Government/Political Science Component Code 070 [TCCN GOVT 2305]) | 3 |
| US 1100 | 1 | Modern Language 1420 | 4 |
| 14 | 16 | ||
| Sophomore | |||
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| Life and Physical Sciences Component Code 030 | 3 | Social and Behavioral Sciences Component Code 080 | 3 |
| Creative Arts Component Code 050 | 3 | ENG 2310, 2320, 2330, 2340, 2359, 2360, or 2371 (Component Area Option Code 090/094 [TCCN ENGL 2322, 2323, 2332, 2333, 2327, or 2328]) | 3 |
| American History Component Code 060 | 3 | Modern Language 2320 | 3 |
| Modern Language 2310 | 3 | PS 2304 (TCCN GOVT 2304) | 3 |
| PS 3300 or 3301 | 3 | Minor | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Junior | |||
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| Component Area Option Code 090/091 | 3 | Life and Physical Sciences Component Code 030 | 3 |
| BA Science, Math, Computer Science, or Logic | 3 | HIST 2320 or 2312 (TCCN HIST 2312 or 2322) | 3 |
| HIST 2310 or 2311 (TCCN HIST 2311 or 2321)1 | 3 | PS Advanced Group Electives | 6 |
| PS Advanced Group Electives | 6 | Minor | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Senior | |||
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| BA English Literature | 3 | PS 4399 | 3 |
| PS Advanced Electives | 6 | PS Advanced Elective | 3 |
| Minor | 6 | Minor | 6 |
| Elective (as needed) | 3 | ||
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Total Hours: 120 | |||
- 1
Students are required to complete 6 additional hours of history in Western or World Civilization (HIST 2310 or HIST 2311 and HIST 2312 or HIST 2320).
- 2
The senior seminar courses (PS 4398 or PS 4399) have a prerequisite of at least 21 hours of Political Science.
Political Science Advanced Group Electives
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| GROUP I - POLITICAL THEORY AND METHODOLOGY | ||
| PS 3311 | American Political Thought: From the Colonial Period to Civil War | 3 |
| PS 4311 | Ancient and Medieval Political Thought (Greeks to 1600) | 3 |
| PS 3313 | Contemporary Political Theory | 3 |
| PS 4312 | Modern Political Theory (1600 - 1900) | 3 |
| PS 3315 | Quantitative Research in Political Science | 3 |
| PS 4313 | The Holocaust | 3 |
| PS 3314 | Politics and Personality | 3 |
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| GROUP II - AMERICAN GOVERNMENT | ||
| PS 3327 | The American Founding | 3 |
| PS 4320C | Freedom in America | 3 |
| PS 4327 | Religion and American Public Life | 3 |
| PS 3322 | Political Parties and Party Politics | 3 |
| PS 3323 | Congress and the Legislative Process | 3 |
| PS 3324 | The American Presidency | 3 |
| PS 3325 | State and Local Government | 3 |
| PA 3316 | Metropolitan Politics | 3 |
| PA 3351 | Urban Management and Regional Policy | 3 |
| PS 3328 | Politics in Film | 3 |
| PS 3326 | Issues and Interest Groups: Power and Pressure in America | 3 |
| PS 4324 | Women in Politics | 3 |
| PS 4323 | Latina/o Politics | 3 |
| PS 3321 | Campaigns and Elections | 3 |
| PS 4325 | Texas Politics | 3 |
| PS 4326 | Media and Public Opinion | 3 |
| PS 4321 | American Foreign Policy | 3 |
| PA 4362 | Government, Nonprofit and American Business | 3 |
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| GROUP III - PUBLIC LAW AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION | ||
| PS 3332 | Constitutional Law: Basic Structures and Principles | 3 |
| PS 3333 | Constitutional Law: Individual Liberties | 3 |
| PA 3300 | Introduction to Public and Nonprofit Administration | 3 |
| PA 3330 | Public Personnel and Human Resource Administration | 3 |
| PA 4352 | Comparative Public Administration | 3 |
| PA 3310 | Public Finance Administration | 3 |
| PS 4330B | Free Speech and Democracy in the Digital Age | 3 |
| PS 4334 | Legal Theories and Research | 3 |
| PS 3334 | Civil Law in American Society | 3 |
| PS 4333 | Issues in Law and Public Policy | 3 |
| PS 3331 | The Supreme Court and the Judicial Process | 3 |
| PA 3350 | Public Policy Process | 3 |
| PA 3340 | Administrative Law | 3 |
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| GROUP IV - COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENT | ||
| PS 4342 | Economic Development in Latin America | 3 |
| PS 3341 | Comparative Politics | 3 |
| PS 3347 | Politics of Modern Southeast Asia | 3 |
| PS 4331 | Islamic Law and Politics | 3 |
| PS 3348 | Revolution and Nationalism | 3 |
| PS 3352 | Theories of International Politics | 3 |
| PS 3343 | Government and Politics of Latin America | 3 |
| PS 3344 | Government and Politics of Europe | 3 |
| PS 3345 | Government and Politics of Russia | 3 |
| PS 4346 | Organization of American States | 3 |
| PS 4343 | Politics of Democratization in Developing Countries | 3 |
| PS 3346 | Government and Politics of Asia | 3 |
| PS 3342 | African Politics | 3 |
| PS 4344 | The Politics of Extremism | 3 |
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| GROUP V - INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS | ||
| PS 3351 | Introduction to International Studies | 3 |
| PS 3355 | International Human Rights | 3 |
| PS 4341 | Civil-Military Relations in Comparative Politics | 3 |
| PS 3353 | Issues in World Politics | 3 |
| PS 3352 | Theories of International Politics | 3 |
| PS 4352 | International Law | 3 |
| PS 4353 | International Organizations | 3 |
| PS 3354 | United States-Latin America Relations | 3 |
| PS 4354 | Politics of International Economic Relations | 3 |
| PS 4351 | International Conflict and Security | 3 |
