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Political Science - Public Service

Major Requirements

Major: Political Science - Public Service Option

Degree Type: B.A. or B.S.
Required Degree Credits to Graduate: 122

General Education Requirements for Baccalaureate Degree

  • A dynamic list of approved general education courses offered by term is available on the NDSU General Education Requirements website.
  • General education courses may be used to satisfy requirements for both general education and the major, minor, and program emphases, where applicable. Students should carefully review the major, minor, and program emphases requirements for minimum grade restrictions, if applicable.
First Year Experience (F)1
Skills For Academic Success (Also offered with the following prefixes: ABEN, AGRI, BUSN, HD&E, ME, NURS, PHRM)
Communication (C)12
College Composition I
College Composition II
Fundamentals of Public Speaking
Upper Division Writing
Quantitative Reasoning (R) 3
Science and Technology (S) 10
Humanities and Fine Arts (A) 6
Social and Behavioral Sciences (B) 6
Wellness (W) 2
Cultural Diversity (D) *†
Global Perspectives (G) *†
Total Credits40

Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences

Degree Requirements                                                                            

Bachelor of Science (B.S.) Degree – The completion of a minor program of study, a second major, or a second degree is required.                                                                            

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) Degree – Second year language proficiency at college level required.

Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences College Requirements

An additional 9 credits are required by the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences for all Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degree programs of study, except the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, the Bachelor of Music degree, Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree, and the Bachelor of Science in Architecture degree:

AH&SS College Requirements
Courses used to satisfy any general education requirement cannot be used to also count toward the AH&SS College Requirements. A minimum of three credits is required in each of the 3 following areas for a total of 9 credits. Choose only those courses with the prefixes listed for each area. A course with the WGS prefix can only be used in one area.
Area One: Humanities3
ARB, ENGL, FREN, GERM, HIST, HUM, PHIL, RELS, SPAN, or WGS
Area Two: Social Sciences3
ANTH, CJ, COMM, EMGT, POLS, SOC, or WGS
Area Three: Fine Arts3
ARCH, ART, ENVD, LA, MUSC, or THEA
Total Credits9

Major Requirements

Core Requirements
POLS 110Introduction to Political Science (May satisfy general education category B)3
or POLS 115 American Government
POLS 220International Politics3
or POLS 225 Comparative Politics
POLS 240Political Ideologies3
POLS Elective100 or 200 level3
STAT 330Introductory Statistics (May satisfy general education category R)3
Political Science - Public Service Emphasis:
POLS 215Problems and Policies In American Government3
POLS 325Applied Research Methods4
or CJ 325 Applied Research Methods
POLS 420Political Behavior-Executive-Legislative Process3
POLS 422State and Local Politics3
POLS 423Public Policy Analysis3
POLS 430Constitutional Law-Civil Liberties3
or POLS 431 Constitutional Law-Criminal Justice
POLS 442Global Policy Issues3
or POLS 444 International Law
or POLS 446 International Criminal Law
POLS 450Politics of the Developing Countries3
or POLS 451 Politics of the Industrialized Countries
or POLS 452 Comparative Political Economy
POLS 489Senior Seminar3
POLS 496Field Experience9
Supplemental Requirements: Pre-requisites apply to all courses. Select 5 courses from the following:15
Elements of Accounting I
Elements of Accounting II
Foundations of Management
Organizational Communication I
Principles of Macroeconomics
Emergencies, Disasters, and Catastrophes
Business and Professional Writing
Social Problems
Children, Families and Public Policy
Total Credits67

Degree Requirements and Notes

  • Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 required in courses with the POLS prefix.