Requirements
Changes in the Political Science Curriculum
The Political Science curriculum underwent dramatic changes prior to the Fall 2010 entering class. Effective immediately, in our new curriculum, all lower division courses are 3 semester hour classes, and most upper division courses are 4 semester hour classes. In addition, Political Science’s new curriculum has consolidated its subfields into four categories. While upper division requirements in the major and minor have changed, the total number of required semester hours to complete the major and minor has remained the same.
For upper division requirements, students now take a total of six upper division courses for the major and three upper division courses for the minor.
Students entering Loyola Marymount University prior to Fall 2010 will also be included in the new curriculum. If current political science students have questions about how this change affects their program of study, contact an advisor in the Political Science Department.
Major Requirements
36 semester hours
A. Lower Division Requirements: 4 courses (12 semester hours)
1. Students must take two of the following three courses: POLS 135, 155, and 165. In addition, students must take POLS 210 and 220.
2. An average grade of C (2.0) must be obtained in these courses.
B. Upper Division Requirements: 6 courses (24 semester hours), including:
- At least one 500-level seminar; and
- An average grade of C (2.0) must be obtained in courses included in the major.
C. Additional Requirements
- Students must take at least one course in each of the four subfields in Political Science: Political Thought, American Politics, Comparative Politics, and International and World Politics. These courses can be completed at the upper or lower division level.
- Students must take at least four 4 semester hour courses to complete the major.
Minor Requirements
18 semester hours
A. Lower Division Requirements: 2 courses (6 semester hours)
Students can take any two of the following lower division courses: POLS 135, 155, 165, 210, and 220.
B. Upper Division Requirements: 12 semester hours
At least two 4 semester hour upper division courses must be taken to complete the upper division minor requirements. The remaining four semester hours may be completed by taking any of the offered upper division courses.
C. Of the 12 upper division semester hours, at least two courses must fall within two of the four subfields in Political Science: Political Thought, American Politics, Comparative Politics, and International and World Politics.
An average grade of C (2.0) must be obtained in the courses included in the minor.
Specific programs should be planned individually with the advice of a faculty advisor.
Honors in Political Science
Students who attain a GPA of 3.6 or higher, both overall and in the major, are automatically eligible to enroll in the Honors Seminar (POLS 581) in the Fall of their senior year and write an Honors Thesis (POLS 591) in the Spring of the senior year. Other students may be invited to pursue Honors by the faculty. The Honors Seminar is a prerequisite for the Honors Thesis. Students who attain a grade of A- or higher for the Honors Thesis will graduate with Honors in Political Science. Both the Honors Seminar and Honors Thesis count toward the 24 semester hours of upper division course work required of majors.
Secondary Teacher Preparation Program in Social Science (Political Science)
For information on this program, see the Secondary Teacher Preparation Program section in this Bulletin.