Political Science, BA
General Requirements
To earn a degree, students must satisfy all requirements in each of the areas below, in addition to their individual major requirements.
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Program Requirements
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Students must complete a minimum of 39 credit hours, from approved courses.
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Students must complete a minimum of 21 upper division (3000-level and above) credit hours from approved courses.
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Students must earn a minimum grade of C- (1.7) in all courses that apply to the major and must achieve a minimum cumulative major GPA of 2.0. Courses taken using P+/P/F or S/U grading cannot apply to program requirements.
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Students must complete a minimum of 15 PSCI credit hours with CU Denver faculty.
Program Restrictions, Allowances and Recommendations
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Exceptions to the Experiential Learning Requirement
- In lieu of taking one of the identified courses, students may complete a substantial experiential learning project in a different PSCI class. The course instructor must certify with a written submission to the departmental undergraduate advisor that the experiential learning project in that course fulfills the departmental experiential learning requirement.
- Students with preexisting significant political or civic engagement experience in the community (i.e., community and civic leadership work, or work with government agencies, on political campaigns, or in non-governmental organizations) or for whom the experiential learning requirement poses a hardship may petition the undergraduate advisor to waive the requirement.
- Note: In either of these cases of exception to the Experiential Learning coursework requirement, 39 total credit hours in political science are still required for graduation.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Complete the following required courses: | 9 | |
| Introduction to Political Science: The Quest for Freedom and Justice | ||
| American Political System | ||
| Logic of Political Inquiry 1 | ||
| Complete one Political Theory courses from the approved course list: | 3 | |
| Complete one American Politics course from the approved course list: | 3 | |
| Complete one Comparative Politics course from the approved course list: | 3 | |
| Complete one International Politics course from the approved course list: | 3 | |
| Complete twelve additional Political Science (PSCI) elective credit hours. | 12 | |
| Complete a minimum of three credit hours from the following Experiential Learning courses: 2 | 3 | |
| Topics: Conference Participation | ||
| Independent Study: PSCI | ||
| The Urban Citizen | ||
| Internship | ||
| Independent Study: PSCI | ||
| Directed Research | ||
| Community Organizing and Community Development | ||
| CU at the Capitol | ||
| Global Study Topics | ||
| Complete the Political Science Capstone course, after completing at least 27 credit hours in the major. | 3 | |
| Capstone in Political Science | ||
| Total Hours | 39 | |
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This course must be taken by all majors as part of their first 24 credit hours in the program. If this requirement poses a hardship due to such issues as late-declaring majors, scheduling problems, or students transferring in multiple credits, please contact the Department undergraduate advisor to craft a solution.
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See exceptions under program restrictions, allowances and recommendations above.
Political Theory
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Complete one of the following: | 3 | |
| Theories of Capitalism | ||
| Religion and Politics | ||
| Gender Politics in the Middle East: Beyond Orientalism & Islamism | ||
| Civil Resistance in Theory and Practice | ||
| Theories of Social and Political Change | ||
| Early Political Thought | ||
| Modern Political Thought | ||
| Law, Politics and Justice | ||
| Coercion and the State | ||
| American Political Thought | ||
| Gender and Politics | ||
American Politics
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Complete one of the following | 3 | |
| Race, Gender, Law and Public Policy | ||
| Political Movements: Race and Gender | ||
| Power and Empowerment in the United States | ||
| Federal Law and American Indians | ||
| Film and Politics | ||
| The Urban Citizen | ||
| Politics of the Budgetary Process | ||
| Media and Politics | ||
| State Politics: Focus Colorado | ||
| Local Governance and Globalization | ||
| Political Parties and Pressure Groups | ||
| The Presidency | ||
| Urban Politics, Planning, and Development | ||
| Gentrification and Social Equity | ||
| Local Government and Administration | ||
| Seminar: American Politics | ||
| Denver Politics | ||
| American Foreign Policy | ||
| American National Security | ||
| Conflict Resolution and Public Consent Building | ||
| First Amendment: Theory and Context | ||
| U.S. Health Policy | ||
| Environmental Politics | ||
| Non-Profits and Social Change | ||
| Contemporary Culture and Politics in America | ||
| Constitutional Law I | ||
| Constitutional Law II | ||
| Judicial Politics | ||
| Labor and Working Class Politics | ||
| Immigration Politics | ||
| Chicano and Latino Politics | ||
| Legal Reasoning and Writing | ||
| Women and the Law | ||
| Contemporary Issues in Civil Liberties | ||
| Community Organizing and Community Development | ||
| CU at the Capitol | ||
Comparative Politics
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Complete one of the following* | 3 | |
| Political Systems of the World | ||
| Religion and Politics | ||
| Comparative Governance: Environment and Society | ||
| Comparative Politics: Europe | ||
| Third World Politics | ||
| Indigenous Political Systems | ||
| Indigenous Politics | ||
| Gender Politics in the Middle East: Beyond Orientalism & Islamism | ||
| Political Systems of the Middle East and North Africa | ||
| The Arab-Israeli Peace Process | ||
| Islamic Politics and Culture | ||
| East Asia in World Affairs | ||
| Political Systems of Sub-Saharan Africa | ||
| Social Movements, Democracy and Global Politics | ||
| Women's Rights, Human Rights: Global Perspectives | ||
| Dictatorships in 21st Century | ||
| Democracy and Democratization | ||
| Populist Movements around the World | ||
| Gender, Development and Globalization | ||
| Social Justice And Globalization | ||
| Advanced Indigenous Peoples' Politics | ||
| Political System of Russia and Its Neighbors | ||
| International Women's Resistance | ||
| Politics and Governments of South Asia | ||
| Politics and Government of China | ||
| Comparative Political Leadership | ||
| Political Violence | ||
| Global Study Topics | ||
International Politics
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Complete one of the following | 3 | |
| World Politics | ||
| Islamophobia | ||
| Local Governance and Globalization | ||
| Comparative Politics: Europe | ||
| Third World Politics | ||
| Politics, Power, and Profit | ||
| Indigenous Political Systems | ||
| Indigenous Politics | ||
| Gender Politics in the Middle East: Beyond Orientalism & Islamism | ||
| The Arab-Israeli Peace Process | ||
| Islamic Politics and Culture | ||
| Corruption in the U.S. and Abroad | ||
| East Asia in World Affairs | ||
| Political Systems of Sub-Saharan Africa | ||
| Social Movements, Democracy and Global Politics | ||
| Women's Rights, Human Rights: Global Perspectives | ||
| International Politics: Human Rights | ||
| Democracy and Democratization | ||
| The United Nations in World Affairs | ||
| Politics and Markets in Latin America | ||
| American Foreign Policy | ||
| American National Security | ||
| International Security | ||
| Gender, Development and Globalization | ||
| Social Justice And Globalization | ||
| International Law | ||
| Conflicts and Rights in International Law | ||
| The Politics of War Law | ||
| International Relations: War or Peace? | ||
| Advanced International Political Economy: Globalization | ||
| Global Ecological Crises | ||
| Advanced Indigenous Peoples' Politics | ||
| Political System of Russia and Its Neighbors | ||
| The Irish Diaspora | ||
| International Women's Resistance | ||
| Politics and Governments of South Asia | ||
| Politics and Government of China | ||
| Seminar on U.S. and China Relations | ||
| The Middle East in World Affairs | ||
| Middle East Politics and Society in Film | ||
| Political Violence | ||
| Strategies of Peacebuilding | ||
| War, Film, and International Law | ||
| Global Study Topics | ||
To learn more about the Student Learning Outcomes for this program, please visit our website.
To review the Degree Map for this program, please visit our website.