Requirements for a bachelor's degree Requirements for a minor in Political Science. Honors Program. Honor Society. London Internship Program. Washington Internship Program. Courses of Instruction Pre Law (POSC) Available as a major and a minor on the B.A. and B.S. degrees. The Department offers students options for course concentrations in the following subfields: American politics, political theory, international politics, comparative politics, public law, research methods, and public affairs internships. Students seeking certification for teaching Political Science/Government at the secondary school level should be advised by the departmental secondary certification advisor. Specific requirements for Political Science as a teaching field include:
Pass/No Credit Policy. Courses applied to any of the Department's three majors including associated requirements and the accompanying minors may not be taken on a Pass/No Credit basis except by the specific consent of a student's academic advisor, duly recorded in the student's advisement file. Requirements for a bachelor's degree The B.A. degree with a major in Political Science requires 27 hours of Political Science courses passed with a grade of "C" or better and a maximum of 12 hours below the 30000 level. The degree requires POSC 20093 (Scope and Methods of Political Science), 20203 (Introduction to Political Theory), 20303 (International Politics), and 30203 (Topics in Political Theory), plus 6 hours at the 30000 level in a first subfield, 6 hours at the 30000 level in a second subfield and 3 hours in a third subfield. Any "Topics" courses may be repeated provided the specific subject matter changes. Students intending to do graduate work in international or comparative fields are encouraged to continue foreign language study beyond the 20000 level. No more than six hours of internship credit may be counted. The three-hour seminar taken in conjunction with the Washington Center internship program may be counted in addition to six hours of internship. A minor is required; any minor approved for the B.A. degree is acceptable. The B.S. degree with a major in Political Science requires 27 semester hours of Political Science courses passed with a grade of "C" or better with a maximum of 12 hours below the 30000 level. The degree requires POSC 20093 (Scope and Methods of Political Science), POSC 20203 (Introduction to Political Theory), 20303 (International Politics), and 30093 (Topics in Political Science Methods), plus 6 hours at the 30000 level in the American Politics field, 6 hours at the 30000 level in a second subfield, and 3 hours at the 30000 level in another subfield. The B.S. degree has the following associated requirements, a total of twelve hours chosen from each of the following groups: I. Statistics (3 hours) DESC 20153 Statistical Analysis MATH 10043 Elementary Statistics II. Computer Applications (3 hours) COSC 10403 Introduction to Computer Science COSC 10203 Computer Literacy MANA 20103 Business Applications of Information Systems PSYC 10514 Principles of Behavior (substitutes one-for-one for 3-hour course) III. Methods of Social Research (3 hours) ECON 30313 Research Methods in Economics ECON 50343 Econometrics HIST 30063 Introduction to Historical Research PSYC 30503 Behavioral Research SOCI 30383 Research Methods in Sociology IV. Enrichment of Research Skills (3 hours) DESC 30253 Introductory Operations Research DESC 30353 Regression Analysis ENGL 30223 Technical Writing ENGL 30283 Cyberliteracy JOUR 40513 Media Analysis and Research JOUR 40903 Research Methods for Mass Media MARK 40113 Marketing Research MATH 30803 Elements of Probability and Statistics PHIL 30133 Symbolic Logic I PHIL 30323 Philosophy of Science PSYC 30263 Problem Solving in Task Oriented Groups Students intending to do graduate work in the social sciences or business are encouraged to take the B.S. degree program. It is also recommended for students interested in employment in government and politics. Students should be aware that some graduate programs in the social sciences require calculus (MATH 10283 or 10524) for admission. Any "Topics" courses may be repeated provided the specific subject matter changes. Students intending to do graduate work in international or comparative fields are encouraged to study relevant foreign languages. No more than six hours of internship credit may be counted. The three-hour seminar taken in conjunction with the Washington Center internship program may be counted in addition to six hours of internship. A minor is required; any minor approved for the B.S. degree is acceptable. The B.A. degree in Political Science with emphasis in International Relations requires 27 hours passed with a grade of "C" or better and a maximum of 12 hours below the 30000 level. Required courses are: POSC 20303 (International Politics), 20093 (Scope and Methods of Political Science), 20203 (Introduction to Political Theory), and either 30093 (Topics in Political Science Methods) or 30203 (Topics in Political Theory), plus 6 hours at the 30000 level in the International Politics field, 6 hours at the 30000 level in the Comparative Politics field, and 3 hours at the 30000 