Political Science

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Major and minor offered 

Visit the political science department webpage at https://www.stlawu.edu/offices/political-science 

Major Requirements 

Students entering St. Lawrence with an interest in political science are strongly advised to enroll in two of the 100-level core courses (103, 105, 108) during their first year. Students should also seek early advising from a   political science department faculty member. 

The major in political science requires the completion of nine units distributed as follows: 

  1. Core Courses (3): Political Science majors must complete each of the following introductory courses: 

    • American Politics (103) 

    • Comparative Politics (105) 

    • International Relations (108). 

  2. Political Thought (1): Political Science majors must complete one course designated as “political thought.” 

  3. Research Seminar (1): Political Science majors must complete the research seminar in political science (POLS 290). This course must be taken at St. Lawrence and may not be a transfer course from another institution.  

  4. Elective Courses (4): The remaining four units may be earned through a selection of elective courses, one of which must be 300/400/4000-level course taken on campus. Students with a strong interest in a particular area of Political Science may choose to concentrate their elective courses around one of five areas of focus, though this is purely optional and students who wish to gain broader training across the discipline may take a diverse range of elective courses which pique their interest that do not align with any one area. The five foci are:  

    1. International Relations, Development, and Diplomacy 

    2. Law and Policy 

    3. Representation and Governance 

    4. Social Justice and Identity 

    5. Self-designed theme 

College credits earned though the AP United States Government and Politics and/or the AP Comparative Government and Politics exams in high school will count toward the American Politics (103) and Comparative Politics (105) requirements, respectively. 

College credit from the IB Global Politics course may count toward the Introduction to International Relations (108) requirement.  However, once a student has enrolled at SLU, these three introductory courses must be taken in residence on the St. Lawrence campus. 

At least 6 courses for the major must be taken on the SLU Canton campus. No more than two of the elective courses may be taken off-campus. Students may count up to one unit of internship coursework and one unit of independent study toward the elective requirements. Students who complete the two-course SYE: Honors Thesis may not also use an internship or an independent study course to meet the major requirements, although such courses do count toward the units required for graduation.  

The academic work of transfer students in political science is evaluated upon entry into the department for determination of credit. In no case may a transfer student majoring in political science take fewer than five political science courses at St. Lawrence. 

Environmental Studies–Political Science Major 

A combined environmental studies–political science major is available. Please consult the Environmental Studies section of this Catalog for the complete list of courses. 

Minor Requirements 

The minor in political science requires the completion of five units distributed as follows: 

  1. Core Courses (2). Political Science minors must complete two of the following introductory courses: American Politics (103), Comparative Politics (105), and International Politics (108).  College credits earned though the AP American and/or Comparative Government exams in high school will count toward the American Politics (103) and Comparative Politics (105) requirements. The IB Global Politics may count toward Introduction to International Relations (108).  

  1. Elective Courses (3). The remaining three units may be earned through a selection of upper-level (i.e. non-introductory) elective courses at the 200, 300, 400, 3000 and/or 4000-level. This may include a POLS 290- Research Seminar course but this is not required.  The department will credit one upper-level political science course taken in a St. Lawrence-sponsored off-campus program. Internships in political science do not count as courses toward the minor. 

Honors 

Departmental honors are awarded at graduation to majors who have achieved a minimum grade point average of 3.5 in political science courses and who have also received an “honors” designation on the senior thesis. Additional information regarding the senior honors thesis can be found on the departmental website. (See Honors in the Curriculum chapter of this Catalog.) 

See Government courses