Program: Political Science, B.A. - Oakland University - Modern Campus Catalog™

Jun 16, 2025

2016-2017 Undergraduate Catalog

Requirements for the liberal arts major in political science, B.A. program

The major requires a minimum of 44 credits in political science as outlined below. Credit toward the major will only be allowed for courses completed with a grade of 2.0 or higher.

A. Core courses

PS 100 - Introduction to American Politics (4)
PS 114 - Issues in World Politics (4) or
PS 131 - Comparative Politics
(4)
PS 250 - The Research Process in Political Science (4)
PS 255 - Data Analysis in Political Science (4)

One capstone course selected from

PS 470 - Seminar in American Politics (4)
PS 472 - Seminar in International Relations (4)
PS 476 - Seminar in the Comparative Study of Political Systems (4)

B. At least one course selected from each of the three fields of political science, chosen from the following

1. American politics

PS 300 - American Political Culture (4)
PS 301 - American Presidency (4)
PS 302 - Congress and the Legislative Process (4)
PS 305 - Local Government and Politics (4)
PS 306 - Special Topics in American Politics (2 OR 4)
PS 307 - State Politics (4)
PS 309 - Politics Through Film (4)
PS 310 - Political Leadership (4)
PS 311 - Women and Politics (4)
PS 312 - The Politics of Race and Ethnicity (4)
PS 316 - Michigan Government Politics and Policy (4)
PS 319 - Politics and the Internet (4)
PS 320 - Conducting Political Surveys (4) (may satisfy the American politics field requirement or the comparative and international politics field requirement, but not both)
PS 322 - Political Parties and Interest Groups (4)
PS 324 - Elections and Voting Behavior (4)
PS 325 - Public Opinion (4)
PS 326 - Political Campaigns (4)
PS 327 - Media and Politics (4)
PS 340 - U.S. Constitutional Law (4)
PS 341 - Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (4)
PS 342 - The Judicial Process (4)
PS 343 - Gender Discrimination and the Supreme Court (4)
PS 347 - Law and Politics (4)
PS 350 - Public Administration (4)
PS 352 - Geographic Information System Analysis for Sustainability (4)
PS 353 - American Public Policy (4)
PS 356 - Religion and Politics (4)
PS 359 - Public Policy and Health Care (4)

2. Comparative and international politics

PS 308 - Special Topics in Comparative Politics and International Relations (1 TO 4)
PS 313 - Comparative Foreign Policy (4)
PS 314 - International Politics: Theory and Practice (4) (may satisfy the comparative and international politics field requirement or the political theory and political thought field requirement, but not both)
PS 315 - United States Foreign Policy (4)
PS 317 - International Politics of Human Rights (4)
PS 320 - Conducting Political Surveys (4) (may satisfy the American politics field requirement or the comparative and international politics field requirement, but not both)
PS 328 - Chinese Politics and Foreign Policy (4)
PS 329 - European Political Systems (4)
PS 330 - Politics of Development (4)
PS 332 - Politics of the Middle East and North Africa (4)
PS 333 - African Politics (4)
PS 334 - Political Systems of Asia (4)
PS 335 - Politics of Latin America (4)
PS 336 - Dictatorships (4)
PS 337 - The Russian Political System (4)
PS 338 - International Political Economy (4)
PS 339 - Revolution, Intervention, and Democratization (4)
PS 354 - Global Environmental Governance (4)
PS 360 - International Terrorism: Causes, Consequences, Responses (4)
PS 361 - International Organizations (4)
PS 362 - Model United Nations (2 OR 4) (may be taken up to two times for a total of four credits toward the political science major)
PS 363 - Global Democratization (4)
PS 364 - Gender and Int’l Relations (4)
PS 365 - International Conflict and Security (4)
PS 366 - International Negotiation and Bargaining (4)
PS 367 - Globalization and International Economic Institutions (4)

3. Political theory and political thought

PS 314 - International Politics: Theory and Practice (4) (may satisfy the comparative and international politics field requirement or the political theory field requirement, but not both)
PS 321 - Systematic Political Analysis (4)
PS 371 - American Political Thought (4)
PS 372 - Western Political Thought I (4)
PS 373 - Western Political Thought II (4)
PS 374 - Politics Through Literature (4)
PS 377 - Communism (4)

C. The remaining credits are elective courses with the following restrictions

Only 4 credits of PS 362 - Model United Nations (2) will be accepted toward the major.
No more than a total of 12 credits of PS 390 , PS 459 and PS 490 will be accepted toward the major.
No more than 4 credits of PS 459 may be counted toward the major in political science. Applicants must seek departmental approval at the beginning of the semester prior to that of the internship by contacting Professor Julie Walters.

Note

Students using this catalog to meet political science major requirements may also use any course subsequently approved as satisfying requirements in the American politics, comparative and international politics, and political theory and political thought categories and published in a later catalog.