PSC Major Requirements
General Requirements
For the Political Science major a Columbian College student must complete the CCAS general curriculum requirements and meet the CCAS residency, GPA, and hour requirements. If you are in another division of the University the CCAS core requirements do not apply.
Political Science Requirements
Complete three Political Science Intro courses, 30 hours (10 courses) in 100 level coursework in Political Science that meet the group distribution requirement and include a Pro-Seminar (PSC 192), and six courses in the Social Sciences that include at least 6 credits of ECON or 6 credits of HIST.
» PSC checklist
Intro courses
PSC 001, Introduction to Comparative Politics
PSC 002, Introduction to American Politics and Government
PSC 003 or IAFF 005, Introduction to International Relations
- A score of 4 or 5 on the AP US Government exam gives credit for PSC 002.
- A score of 4 or 5 on the AP Comparative Politics exam gives credit for PSC 001.
- PSC 011 and PSC 012, Politics and Values, count as PSC 001, PSC 002, and PSC 003 as well as one 100 level Group E class.
- Honors Introduction to Comparative Politics counts as PSC 001.
- Honors Intro to American Politics and Government counts as PSC 002.
- Honors Introduction to International Relations counts as PSC 003.
Political Science 100 level Requirements
Thirty hours of 100 level PSC courses must include:- At least one course from each of Group A, Group B, Group C, Group D, and Group E
- A Pro-seminar
- Four PSC 100 level electives (from any group or groups)
Group A, Comparative Politics
Note: PSC 001 or the equivalent is a pre-requisite to all Group A courses.
At least one of the following courses:
PSC 130, Comparative Politics of Western Europe
PSC 131, Comparative Politics of Central and Eastern Europe
PSC 134, Global Perspectives on Democracy
PSC 136, State-Society Relations in the Developing World
PSC 137, Development Politics
PSC 166, Government and Politics of Russia
PSC 167, Human Rights
PSC 169, Comparative Politics of South Asia
PSC 170, Comparative Politics of China and Northeast Asia
PSC 171, Politics and Foreign Policy of China
PSC 173, Comparative Politics of Southeast Asia
PSC 174, Politics and Foreign Policy of Japan
PSC 177, Comparative Politics of the Middle East
PSC 179, Politics and Foreign Policy of Israel
PSC 181, Comparative Politics of Middle and Southern Africa
PSC 183, Comparative Politics of Latin America
Group B, American Government and Politics
Note: PSC 002 or the equivalent is a pre-requisite to all Group B courses.
At least one of the following courses:
PSC 111, State and Urban Politics
PSC 112, State and Urban Policy Problems
PSC 113, Judicial Politics
PSC 114, US Constitutional Law and Politics I
PSC 115, US Constitutional Law and Politics II
PSC 116, The American Presidency
PSC 117, Executive Branch Politics (cross-listed with PAd 117)
PSC 118, Legislative Politics
PSC 119, US Political Parties and Politics
PSC 120, Public Opinion
PSC 121, US Political Participation
PSC 122, Science, Technology, and Politics
PSC 124, Issues in Domestic Public Policy
PSC 125, Women and Politics
PSC 128, Media, Politics, and Government
PSC 129, Media and Politics (cross-listed with SMPA 128)
Group C, International Politics, Law, and Organizations
Note: PSC 003 or IAFF 005 or the equivalent is a pre-requisite to all Group C courses
At least one of the following courses:
PSC 139, International Political Economy
PSC 140, Theories of International Politics
PSC 142, International Organizations
PSC 144, International Law and Politics
PSC 146, US Foreign Policy
PSC 149, International Security Politics
PSC 161, European-Atlantic Relations
PSC 168, Post-Soviet Foreign Policy
PSC 175, International Relations of East Asia
PSC 176, The Arab-Israeli Conflict
PSC 178, International Relations of the Middle East
PSC 182, African International Politics
PSC 184, International Relations of Latin America
Group D, Research Methods
At least one of the following courses:
PSC 101, Scope and Methods of Political Science
PSC 104, Methods of Public Policy Analysis
- PSC 104 is restricted to students with a declared Public Policy focus in PSC.
- PSC 101 is restricted to at least junior standing.
- The following courses waive the PSC 101 requirement: SOC 101, SMPA 051, PSYC 101.
- A student making the substitution for PSC 101 must take an additional PSC 100 level elective class, i.e., thirty hours of 100 level PSC credits are required for the major.
Group E, Political Thought:
At least one of the following courses:
PSC 105, Major Issues of Western Political Thought I
PSC 106, Major Issues of Western Political Thought II
PSC 107, 20th Century Political Thought
PSC 108, Freedom and Equality
PSC 110, American Political Thought
One Pro-seminar, PSC 192
- All PSC 192 sections are WID classes
- PSC 192 is restricted to declared PSC majors with at least junior standing with priority given to those with senior standing.
- A senior PSC major may, with the permission of the professor teaching the course, complete a graduate class to substitute for PSC 192. Graduate classes do not count as WIDs.
Four PSC 100 level electives
- These may come from any group or groups.
- Transfer credit listed as PSC 099 counts as 100 level elective credit hours towards the major.
- A maximum of three credits of PSC 187, Internship, will count towards the 100 level PSC electives.
Other PSC 100 level Classes
PSC 190, Special Topics classes, depending on the topic, may be used to satisfy the group distribution requirement.
For the 2008 - 2009 Academic Year- Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism counts as Group C
- Gender and Terrorism counts as Group C
- Politics of the Internet counts as Group B
- African American Politics counts as Group B
- Freedom in US Thought and Pop Culture counts as Group E
PSC 191, Independent Study
A senior PSC major may enroll in PSC 191 provided the student has a full time Political Science professor to sponsor the independent study, is researching a topic not on the regular PSC course list, and has developed a syllabus and planned course work equivalent to the number of credits of PSC 191 enrolled in.
- Two of these courses (6 credits) must be HIST or ECON.
- For this requirement any course on the CCAS Social and Behavioral Sciences GCR counts with the exception of PSC. Any HIST, WSTU, PSTD, or IAFF class also counts towards this requirement.