Courses

The online Bachelor of Science in Political Science is a liberal arts program requiring 120 credits for completion. Admission to the major requires a grade of "C" or better in MATH 110 or MATH 140 and a grade of B or better in PLSC 309. These courses must be completed by the end of the semester during which the admission-to-major process occurs. A grade of "C" or better is required for all remaining courses in this major.

Course List — Bachelor of Science in Political Science

Prescribed Courses (16 credits)
Title	Abbreviation	Description	Credits
Scientific Study of Politics	PLSC 010	This course introduces students to both the scientific study of politics and the way that study advances our understanding of political actors, events, processes, and institutions.	3 credits
Introduction to Political Research	PLSC 308	Introduction to conceptualization, research design, and measurement in political research. Prerequisite: any 3 credits in political science	3 credits
Quantitative Political Analysis	PLSC 309	Data analysis and statistical applications in political research, including data processing, inferential statistics, contingency analysis, correlation and regression, and multivariate analysis. Prerequisite: any 3 credits in political science	3 credits
Introduction to Programming or Introduction to Programming Techniques	CMPSC 101 or CMPSC 121	Fundamentals of computational thinking, including reasoning about problems at multiple levels of abstraction; and analyzing code for its behavior, efficiency, and correctness. or Design and implementation of algorithms. Structured programming. Problem-solving techniques. Introduction to a high-level language, including arrays, procedures, and recursion. Prerequisite: MATH 110 or prerequisite or concurrent MATH 140	3 credits
Techniques of Calculus or Calculus With Analytic Geometry I	MATH 110 or MATH 140	Functions, graphs, derivatives, integrals, techniques of differentiation and integration, exponentials, improper integrals, applications. Prerequisite: MATH 022 or MATH 40 or MATH 41 or satisfactory performance on the mathematics placement examination or Functions, limits; analytic geometry; derivatives, differentials, applications; integrals, applications. Prerequisite: MATH 22 and/or MATH 26 and satisfactory performance on the mathematics placement examination or MATH 40 or MATH 41 or satisfactory performance on the mathematics placement examination.	4 credits

Additional Courses (Choose 9 credits)
Title	Abbreviation	Description	Credits
Introduction to American National Government	PLSC 001	Introduction to development and nature of American political culture, constitution/structural arrangements, electoral/policy processes; sources of conflict and consensus.	3 credits
Introduction to Comparative Politics	PLSC 003	Introduction to study of comparative government and politics: normative/empirical theories; government functions in modern societies; representative structures and processes.	3 credits
Contemporary Political Ideologies	PLSC 007N	Critical analysis of contemporary political ideologies such as liberalism, conservatism, socialism, anarchism, fascism, feminism, and environmentalism.	3 credits
International Relations	PLSC 014	Characteristics of modern nation-states and forces governing their international relations; nationalism; imperialism; diplomacy; current problems of war and peace.	3 credits
Introduction to Political Theory	PLSC 017N	Introduction to basic issues in political theory through analysis of selected major political thinkers.	3 credits

Additional Courses — Data Intensive (Choose 9 credits)
Title	Abbreviation	Description	Credits
Analyzing of Public Policy in the American States	PLSC 404	This course provides students with the tools to empirically evaluate policy proposals and outcomes in the American states. Prerequisite: PL SC 001, PL SC 309 (concurrent)	3 credits
Analysis of Elections	PLSC 429	The new politics, its technology, and the strategic perspectives that underlie it. Prerequisite: PL SC 001, PL SC 309	3 credits
Analysis of Public Opinion and Political Attitudes	PLSC 447	This course engages students in the empirical study of public opinion. Prerequisite: PL SC 001, PL SC 309	3 credits
Empirical Legal Studies	PLSC 476	This course engages students in the empirical study of law and the courts. Prerequisite: PL SC 001, PL SC 309	3 credits

