Political Science (BA)
Description
Political science is the study of political institutions and political behavior at the local, state, national, and international levels. Students of political science will develop critical thinking, writing, and oral communication skills essential to effective citizenship, as well as many careers.
Minimum Total Credit Hours: 120
Degree Requirements
The academic regulations for this degree program, as entered in the University of Mississippi Catalog, are in effect for the current or selected academic year and semester. The University of Mississippi reserves the right to
- change or withdraw courses;
- change rules for registration, instruction, and graduation; and
- change other regulations affecting the student body at any time.
B.A. in Political Science
General Education
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Select one of the following First Year Writing I courses: | 3 | |
| Introduction to College Writing | ||
or WRIT 1010 | First-Year Writing I | |
| Select one of the following First Year Writing II courses: | 3 | |
| First-Year Writing II | ||
or LIBA 1020 | First Year Seminar | |
| Select six hours of literature survey from the following: | 6 | |
| Survey in Literary History | ||
| Survey of World Literature to 1650 | ||
| Survey of World Literature since 1650 | ||
| Survey of American Lit to the Civil War | ||
| Survey of American Lit since Civil War | ||
| Survey of British Lit to 18th Century | ||
| Survey of Brit Lit since Romantic Period | ||
| Select at least six hours at the 2000 level or above in one modern or ancient language 1 | 6 | |
| Select six hours in History (HIST) 2 | 6 | |
| Select three hours of humanities courses from the following areas: 3 | 3 | |
African American Studies | ||
Classical Civilization | ||
| Humanities and the Environment | ||
| Introduction to Gender Studies | ||
| Introduction to Queer Studies | ||
| Topics in Gender and Culture | ||
| Women, Gender & the Environment | ||
| Theories in Gender | ||
| Men, Women, and Greek Life | ||
| Gender and Sexuality in Cinema | ||
| Gender and Sexuality in the Media | ||
| Advanced Queer Studies | ||
Philosophy | ||
Religion | ||
Southern Studies (Any 1000 level only) | ||
| Introduction to Rhetoric | ||
| Interdisciplinary Humanities | ||
| Humanities and the Experience of War | ||
| Advanced Interdisciplinary Humanities | ||
| Select three hours of of fine arts from the following: | 3 | |
Art History | ||
| Dance Appreciation | ||
| Introduction to Music Literature | ||
| Fundamentals of Music Theory | ||
| Introduction to Music | ||
| Introduction to World Music Cultures | ||
| Music Theory and Analysis I | ||
| Appreciation of the Theatre | ||
| Introduction to Cinema | ||
| Introduction to the Fine Arts | ||
| Interdisciplinary Arts | ||
| Advanced Interdisciplinary Arts | ||
| Select three hours of Math at the 1000 level or above 4 | 3 | |
| Select six hours of social science in the following areas: | 6 | |
Anthropology | ||
Economics | ||
Political Science | ||
Psychology | ||
Sociology | ||
| Interdisciplinary Social Sciences | ||
| Advanced Interdisc Social Science | ||
| 3 science courses, of which 2 must have labs 5 | 9-11 | |
Astronomy OR Physics (must be 2 courses in Astronomy or 2 courses in Physics) | ||
Biology | ||
Chemistry | ||
Geology | ||
| Integrated Science I | ||
| Integrated Science II | ||
| Interdisciplinary Sciences | ||
| Interdisciplinary Lab Sciences | ||
| Advanced Interdisciplinary Sciences | ||
| Advanced Interdisciplinary Lab Sciences | ||
| Total Hours | 48-50 | |
- 1
-
Modern Languages: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, & Swahili.
Classics: Ancient Greek and Latin.
Communication Sciences & Disorders: American Sign Language
Philosophy and Religion: Hebrew
- 2
Freshmen may not register for 3000 level courses.
- 3
-
In addition, gender studies courses that are cross-listed with African American studies, classical civilization, English, modern languages, philosophy, or religion curses will satisfy this requirement.
- 4
-
Except for MATH 2451 Mathematics for Elementary Teachers I and MATH 2452 Mathematics for Elementary Teachers II.