level in another field. No more than 6 hours of internship credit may be counted. The three-hour seminar taken in conjunction with the Washington Center internship program may be counted in addition to six hours of internship. This emphasis requires an interdisciplinary minor, which consists of 18 semester hours selected from the following groups: I. Third-year foreign language-6 hours II. Upper division international ECON, or upper division ECON approved by the advisor-3 hours III. Upper division, internationally-related courses from ANTH, ECON, GEOG, HIST, JOUR or RELI, selected with department approval-9 hours No more than 6 hours of the above can be taken from any one department. Additional courses may be considered for the minor if taken at the TCU London Center, the TCU-UDLA program, or other international TCU programs, with the permission of the department. The department strongly encourages students to participate in an international educational experience; it especially encourages an international educational experience in a setting where the student's language of study is used. Requirements for a minor in Political Science. A minor requires 18 semester hours in Political Science passed with a grade of "C" or better. No more than three semester hours may be earned at the 10000 level and no more than nine semester hours may be earned below the 30000 level. Students must take either POSC 20093 or 20203. Any "Topics" course may be repeated provided the specific subject matter changes. No more than six hours of internship credit may be counted. The three-hour seminar taken in conjunction with the Washington Center internship program may be counted in addition to six hours of internship. Honors Program. Political Science majors who plan to pursue Departmental Honors must be members of the Honors Program and should enroll in POSC 30003 during their junior year and POSC 40003 during the fall semester of their senior year. Honor Society. The Department sponsors the Beta Lambda Chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha, national honor society in Political Science. Membership in Pi Sigma Alpha requires completion of a minimum of 10 semester hours of political science courses (at least six of which must be in regular classroom courses on TCU's campus and at least three of which must be advanced, i.e., 30000-level or above) and members must have at least a 3.0 GPA in political science courses and at least a 3.5 GPA overall. Applicants need not be political science majors or minors. London Internship Program. TCU's London Internship Program is part of TCU's London Centre, which provides an academic program, as well as housing and supervision of internships. A student in any major may apply for an internship appropriate to her or his career interests. The work obligation of each intern will be either three days per week (9 credit hours) or four days per week (12 credit hours). Students may take academic courses at The London Centre to total 15 credit hours. Professor Jackson (Political Science) is the Director of the London Internship Program. Washington Internship Program. TCU is affiliated with the Washington Center, which provides placements, supervision, and housing for students who seek a professional experience in a public or private organization in the nation's capital. Students selected for the program are required to have a minimum GPA of 3.0 and must return to TCU for at least one semester after internship. Students apply each fall, a year in advance of their internship, and are required to attend a noncredit preparatory seminar in the spring. Students may earn up to 15 hours of credit through this program, which is multi-disciplinary and available to students in any major field.
Political Science as a Discipline 10093 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE. Introduces students to varying
thought on and divergent practices of politics in a variety of nations.
20203 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL THEORY. Introduction to the normative
or value dimensions of political inquiry through the study of selected "classics"
in political literature.
20303 INTERNATIONAL POLITICS. Introduction to both the major actors
and issues which comprise contemporary international politics. A major goal
of the course is to familiarize students with non-western perspectives on international
phenomena. Public Law 30403 TOPICS IN PUBLIC LAW. The course sequence includes Gender and Sexual Orientation in Contemporary Law, International Human Rights, and several courses on American Constitutional Law. A simulation of the U.S. Supreme Court is offered in alternate years.
30503 TOPICS IN COMPARATIVE POLITICS. European politics, Latin American politics, Middle Eastern politics, developing political systems, etc.
40900 INTERNSHIP IN POLITICAL SCIENCE. Washington Center or at The
London Centre. Full-time internships with a public or private agency in Washington,
D.C. or in London, England, offered either through the Washington Center or
through TCU's London Centre. The internship will allow students to integrate
theory and practice in a supervised professional setting. (up to 12 sem. hrs.)
|