Department of Political Science

Chairperson: Associate Professor R. Brown; Professor Emeritus: Jamgotch; Distinguished Professors: Brandon, Sommer; Professors: Arrington, Brenner, Chernotsky, Dorin, Dubois, Lyons, McCoy, Mead, Mundt; Associate Professors: C. Brown, Fleitas, Rhodes; Assistant Professors: M. Brown, Combs, Moskowitz, Rassel, Stier, Thompson; Adjunct Professors: Borgsdorf, Brennan, Burkhalter, Griffin, Jones, Vickers

Political science is the study of politics: government, law, political behavior, public policy and political philosophy. The political science curriculum is designed primarily to afford broad and modern training in the study of political institutions and political behavior for students in the liberal arts and majors planning graduate work. It also affords careeroriented or preprofessional training for teaching, law, business, public relations or work in the mass media, domestic and foreign government service, the military, teaching, and a variety of active roles in politics.

On the graduate level, the Department offers the Master of Public Administration, a professional degree for persons seeking training in public administration with specialization in local government management. (For more information, see the Graduate School section of this Catalog.)

BACHELOR OF ARTS

A major in political science for the B.A. degree requires 30 semester hours of political science to include: (1) at least one course from the sub-fields of American Politics or Public Administration; (2) at least one course in the subfield of Comparative Politics and Area Studies; (3) at least one course in the subfield of International Politics; (4) at least one course in the subfield of Political Philosophy; (5) POLS 3220 (Research Methods). No more than nine hours of credit from POLS 3110, 3163, 3400 or 4800 can be offered to fulfill major requirements.

Consult the Department of Political Science for a Suggested Schedule to complete the B.A. degree with a major in Political Science.

Note: Students majoring in Political Science may not use political science courses to meet Goal III (Values) or Goal VI (Understanding the Individual, Society, and Culture) of the Goals of UNC Charlotte Education.

Concentration in International Studies. Students may opt to receive the Bachelor of Arts with a concentration in International Studies. Requirements include at least 18 hours (as part of the required 30 hours in Political Science) in courses listed under International Politics or Comparative Politics and Area Studies. Majors seeking this concentration are encouraged to diversify their coursework by completing the minor in International Studies. For information on the minor in International Studies, see Special Programs.

Concentration in Political Science for Elementary Education Majors. Students majoring in Elementary Education who choose to complete a concentration in Political Science are required to complete at least 27 credit hours to include: (1) at least one course in the subfields of American Politics or Public Administration, (2) at least one course in the subfield of Comparative Politics and Area Studies, (3) at least one course in the subfield of International Politics, and (4) at least one course in the subfield of Political Philosophy.

Concentration in Public Policy. Students may earn the Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science with a concentration in Public Policy by satisfying the following requirements: 1) Completion of POLS 3118, 3124, 3151, 3157, 3174, and 3175 as part of the required 30 hours in Political Science; and 2) Completion of ECON 2101 and 2102.

Advanced Placement Program. Students who receive an evaluation of Qualified (3) or better on the Advanced Placement examination in American Politics will receive credit for POLS 1110. Students who receive an evaluation of Qualified (3) or better on the Advanced Placement examination in Comparative Politics will receive credit for POLS 1130.

POLITICAL SCIENCE MINOR

The political science minor requires: 18 semester hours of political science to include: (1) at least one course from the sub-fields of American Politics or Public Administration; (2) at least one course from the subfield of Comparative Politics and Area Studies; (3) at least one course in the subfield of International Politics, and (4) at least one course in the subfield of Political Philosophy.

HONORS PROGRAM

To graduate with honors in Political Science and have this fact affixed to the student's transcript, a student must:
  1. Comply with all of the requirements for a major in Political Science;
  2. Complete at least two honors courses in the University Honors Program or in individual departments with a GPA at UNC Charlotte of at least 3.25;
  3. Have an overall GPA at UNC Charlotte of at least 3.25;
  4. Have a GPA of at least 3.4 in all Political Science courses taken at UNC Charlotte;
  5. Complete the Senior Thesis in Political Science (POLS 3990) with a grade of A and certification of the Department Honors Committee that the thesis deserves a grade of A and is of honors quality.
  6. Be admitted formally to honors candidacy by the University Honors Council at least two semesters before graduation.
To be certified as honors quality, a thesis must contain original research and demonstrate a high degree of scholarship. Students seeking the honors designation must notify the professor who is directing their thesis no later than the second week of classes that the thesis should be evaluated for honors requirements. The directing professor will notify the Honors Committee. Students would work on their thesis under the same procedures as all other students, but would then submit their thesis for evaluation by the Honors Committee. Faculty members who serve on the Honors Committee would not evaluate senior theses completed under their supervision. Instead, the Honors Committee would ask another faculty member to evaluate the thesis in question along with the other two members of the Committee. If the Committee agreed to confer Honors on the student's thesis, it would certify this to the Department Chair. If the Committee decided that the thesis did not warrant Honors, the student would still receive whatever grade the faculty member supervising the thesis had assigned.
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