PL SC 400 Level Courses (9 credits)
Title	Abbreviation	Description	Credits
International Political Economy	PLSC 412	The transnational politics of trade, investment, aid, raw materials, and the environment; nation-states, multinational corporations, and the U.N. Prerequisite: ECON 102, ECON 104 or I B 303	3 credits
International Relations Theory	PLSC 418W	A survey of traditional and contemporary conceptual frameworks and theoretical approaches for the analysis of international relations. Prerequisite: PL SC 014	3 credits
The Politics of Terrorism	PLSC 439	Analysis of political terrorism as a violent alternative for peaceful change and traditional warfare in the nuclear age. Prerequisite: CRIMJ 100 or PL SC 014 or permission of program	3 credits
American Foreign Policy	PLSC 442	Principles of American foreign policy; processes of policy formulation; roles of the President, Congress, the State Department, and other government agencies. Prerequisite: PL SC 014	3 credits
Politics and Institutions of Latin-American Nations	PLSC 456	Social forces and processes, governmental institutions, foreign policies of major states of Latin America. Prerequisite: PL SC 003 or PL SC 20/200N	3 credits
International Relations of the Middle East	PLSC 467	The international relations of the Middle East, stressing national security policies of regional and outside actors, and major contemporary conflicts. Prerequisite: PL SC 014 or HIST 181	3 credits
Politics and the Media	PL SC 468	An examination of how politics and public policy affect and are shaped by the news media, as a political institution, in America. Prerequisite: PL SC 001 or PL SC 003	3 credits
American Constitutional Law	PLSC 471	The origins of judicial review, landmark decisions of the Supreme Court, and their impact on the American form of government. Prerequisite: PL SC 001	3 credits
The American Legal Process	PLSC 472	Analysis of the roles, procedures, and policies characterizing the American legal system. Prerequisite: PL SC 001	3 credits
American Judicial Behavior	PLSC 473	Analyzes behavior of judges and other participants in the legal process; examines how and why courts function as policymaking bodies. Prerequisite: PL SC 001	3 credits
Congress and the Presidency	PLSC 480W	Basic characteristics and processes of the national legislature and executive; roles and interaction of these institutions in the policy process. Prerequisite: PL SC 001	3 credits
Policy-Making and Evaluation	PLSC 490	Advanced analysis of public policy, emphasizing policy evaluation and the factors that determine policy success and failure. Prerequisite: PL SC 001	3 credits

Methodology (Choose 9 credits)
Title	Abbreviation	Description	Credits
Strategy and Politics	PLSC 410	Introduction to various methods of analyzing strategic behavior using social choice and game theories. Prerequisite: PL SC 001, PL SC 003, or PL SC 014	3 credits
Analysis of Variance	STAT 461	Analysis of variance for single and multifactor designs; response surface methodology. Prerequisite: STAT 200 or PL SC 309	3 credits
Applied Regression Analysis	STAT 462	Introduction to linear and multiple regression; correlation; choice of models, stepwise regression, nonlinear regression. Prerequisite: STAT 200 or PL SC 309	3 credits
Applied Time Series Analysis	STAT 463	Identification of models for empirical data collected over time; use of models in forecasting. Prerequisite: STAT 462	3 credits
Survey Sampling	STAT 466	Introduction to design and analysis of sample surveys, including questionnaire design, data collection, sampling methods, and ratio and regression estimation. Prerequisite: STAT 200 or PL SC 309	3 credits
Applied Statistics	STAT 500	Descriptive statistics, hypothesis testing, power, estimation, confidence intervals, regression, one- and 2-way ANOVA, Chi-square tests, diagnostics. Prerequisite: PLSC 309 and department and graduate school approval required.	3 credits
Demographic Techniques	SOC 573	Models and measures of vital processes (fertility, mortality, migration) and their effects on growth and age structure of human populations. Prerequisite: PLSC 309 and department and graduate school approval required.	3 credits
Data, GIS, and Applied Demography	APDEM 802	This course provides an overview of key demographic data sets, and promotes familiarity with, and appropriate use of, these data. Prerequisite: PLSC 309 and department and graduate school approval required.	3 credits

Capstone Experience (3 credits)
Title	Description	Credits
Capstone	Select 3 credits from LA 495, or PLSC 494, 496, 404, 429, 447, or 476 (Sem: 7–8)	3 credits

Supporting and Related Area Courses

Select 12 credits from a department-approved list of courses in the arts, humanities, languages, social and behavioral sciences, natural sciences, and related fields in consultation with your adviser. Students can take a range of courses across disciplines or concentrate their selection to complete a minor in a supporting field.* (Semesters 1–8)

Supporting and Related Area Courses (12 credits)
Subject	Course Numbers
Communication	COMM 403, 405, 409, 410
Communication Arts and Sciences	CAS 404, 452, 455, 475
Criminology 482 or Criminal Justice	CRIMJ 304, 435, 465
Economics	all ECON courses at the 300-level and above
Geography	all GEOG courses at the 300-level and above
History	all HIST courses at the 400-level and above
Political Science	all PLSC courses at the 300-level and above
Psychology	all PSYCH courses at the 400-level and above
Sociology	all SOC courses at the 400-level and above
Information Science and Technology	IST 235, 250

* Courses used to satisfy Required or Supporting and Related Area requirements may not be double-counted as General Education or electives.

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