Political Science, B.A.

Political and Global Affairs
615-898-2720
Steven Livingston, program coordinator
Steven.Livingston@mtsu.edu

Students majoring in Political Science can choose a general focus or a concentration in either Public Policy and Management or Pre-law.

Academic Map

Following is a printable, suggested four-year schedule of courses:

Political Science, B.A., Academic Map

Degree Requirements

True Blue Core (TBC)	41 hours
Major Requirements	37 hours*
Foreign Language	6 hours
Minor	15-18 hours
Electives	18-24 hours
TOTAL	120 hours

*This program requires courses that can also fulfill requirements of the True Blue Core curriculum. If program requirements are also used to fulfill True Blue Core requirements, the number of elective hours will increase.

True Blue Core (41 hours)

True Blue Core (TBC) requirements (shown in curricular listings below) include courses in the Foundational Skills areas of Written Communication (WC), Information Literacy (Info Lit), Non-Written Communication (NWC), and Quantitative Literacy (Quant Lit). Knowledge Domains include Human Society and Social Relationships (HSSR), Scientific Literacy (Sci Lit), Creativity and Cultural Expression (CCE), and History and Civic Learning (HCL), which include Discovery and Explorations categories. Students must choose at least one course from each Discovery category.

The following courses required by the program meet True Blue Core requirements:

PS 1005 (HSSR) and PS 1010 (HSSR)
3 credit hours from foreign language 1010, 1020, 2010, or 2020 (NWC)

Major Requirements (37 hours)

The major in Political Sciences requires a 2.00 GPA.

PS 1005 - Introduction to American Politics 3 credit hours
PS 1010 - Introduction to Global Politics 3 credit hours
PS 2000 - Political Science and International Relations as a Profession 1 credit hour
PS 3001 - Research Methods in Political Science 3 credit hours
PS 4800 - Senior Seminar 3 credit hours

Political Science electives (15 hours)

Foreign Language Requirement (6 hours)

B.A. students must successfully complete 2010 and 2020 or any courses numbered above the 2000 level in a single foreign language.

Minor (15-18 hours)

Electives (18-24 hours)

Curriculum: Political Science, B.A.

Freshman

Written Communication 3 credit hours
Information Literacy 3 credit hours
Quantitative Literacy 3 credit hours
Creativity and Cultural Expression 3 credit hours
Scientific Literacy 4 credit hours
Human Society and Social Relationships/Electives 3 credit hours
Foreign language 6 credit hours
PS 1005 - Introduction to American Politics 3 credit hours (HSSR)
PS 1010 - Introduction to Global Politics 3 credit hours (HSSR)
PS 2000 - Political Science and International Relations as a Profession 1 credit hour

Subtotal: 32 Hours

Sophomore

PS 3210 - International Relations 3 credit hours OR
PS 3220 - Comparative Politics 3 credit hours
PS 3050 - The U.S. Presidency 3 credit hours OR
PS 3060 - The U.S. Congress 3 credit hours OR
PS 3250 - Public Management 3 credit hours OR
PS 3330 - Political Parties 3 credit hours OR
PS 3370 - American Constitutional Law I: Government Powers 3 credit hours
Creativity and Cultural Expression Literature 3 credit hours
Non-Written Communication 3 credit hours
Scientific Literacy 4 credit hours
Human Society and Social Relationships 3 credit hours
Creativity and Cultural Expression 3 credit hours
Minor course 3 credit hours
History and Civic Learning 6 credit hours

Subtotal: 31 Hours

Junior

PS 3001 - Research Methods in Political Science 3 credit hours
Minor courses 6 credit hours
PS electives 9 credit hours
General elective 3 credit hours
Foreign language 6 credit hours*
PS 4230 - Classical Political Theory 3 credit hours OR
PS 4700 - American Political Thought 3 credit hours OR
PS 4920 - Modern Political Theory 3 credit hours OR
PS 4930 - Introduction to Contemporary Political Philosophy 3 credit hours

Subtotal: 30 Hours

Senior

PS 4800 - Senior Seminar 3 credit hours
PS electives 6 credit hours
General electives 9 credit hours
Minor courses 9 credit hours