Political Science
Major Requirements
Major: Political Science
Degree Type: B.A. or B.S.
Minimum Degree Credits to Graduate: 120
University Degree Requirements
- Satisfactory completion of all requirements of the curriculum in which one is enrolled.
- Earn a minimum total of 120 credits in approved coursework. Some academic programs exceed this minimum.
- Satisfactory completion of the general education requirements as specified by the university.
- A minimum institutional GPA of 2.00 based on work taken at NDSU.
- At least 30 credits must be NDSU resident credits. Resident credits include credits registered and paid for at NDSU.
- At least 36 credits presented for graduation must be in courses numbered 300 or higher.
- Students presenting transfer credit must meet the NDSU residence credits and the minimum upper level credit. Of the 30 credits earned in residence, a minimum of 15 semester credits must be in courses numbered 300 or above, and 15 semester credits must be in the student’s curricula for their declared major.
For complete information, please refer to the Degree and Graduation Requirements section of this Bulletin.
University General Education Requirements
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Credits | 39 | |
- *
May be satisfied by completing courses in another General Education category.
- †
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 major requirements to determine if specific courses can also satisfy these general education categories.
- A list of university approved general education courses and administrative policies are available here.
AHSS Degree Requirements
Bachelor of Science (B.S.) Degree – The completion of a minor program of study.
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 a student whose primary degree is a Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts degree in a major from the College of AHSS. These additional 9 credits are not required for the Bachelor of Science in Architecture degree, Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Environmental Design, Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, Bachelor of Music degree, for any student whose primary major or degree is not in the College of AHSS, or the student is earning two majors or two different degrees.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| 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: Humanities | 3 | |
ARB, ENGL, FREN, GERM, HIST, HUM, PHIL, RELS, SPAN, TIPS or WGS | ||
| Area Two: Social Sciences | 3 | |
ANTH, CJ, COMM, EMGT, POLS, SOC, or WGS | ||
| Area Three: Fine Arts | 3 | |
ARCH, ART, ENVD, LA, MUSC, or THEA | ||
| Total Credits | 9 | |
Major Requirements
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Core Requirements | ||
| POLS 110 | Introduction to Political Science (May satisfy general education category B) | 3 |
| or POLS 115 | American Government | |
| POLS 220 | International Politics | 3 |
| or POLS 225 | Comparative Politics | |
| POLS 240 | Political Ideologies | 3 |
| POLS 325 | Applied Research Methods | 4 |
| STAT 330 | Introductory Statistics | 3 |
| Select a minimum of five courses from at least three of the four areas listed below (Area 1-4): | 15 | |
Area 1: | ||
| Women and Politics | ||
| Political Behavior-Executive-Legislative Process | ||
| Political Behavior-Political Parties | ||
| State and Local Politics | ||
| Public Policy Analysis | ||
Area 2: | ||
| Constitutional Law-Civil Liberties | ||
| Constitutional Law-Criminal Justice | ||
| Crime and Public Policy | ||
Area 3: | ||
| Global Policy Issues | ||
| International Law | ||
| Ethnic Conflicts | ||
| Environmental Policy and Politics | ||
| International Criminal Law | ||
Area 4: | ||
| Global Policy Issues | ||
| Politics of the Developing Countries | ||
| Politics of the Industrialized Countries | ||
| Comparative Political Economy | ||
| Environmental Policy and Politics | ||
| Comparative Democratic Institutions | ||
| Political Science Electives | 9 | |
| Any POLS prefix class except POLS 397 and no more than 3 credits of POLS 494 and POLS 496. | ||
| Total Credits | 40 | |
Degree Notes:
- An optional accelerated program in the B.S./B.A. in Political Science degree and the Masters in Public Policy (MPP) is available.
- Students may apply for admission to the accelerated undergraduate political science program after completing a minimum of 60 undergraduate credits.
- Students must have a minimum 3.5 cumulative GPA for admission to the MPP graduate program. The GRE is not required for admission to the MPP program in this accelerated option.
- Students admitted to the MPP program must complete a Accelerated Degree Program Declaration Form upon admission.
- Students admitted in the accelerated program may count up to 15 graduate credits toward the undergraduate degree. These 15 credits must come from 600 and 700 level classes that fulfill requirements in the MPP program.
Course List Code Title Credits POLS 623 Public Policy Analysis (Use for Area I) 3 POLS 710 Global Public Policy (Use for Area IV) 3 POLS 705 Policy Design and Evaluation (Use for POLS elective) 3 POLS 724 Public Budgeting and Finance (Use for Area I) 3 POLS 726 Harm Reduction for Policymakers (Use for POLS elective) 3 POLS 670 Quantitative Methods for Political Science and Public Policy (Use for POLS elective) 3
Minor Requirements
Minor: Political Science
Required Credits: 21
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| POLS 110 | Introduction to Political Science | 3 |
| or POLS 115 | American Government | |
| POLS 220 | International Politics | 3 |
| or POLS 225 | Comparative Politics | |
| POLS 240 | Political Ideologies | 3 |
| Electives | 12 | |
| Any POLS prefix classes with no more than 3 credits of POLS 494 and POLS 496. Minimum of 6 credits must be at or above 300 level. | ||
| Total Credits | 21 | |