Political Science, BA

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Courses in political science are designed to enlighten students about the concept of government including the origin, emergence, integration, transformation and decline of political communities as well as their institutions and the rules and practices by which they resolve conflicts and make decisions. It involves an examination of the public policies of communities and the manner in which these policies are made. The political science major earns a B.A. degree.

In addition, political science in conjunction with other academic programs, offers majors in politics and international relations and in politics and law. Both majors earn B.A. degrees.

Honors

Students majoring in political science and judged qualified by the political science faculty may, upon invitation, elect to pursue honors work in political science. To graduate ”With Honors in Political Science,” a student must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0, a minimum major GPA of 3.25, and complete POL 498 and POL 499 . In addition, they must also write and orally defend an honors thesis and be nominated for honors by the department

General Education Requirements (37 hours)

Graduation Requirements (4 hours)

General Education Requirements

Technical Requirements (9 Hours)

ECO 121G - Principles of Economics Macroeconomics Hours: 3
PSY 100 - Introduction to Psychology Hours: 3
or
SOC 100 - Introduction to Sociology Hours: 3

Choose 3 hours from the following options:

ECO elective (excluding ECO 121G )
PSY elective (excluding PSY 100 )
SOC elective (excluding SOC 100 )

Major Requirements (36 Hours)

POL 120 - American Government Hours: 3
POL 140G - Comparative Politics Hours: 3
POL 210 - Introduction to Political Analysis Hours: 3
POL 215 - Statistics for Political and Social Research Hours: 3
POL 230G - International Relations Hours: 3
POL 250 - Public Administration Hours: 3
POL 310 - Research and Writing in Political Science Hours: 3

Choose 6 hours from the following options:

(two different topic areas)

POL 410 - Selected Topics in Political Analysis Hours: 3
POL 420 - Selected Topics in American Politics Hours: 3
POL 450 - Selected Topics in Public Administration and Policy Analysis Hours: 3
POL 430 - Selected Topics In International Politics Hours: 3
or
POL 440 - Selected Topics in Comparative Politics Hours: 3

POL Major Electives (9 Hours)

Choose 9 hours of POL courses

General Elective

General Electives (34 hours) as needed to reach 120 hours overall.

Total Credit Hours - Minimum 120 hours

On occasion, technical and/or program requirements may also meet specific General Education requirements. Please confer with your program advisor to determine which courses, if any, may be counted accordingly.

All bachelor’s degree programs at Lenoir-Rhyne require at least 120 credit hours. If, in combination, General Education, technical, and program requirements do not generate at least 120 hours, additional credits must be completed to achieve 120 hours. These classes may be general electives, or a student may complete a minor or additional major.

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