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

1. All students pursuing teacher certification must apply and be accepted to the Office of Educator Preparation.

General Requirements

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Nine hours of writing intensive (WI) courses are required for graduation.
4. Majors must complete a minimum of 36 advanced hours (3000 or 4000 level courses).
5. 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 courses: 

   Course List

   Code	Title	Hours
   POSI 3300	Basic Political Ideas	3
   or POSI 3301	Basic Political Institutions
   POSI 2310	Principles of American Government	3
   POSI 2320	Functions of American Government	3
   One advanced course from four of the five groups		12
   POSI 4398	Practicum in Political Science: Concepts, Resources, and Applications in the Study of Politics	3
   POSI advanced electives		3
   HIST 4300	Social Studies Resources and Practices	3
   Total Hours		30

6. 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

7. 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

8. An Overall GPA of 2.75 is required for graduation with teacher certification.
9. 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.

Course Requirements