Dec 30, 2024

2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog

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2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog

Political Science, B.A.

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Students must complete the Oakland University General Education Requirements, General College of Arts and Sciences requirements , College of Arts and Sciences Exploratory requirement , Major Requirements, and an appropriate number of free elective classes to meet the overall credit requirement for the degree (in most cases a minimum of 124; some degrees may require a greater number).

As a general rule, no more than eight credits of coursework used to satisfy one major, minor or concentration may be applied toward another, but exceptions to this rule may be allowed with the written approval of the program coordinators.

Schedule of Classes

Specific offerings for each semester may be found in the Schedule of Classes.

General Education Requirements

In order to graduate on-schedule without taking additional courses, it is highly recommended that students meet with an Undergraduate Academic Adviser concerning the selection of all of their general education courses.

Each candidate for an Oakland University baccalaureate will need to satisfactorily complete approved courses in each of the following areas: Foundations, Explorations, and Integration. For details, refer to the General Education Requirements section of the 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 C or higher.

A. Core courses

PS 1100 - Introduction to American Politics (4)
PS 1600 - Issues in World Politics (4) or PS 1400 - Comparative Politics (4)
PS 2500 - The Research Process in Political Science (4)
PS 2550 - Data Analysis in Political Science (4)

One capstone course selected from

PS 4970 - Seminar in American Politics (4)
PS 4975 - Seminar in the Comparative Study of Political Systems (4)
PS 4980 - Seminar in International Relations (4)

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

1. American politics

PS 3105 - Congress and the Legislative Process (4)
PS 3110 - American Presidency (4)
PS 3115 - The Judicial Process (4)
PS 3130 - Local Government and Politics (4)
PS 3135 - State Politics (4)
PS 3140 - Michigan Government Politics and Policy (4)
PS 3155 - Political Parties and Interest Groups (4)
PS 3160 - Media and Politics (4)
PS 3165 - Elections and Voting Behavior (4)
PS 3170 - Political Campaigns (4)
PS 3205 - American Political Culture (4)
PS 3210 - Women and Politics (4)
PS 3215 - The Politics of Race and Ethnicity (4)
PS 3220 - Religion and Politics (4)
PS 3225 - Political Leadership (4)
PS 3230 - Public Opinion (4)
PS 3235 - Politics and the Internet (4)
PS 3240 - Politics Through Film (4)
PS 3250 - Law and Politics (4)
PS 3255 - U.S. Constitutional Law (4)
PS 3260 - Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (4)
PS 3265 - Gender Discrimination and the Supreme Court (4)
PS 3305 - Public Administration (4)
PS 3310 - American Public Policy (4)
PS 3340 - Public Policy and Health Care (4)
PS 3810 - Conducting Political Surveys (4) (may satisfy the American politics field requirement or the comparative and international politics field requirement, but not both)
PS 3850 - Geographic Information System Analysis for Sustainability (4)
PS 3930 - Special Topics in American Politics (2 OR 4)

2. Comparative and international politics

PS 3040 - 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 3405 - Politics of Latin America (4)
PS 3410 - African Politics (4)
PS 3415 - Politics of the Middle East and North Africa (4)
PS 3420 - European Political Systems (4)
PS 3425 - The Russian Political System (4)
PS 3430 - Political Systems of Asia (4)
PS 3435 - Chinese Politics and Foreign Policy (4)
PS 3550 - Politics of Development (4)
PS 3555 - Global Democratization (4)
PS 3560 - Revolution, Intervention, and Democratization (4)
PS 3565 - Dictatorships (4)
PS 3605 - 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 3610 - United States Foreign Policy (4)
PS 3615 - Comparative Foreign Policy (4)
PS 3630 - International Organizations (4)
PS 3640 - International Political Economy (4)
PS 3650 - Globalization and International Economic Institutions (4)
PS 3660 - International Law (4)
PS 3710 - International Politics of Human Rights (4)
PS 3715 - Gender and Int’l Relations (4) (may satisfy the comparative and international politics field requirement or the political theory and political thought field requirement, but not both)
PS 3730 - Global Environmental Governance (4)
PS 3750 - International Conflict and Security (4)
PS 3755 - International Negotiation and Bargaining (4)
PS 3780 - International Terrorism: Causes, Consequences, Responses (4)
PS 3810 - Conducting Political Surveys (4) (may satisfy the American politics field requirement or the comparative and international politics field requirement, but not both)
PS 3940 - Special Topics in Comparative Politics and International Relations (1 TO 4)

3. Political theory and political thought

PS 3005 - Western Political Thought I (4)
PS 3010 - Western Political Thought II (4)
PS 3020 - American Political Thought (4)
PS 3030 - Rise of the Modern State (4)
PS 3040 - 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 3050 - Communism (4)
PS 3070 - Politics Through Literature (4)
PS 3080 - Systematic Political Analysis (4)
PS 3715 - Gender and Int’l Relations (4)

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

Only 4 credits of PS 3605 - Model United Nations (2) will be accepted toward the major.
No more than a total of 12 credits of PS 3996 , PS 4955 and PS 4995 will be accepted toward the major.
No more than 4 credits of PS 4955 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 David Dulio.

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.