Getting Started (Majors Guide)

College: SBS

(Revised Spring 2018)

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How to Explore/Get Started in the Major

Suggested General Education Courses

Under the new guidelines students are still required to take two courses, one in U.S. Diversity and one in Global Diversity. Students entering in Fall 2018 are expected to take one of these diversity courses, either U.S. or Global, in their first year on campus.  For Fall 2018 Registration, look for courses with DU (formerly U) and DG (formerly G) to help students stay on track.  Any course labled DU will satisfy the requirement for a U.S. diversity course and any course labeled DG will satisfy the the requirement for Global diversity course. Course planning guidelines, including guidelines for students, are available at www.umass.edu/gened.

A broad liberal arts curriculum is recommended.

Suggested Major and Prerequisite Courses

Required introductory courses:
Three introductory Political Science courses as follows (one in each category). Students must achieve a cumulative average of 2.0 or greater across the three introductory courses below:

• Category 1: POLISCI 101 American Politics or POLISCI 162 Introduction to Constitutional Law or POLISCI 181 Controversies in Public Policy
• Category 2: POLISCI 111 Comparative Politics or POLISCI 121 World Politics
• Category 3: POLISCI 171 Introduction to Political Theory or POLISCI 203 American Political Thought or POLISCI 270 Ancient Political Thought or POLISCI 271 Modern Political Thought or POLISCI 273 Power

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How to Declare the Major

Students can declare when they enter the university or at any time in their UMass career by scheduling an advising appointment via the department website.

Transfer Students:

Transfers should schedule an advising appointment through the department website as soon as they arrive on campus.

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Summary of Requirements for the Major

Minimum total # of credits required: 44

These requirements apply to students entering the University of Massachusetts in Fall 2018 or later. For requirements for earlier entry years see archived Guides to Undergraduate Programs.

• Three courses at the introductory level (one from each category).
• Twenty-four credits at the 200-level or above, at least 12 of which must be at the 300-level or above. For primary majors the Junior Year Writing course (377) and the Integrative Experience (IE) course may be counted among these 24 credits.
• Nine credits, or three courses, of Global Knowledge & Skills. Students may select one of the following options: Option 1 - Global Courses, 3 courses from the Global Knowledge and Skills list (available on the department website); or Option 2 - complete a Global Certificate (list available on departmental website); or Option 3 - 9 credits of Study Abroad (IPO-approved program); or Option 4 - Language, 9 credits of language taken in sequence; or Option 5 - Individualized, 9 credits of work with approval from Undergraduate Program Director.

NOTE: No more than one graded Independent Study or Internship may count toward major requirements. The following courses will not satisfy the Political Science upper-level requirements: Honors research, Honors Project, and Honors Thesis courses (POLISCI 499Y, POLISCI 499P, POLISCI 499T). All classes for the major must be taken with a grade (not pass/fail). An overall GPA of 2.0 in the major is required.

Minor requirements:

Students planning to undertake a minor in Political Science must complete one introductory course, two classes at the 200-level, and two classes at the 300-level with a cumulative GPA of 2.0. All courses must be taken in the Political Science department and no more than two may be transferred from elsewhere.

For further information, contact:
Barbara Ciesluk, Thompson 310, ciesluk@polsci.umass.edu
Amy Grieger, Thompson 302, agrieger@umass.edu
Adrian Grace, Thompson 308, amgrace@polsci.umass.edu
Or visit the Department’s website at http://polsci.umass.edu/
our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/UMass-Amherst-Department-of-Political-Science/185778744792124
Twitter at https://twitter.com/umasspolsci/
Linked In at https://www.linkedin.com/groups/2312224/profile