Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) Major in Political Science (Teacher Certification in Social Studies, Grades 7-12: Geography Minor and History Third Field)
Minimum required: 130 semester credit hours
Admission Requirement
- All students pursuing teacher certification must apply and be accepted to the Office of Educator Preparation.
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.
- Nine hours of writing intensive (WI) courses are required for graduation.
- Students must complete a minimum of 36 advanced hours (3000 or 4000 level courses).
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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 - This degree plan is designed to prepare students for secondary teacher certification in the social studies disciplines: Economics, Geography, Government, and History. The Social Studies Composite with a Political Science major, Geography minor, and History third field requires the following 30 hours of Political Science and History courses:
Course List Code Title Hours POSI 2310 Principles of American Government 3 POSI 2320 Functions of American Government 3 PS 3300 Basic Political Ideas 3 or PS 3301 Basic Political Institutions PS 4398 Practicum in Political Science: Concepts, Resources, and Applications in the Study of Politics 3 One advanced PS course from four of the five groups of PS courses 12 PS Advanced Elective 3 HIST 4300 Social Studies Resources and Practices 3 Total Hours 30 -
The minor in Geography requires the following 16 hours of Geography courses:
Course List Code Title Hours GEO 1309 Introduction to Cultural Geography 3 or GEO 1310 World Geography GEO 2410 Introduction to Physical Geography 4 GEO 3303 Economic Geography 3 GEO 3309 United States and Canada 3 GEO 3329 Geography of Texas 3 Total Hours 16 -
The third field in History requires the following 15 hours of History courses:
Course List Code Title Hours HIST 1310 History of the United States to 1877 3 HIST 1320 History of the United States, 1877 to Date 3 HIST 2311 History of World Civilization to the 17th Century 3 HIST 2312 History of World Civilization from the 17th Century 3 HIST 3372 Texas History: A Survey (U.S. History) 3 Total Hours 15 - To satisfy graduation requirements for teacher certification, students must have at least a 2.75 Overall GPA. A GPA of at least 2.50 in all assigned courses in the professional sequence with no grade below a “C”.
- In addition to the major, minor, and third field requirements, students must also complete 21 hours of professional sequence courses under the College of Education. All coursework must be completed prior to EDST 4681.
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The Texas Education Agency (TEA) requires multiple background checks for progression through the Educator Preparation Program. Based on information recorded in your criminal history, you may be ineligible for issuance of a teaching certificate upon completion of the Educator Preparation Program. If you have a criminal history, you may obtain a Preliminary Criminal History Evaluation from TEA. For more information, go to: https://tea.texas.gov/Texas_Educators/Investigations/Preliminary_Criminal_History_Evaluation-FAQs/.
Course Requirements
| Freshman | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours | ||
| ENG 1310 (Communication Component Code 010) | 3 | ENG 1320 (Communication Component Code 010) | 3 | ||
| US 1100 | 1 | HIST 1310 (American History Component Code 060) | 3 | ||
| POSI 2310 (Government/Political Science Component Code 070) | 3 | POSI 2320 (Government/Political Science Component Code 070) | 3 | ||
| Modern Language 1410 | 4 | Modern Language 1420 | 4 | ||
| Mathematics Component Code 020 | 3 | PHIL 1305 or 1320 (Language, Philosophy & Culture Component Code 040) | 3 | ||
| 14 | 16 | ||||
| Sophomore | |||||
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours | ||
| COMM 1310 (Component Area Option Code 090/091) | 3 | PS Advanced Group Elective | 3 | ||
| ENG Literature (Component Area Option Code 090/094) | 3 | Modern Language 2320 | 3 | ||
| Modern Language 2310 | 3 | GEO 1309 or 1310 | 3 | ||
| HIST 1320 (American History Component Code 060) | 3 | Life & Physical Sciences Component Code 030 | 3 | ||
| PS 3300 or 3301 | 3 | HIST 2311 | 3 | ||
| 15 | 15 | ||||
| Junior | |||||
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours | ||
| ART 2313, DAN 2313, MU 2313, or TH 2313 (Creative Arts Component Code 050) | 3 | PS Advanced Group Electives | 6 | ||
| Life & Physical Sciences Component Code 030 | 3 | GEO 2410 | 4 | ||
| HIST 2312 | 3 | HIST 3372 | 3 | ||
| PS Advanced Group Elective | 3 | GEO 3303 | 3 | ||
| BA ENG Literature | 3 | ||||
| 15 | 16 | ||||
| Senior | |||||
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours | Third Semester | Hours |
| CI 4332 | 3 | CI 3325 | 3 | EDST 4681 | 6 |
| GEO 3309 | 3 | PS 4398 | 3 | ||
| PS Advanced Elective | 3 | HIST 4300 | 3 | ||
| GEO 3329 | 3 | CI 4370 | 3 | ||
| ECO 2301 or 2314 (Social & Behavioral Sciences Component Code 080) | 3 | CI 4343 | 3 | ||
| RDG 3323 | 3 | ||||
| 15 | 18 | 6 | |||
| Total Hours: 130 | |||||
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 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 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 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 |
