May 11, 2026

2026-2027 Undergraduate Catalog

Political and Global Affairs, B.S.

Political and Global Affairs
615-898-2708
James Chaney, program coordinator
pga@mtsu.edu

The Department of Political and Global Affairs offers the Bachelor of Arts and the Bachelor of Science degrees in each of its majors. Students majoring in Political and Global Affairs can choose a general focus or a concentration in International Relations, Public Policy and Management, or Pre-law.

Academic Map

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

Political and Global Affairs, B.S., Academic Map

Degree Requirements

True Blue Core (TBC)	41 hours
Major Requirements	42 hours*
Minor 1	15-18 hours
Minor 2	15-18 hours
Electives	1-13 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:

6 credit hours from GEOG 2000 , PS 1005 , or PS 1010 (HSSR)

Major Requirements (42 hours)

Political and Global Affairs Core (15 hours)

PS 1005 - Introduction to American Politics 3 credit hours
PS 1010 - Introduction to Global Politics 3 credit hours
GEOG 2000 - Introduction to Regional Geography 3 credit hours
PGA 2000 - Professional Development in Political and Global Affairs 3 credit hours
PGA 4800 - Senior Seminar 3 credit hours

Methods (3 hours)

Choose one:
PGA 2100 - Understanding Data and Research in Political and Global Affairs 3 credit hours
PS 3001 - Research Methods in Political Science 3 credit hours
PS 3360 - Law and Policy 3 credit hours

Experiential Component (3 hours)

Majors must complete one study abroad, off-campus study, internship, field experience, or community-based research project. Options are provided, but not limited to, courses below:

GEOG 3402 - Cultural Geography Field Course 4 credit hours
GEOG 4572 - Geography Internship 1 to 12 credit hours
GEOG 4600 - Field Experience in Geography 3 to 6 credit hours
GS 3300 - Global Studies Internship 1 to 12 credit hours
PLEG 4010 - Internship 3 credit hours
PS 4040 - Pre-Law Internship 3 credit hours
PS 4270 - Non-profit and NGO Internship 1 to 12 credit hours
PS 4271 - Political Campaigns and Politics Internships 3 to 12 credit hours
PS 4280 - The Washington Experience 12 credit hours
PS 4290 - Public Service Internship 1 to 12 credit hours
PS 4360 - Legislative Internship 3 to 12 credit hours
PS 4950 - Community-Based Research Practicum 1 to 6 credit hours

Comparative/International Relations (3 hours)

Choose one:
PS 3210 - International Relations 3 credit hours
PS 3220 - Comparative Politics 3 credit hours

Political Theory (3 hours)

Choose one:
PS 4230 - Classical Political Theory 3 credit hours
PS 4700 - American Political Thought 3 credit hours
PS 4920 - Modern Political Theory 3 credit hours
PS 4930 - Introduction to Contemporary Political Philosophy 3 credit hours

Political and Global Affairs Electives (15 hours)

Take four courses from any of the following: GEOG, GS, PLEG, PGA, or PS prefix 12 credit hours
Take one upper-division (3000-4000 level) course: GEOG or GS prefix 3 credit hours

Minor 1 (15-18 hours)

Minor 2 (15-18 hours)

Electives (1-13 hours)

Curriculum: Political and Global Affairs, B.S.

Freshman

Written Communication 3 credit hours
Information Literacy 3 credit hours
Creativity and Cultural Expression 3 credit hours
Scientific Literacy 8 credit hours
Human Society and Social Relationships/General electives 6 credit hours
Quantitative Literacy 3 credit hours
PS 1005 - Introduction to American Politics 3 credit hours (HSSR)
PS 1010 - Introduction to Global Politics 3 credit hours (HSSR)

Subtotal: 32 hours

Sophomore

GEOG 2000 - Introduction to Regional Geography 3 credit hours (HSSR)
PGA 2000 - Professional Development in Political and Global Affairs 3 credit hours
Creativity and Cultural Expression Literature 3 credit hours
Non-Written Communication 3 credit hours
History and Civic Learning 6 credit hours
Creativity and Cultural Expression 3 credit hours
Minor courses 6 credit hours
PS 3210 - International Relations 3 credit hours OR
PS 3220 - Comparative Politics 3 credit hours

Subtotal: 30 hours

Junior

Political and Global Affairs electives (GEOG, GS, PLEG, PGA, or PS prefix) 9 credit hours
Minor courses 15 credit hours
PGA 2100 - Understanding Data and Research in Political and Global Affairs 3 credit hours OR
PS 3001 - Research Methods in Political Science 3 credit hours OR
PS 3360 - Law and Policy 3 credit hours
Choose one:
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

PGA 4800 - Senior Seminar 3 credit hours
Political and Global Affairs elective (GEOG, GS, PLEG, PGA, or PS prefix) 3 credit hours
Political and Global Affairs upper-division elective (GEOG, GS prefix; 3000-4000 level) 3 credit hours
Experiential Component course 3 credit hours
Minor courses 9 credit hours
Minor courses/General electives 6 credit hours
General elective 1 credit hour

Political and Global Affairs, B.S.

Academic Map

Degree Requirements

True Blue Core (41 hours)

Major Requirements (42 hours)

Political and Global Affairs Core (15 hours)

Methods (3 hours)

Experiential Component (3 hours)

Comparative/International Relations (3 hours)

Political Theory (3 hours)

Political and Global Affairs Electives (15 hours)

Minor 1 (15-18 hours)

Minor 2 (15-18 hours)

Electives (1-13 hours)

Curriculum: Political and Global Affairs, B.S.

Freshman

Subtotal: 32 hours

Sophomore

Subtotal: 30 hours

Junior

Subtotal: 30 hours

Senior

Subtotal: 28 hours