- 5
Courses may be chosen from astronomy, biology, chemistry, geology, LIBA 2050 Interdisciplinary Sciences, LIBA 2051 Interdisciplinary Lab Sciences, LIBA 1500 Integrated Science I, LIBA 1510 Integrated Science II, LIBA 3150 Advanced Interdisciplinary Sciences, LIBA 3151 Advanced Interdisciplinary Lab Sciences and physics. Two semesters of coursework in one subject and one semester in a subject from another department are required. Each course must be a minimum of 3 credit hours. At least two of the courses taken must include laboratories. For some classes, the required laboratory will be an additional 1-hour course. For example, a student might take two 3-hour lecture courses in chemistry along with the two associated 1-hour laboratory courses, and one 3-hour course in biology without laboratory. As a second example, a student might take two 4-hour lecture/laboratory courses in geology and one 3-hour course in astronomy. As a third example, a student might take two chemistry courses, one with lab and one without, and a geology course with lab. Note that a student taking the required 6 hours of one subject (astronomy or physics) from the Department of Physics and Astronomy must take the remaining 3 hours from another department. ASTR 1110 Descriptive Astronomy does not include laboratory work; ASTR 1212 Intro Astronomy of the Solar System and ASTR 1312 Intro Astronomy of Stars and Galaxies include laboratory work and satisfy the requirements for lab-based science credits. A student may not receive credit for taking ASTR 1110 Descriptive Astronomy with either ASTR 1212 Intro Astronomy of the Solar System or ASTR 1312 Intro Astronomy of Stars and Galaxies.
Major Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| POLS 1010 | Introduction to American Politics | 3 |
| POLS 1020 | Introduction to Comparative Politics | 3 |
| POLS 1030 | Introduction to International Relations | 3 |
| POLS 2600 | Intro to Political Science Methods | 3 |
| Additional Political Science hours | 3 | |
| Select 18 hours of Political Science courses at the 3000+ level | 18 | |
| Total Hours | 33 | |
Overall Major GPA
Please contact your academic advisor for grade point requirements.
Resident Major GPA
Please contact your academic advisor for grade point requirements.
Pol Residency Hours
Student must earn at least 12 hours of their major courses in residence.
Specializations
Students may choose from the following optional emphasis areas by completing at least four courses from an emphasis area. At the discretion of the department chair or undergraduate academic adviser, POLS 3702 Topics in Political Science Abroad, Internships ( POLS 3800 Internship in Government), Senior Seminars (POLS 4100 Senior Seminar in American Politics, POLS 4300 Senior Seminar in Comparative Politics), POLS 4500 Senior Seminar in International Politics), and Special Topics POLS 3999A Special Topics in Political Science) courses can count toward an emphasis area if the content is appropriate to the emphasis.
Emphasis - Campaigns and Elections
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Select 12 hours of the following: | 12 | |
| Voting and Political Participation | ||
| Public Opinion and Political Psychology | ||
| Political Parties and Interest Groups | ||
| Political Communication | ||
| Applied Politics | ||
| Political Parties in a Global Perspective | ||
| Total Hours | 12 | |
Emphasis - Int'l Conflict & Cooperation
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Select 12 hours of the following: | 12 | |
| International Organization | ||
| Ethnic Conflict and International Terror | ||
| Politics of the World Economy | ||
| Intl. Politics of Nuclear Weapons | ||
| International Conflict | ||
| War in World Politics | ||
| Total Hours | 12 | |
Emphasis - Developing Countries
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Select 12 hours of the following: | 12 | |
| Politics of Latin America | ||
| Politics of China | ||
| Transitions to Democracy | ||
| Political Economy of Int'l Dev | ||
| Asia in World Affairs | ||
| Politics of Mexico and Central America | ||
| Middle East Politics | ||
| Political Economy of East Asia | ||
| Total Hours | 12 | |
Emphasis - Law & Courts
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Select 12 hours of the following: | 12 | |
| Judicial Process | ||
| American Legislative Process | ||
| Judicial Behavior | ||
| Const Law I: Supreme Court & Const. | ||
| Const Law II: Civil Lib & Civil Rights | ||
| Rule of Law in a Global Perspective | ||
| African American Legal Experience | ||
| Total Hours | 12 | |
Other Academic Requirements
At least 18 hours must be in non-Z-graded courses at the 3000 level or above. Grades lower than C in political science courses will not be counted toward the political science major or minor.