Political Science (BS)
Description
The B.S. in Political Science is a more technical and quantitative degree than the B.A. in Political Science. While both degrees provide strong grounding in core knowledge, the B.S. degree will prepare students for more empirically demanding areas of employment in fields such as business, big data, marketing, campaign work, and sectors of law
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.
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 courses 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 12 hours of Social Sciences and Humanities from the following: 1 | 12 | |
African American Studies | ||
American Sign Language | ||
Classical Civilization | ||
| Humanities and the Environment | ||
Gender Studies | ||
Greek | ||
History | ||
| Interdisciplinary Humanities | ||
| Interdisciplinary Social Sciences | ||
| Humanities and the Experience of War | ||
| Advanced Interdisciplinary Humanities | ||
| Advanced Interdisc Social Science | ||
Philosophy | ||
Political Science | ||
Psychology | ||
Religious Studies | ||
Southern Studies (Any 1000 level) | ||
| Any Speech, Rhetoric, or Writing course at the 2000 level or higher | ||
Sociology | ||
Southern Studies | ||
Any of the languages offered by the Dept. of Modern Languages | ||
| Select three hours of fine arts courses 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 6-8 hours of natural science 2 | 6-8 | |
| any Math course at the 1000 level or above 3 | 3 | |
| Related Subjects - see footnote 4 | 18 | |
| Total Hours | 54-56 | |
- 1
At least six hours must be chosen from among the social sciences, which consist of anthropology, economics, political science, psychology, and sociology.
- 2
-
Majors for the B.S. degree must have 2 courses of laboratory science.
- 3
-
Any MATH course at the 1000 level or above except for MATH 2451 and 2452
- 4
-
18 hours required; choose from courses listed beside the major.
Anthropology - biology, computer science, English, economics, chemistry, geology, history, mathematics, philosophy, political science, psychology, sociology
Biology - anthropology, chemistry, CLSC 2010 Medical Terminology in Greek and Latin, geology, mathematics, physics, psychology
Chemistry - mathematics, physics
Economics - math (may include MATH 2611 Unified Calculus & Analytic Geometry I, MATH 2612 Unified Calculus & Analytic Geometry II, and MATH 3750 Introduction to Statistics I, but not MATH 2511 Calculus for Business, Econ., & Accy. I, MATH 2512 Calculus for Business, Econ., & Accy. II), finance, political science, computer science
Forensic Chemistry - biology, mathematics, pharmacology, physics; up to 6 hours of pharmacology courses
Mathematics - astronomy, biology, chemistry, computer science, economics, geology, physics
Physics - mathematics
Political Science - computer science, economics, mathematics, sociology, psychology
Psychology - biology, computer science, economics, mathematics, philosophy, sociology
Sociology - anthropology, computer science, English, economics, history, mathematics, philosophy, political science, psychology
Course Requirements
The B.S. in Political Science will require 42 hours of course work, including:
| 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 |
| POLS 3600 | Quantitative Methods in Pol Sci | 3 |
| Additional Political Science hours | 27 | |
| Total Hours | 42 | |
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, 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 POLS 3999A Special Topics in Political Science courses can count toward an emphasis area if the content is appropriate to the emphasis.
Specializations
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 - International Conflict and Cooperation
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Select 12 hours of the following: | 12 | |
| International Organization | ||
| Ethnic Conflict and International Terror | ||
| Intl. Politics of Nuclear Weapons | ||
| Politics of the World Economy | ||
| International Conflict | ||
| War in World Politics | ||
| Total Hours | 12 | |
Emphasis - Politics of 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 and 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
Students must also complete a MATH course at the 100 level or above except for MATH 2451 Mathematics for Elementary Teachers I and MATH 2452 Mathematics for Elementary Teachers II. At least 21 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.
18 hours of related subjects will be required. These will be selected from Computer science, economics, mathematics, sociology, psychology.