Undergraduate Minor Requirements
Students must complete at least 28 credits with at least 20 upper division hours. No more than 4 credits of PS 401 – PS 410 can apply to the minor. This limit includes credits for a political science internship. Students choose between a general minor or specialization in one of three minor tracks.
The general minor requires:
- At least two introductory PS courses and
- At least 20 credits of upper division PS courses (300 or 400 level).
The tracks differ from the general minor in three ways:
- Instead of choosing any two introductory PS courses, the two courses are specified.
- Four of the five upper division courses are selected from a list of track courses (the last one can be any upper division PS course).
- One of the track courses can be a SOC or ECON course from the list.
General Political Science Minor Checklist
Course |
LD Credits |
UD Credits |
PS 201 Introduction to United States Government PS 204 Introduction to Comparative Politics PS 205 Introduction to International Relations PS 206 Introduction to Political Thought (choose 2 of the 4) |
8 |
|
Any Upper Division PS class |
|
4 |
Any Upper Division PS class |
|
4 |
Any Upper Division PS class |
|
4 |
Any Upper Division PS class |
|
4 |
Any Upper Division PS class |
|
4 |
Sub-Totals: |
8 |
20 |
Total Credits in the Minor: |
|
28 |
Political Science Minor Track Checklist
Course |
LD Credits |
UD Credits |
Environmental & Energy Politics: PS 201 and PS 205 International Affairs: PS 204 and PS 205 Law and Politics: PS 201 and PS 206 (choose 1 of the 3 track combinations) |
8 |
|
Any PS class from the matching track |
|
4 |
Any PS class from the matching track |
|
4 |
Any PS class from the matching track |
|
4 |
Any PS, SOC, or ECON class from the matching track |
|
4 |
Any Upper Division PS class |
|
4 |
Sub-Totals: |
8 |
20 |
Total Credits in the Minor: |
|
28 |
Political Science Minor Tracks - List of Courses
Law and Politics Track
At least 3 courses from:
- PS 311 Congressional Politics
- PS 312 Presidential Politics
- PS 325 Gender and Law
- PS 326 Judicial Process & Politics
- PS 331 State & Local Politics
- PS 354 International Organizations & Global Politics
- PS 361 Classical Political Thought
- PS 362 Modern Political Thought
- PS 363 Gender & Race in American Political Thought
- PS 364 Contemporary Political Theory
- PS 365 American Political Thought
- PS 366 Atlantis to Utopia: Politics of the Ideal State
- PS 371 Public Policy Problems
- PS 372 Public Administration
- PS 375 The Civil Rights Movement and Policies
- PS 381 Constitutional Law: Government Powers and Constraints
- PS 382 Constitutional Law: Civil Liberties
- PS 383 Constitutional Law: Civil Rights
- PS 384 Constitutional Law: Rights of the Accused
- PS 413 Ethics in Public Policy
No more than 1 course from:
- ECON 461 Law, Economics, and Regulation
- SOC 340 Deviant Behavior and Social Control
- SOC 438 US Immigration Issues in 21st Century
- SOC 440 Juvenile Delinquency
- SOC 441 Criminology and Penology
- SOC 442 Sociology of Drug Use and Abuse
- SOC 448 Law and Society
International Affairs Track
At least 3 courses from:
- PS 341 European and EU Politics
- PS 342 The Politics of Corruption
- PS 343 Russian Politics
- PS 344 Latin American Politics
- PS 345 Politics of Developing Nations
- PS 346 Middle East Politics
- PS 348 Chinese Politics
- PS 350 Japanese Politics
- PS 351 American Foreign Policy
- PS 354 International Organizations & Global Politics
- PS 356 International Politics of Asia Pacific
- PS 427 Nuclear Nonproliferation and Arms Control
- PS 428 Terrorism and Global Security
- PS 441 Democratization
- PS 446 East Asian Political Economy
- PS 453 International Development Policy
- PS 455 Politics of Climate Change
- PS 457 U.S.–China Relations
- PS 458 International Political Economy
- PS 470 Global Food Politics & Policy
- PS 474 International Energy Politics and Policy
- PS 477 International Environmental Politics and Policy
No more than 1 course from:
- ECON 340 International Economics
- ECON 440 Economics of Globalization
- ECON 441 International Finance Theory and Policy
- ECON 455 Economic Development
- SOC 360 Population Trends & Policy
- SOC 460 The Sociology of Globalization
Environmental and Energy Politics Track
At least 3 courses from:
- PS 314 Interest Group Politics
- PS 331 State & Local Politics
- PS 371 Public Policy Problems
- PS 372 Public Administration
- PS 374 Sustainable Living: Practices and Policies
- PS 455 Politics of Climate Change
- PS 461 Environmental Political Theory
- PS 470 Global Food Politics and Policy
- PS 473 U. S. Energy Policy
- PS 474 International Energy Politics and Policy
- PS 475 Environmental Politics and Policy
- PS 476 Science and Politics
- PS 477 International Environmental Politics and Policy
- PS 478 Renewable Energy Policy
No more than 1 course from:
- ECON 466 Energy Economics
- SOC 381 Social Dimensions of Sustainability
- SOC 456 Science and Technology in Social Context
- SOC 475 Rural Sociology
- SOC 480 Environmental Sociology
- SOC 481 Society and Natural Resources