Political Science

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Major and minor offered 

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

Major Requirements 

Students entering St. Lawrence with an interest in government and politics are strongly advised to enroll in two of the 100-level core courses (103, 105, 108) during their first year, one of which should be taken as a writing-intensive version (103W, 105W, 108W). Students should also seek early advising from a government department faculty member. 

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

  1. Core Courses (4): Government majors must complete the introductory course for each of the four disciplinary subfields: American Politics (103), Comparative Politics (105), International Politics (108) and Political Theory (206). One of the three 100-level courses must be designated writing intensive (WI) and should be completed before the end of the sophomore year. These four introductory courses must be taken in residence on the St. Lawrence campus. 

  1. Research Seminar (1): During the sophomore or junior year, ideally after completion of the writing-intensive course, majors must take one of the government Research Seminars (290, 291, 292, 293). Students may take only one research seminar. 

  1. Elective Courses (4): The remaining four units may be earned through a selection of elective courses, one of which must be 300/400-level course taken on 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. No more than two of the elective courses may be taken off campus. 

A major may elect no more than four out of nine units for the major in any one subfield of the discipline. 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 government take fewer than five government courses at St. Lawrence. 

Environmental Studies–Government Major 

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

Minor Requirements 

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

  1. Core Courses (2). Government minors must complete two of the following introductory courses: American Politics (103), Comparative Politics (105), International Politics (108) and Political Theory (206). These courses must be taken in residence on the St. Lawrence campus. 

  1. Research Seminar (1). During the sophomore or junior year, minors must take the government Research Seminar (290). 

  1. Elective Courses (2). The remaining two units may be earned through a selection of upper-level (i.e. non-introductory) elective courses. The department will credit one upper-level government course taken in a St. Lawrence-sponsored off-campus program. Internships in government 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 government 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