Political Science, International Studies Concentration, B.A.

Requirement for the Political Science Major - 36 Credits

Required Major Core – 9 Credits

Required Courses

POLS 0101 - American National Government Credits: 3
POLS 0206 - Political Analysis Credits: 3

One of the following political theory courses

POLS 0215 - American Political Thought Credits: 3
POLS 0301 - Classical Political Thought Credits: 3
POLS 0302 - Modern Political Thought Credits: 3
POLS 0335 - Feminist Political Thought Credits: 3
POLS 0340 - Politics and “The Family” Credits: 3
** Additional theory courses may qualify with department chair approval

International Studies Concentration - 12 credits

Courses discussing political systems, economies, and cultures of the world; international relations and world politics; and international norms and organizations (12 credits: POLS 0209 and three additional courses).

Required

POLS 0209 - International Relations Credits: 3

Choose 3

POLS 0110 - Introduction to Asian Studies Credits: 3
POLS 0210 - Comparative European Government Credits: 3
POLS 0211 - Comparative Foreign Policy Credits: 3
* POLS 0211 Comparative Foreign Policy may be taken only with the permission of the instructor and taken only one time for the field of concentration. However, it may be taken up to three times for the major and a fourth time for university elective credit, as the course focuses on different countries
POLS 0220 - International Law and Human Rights Credits: 3
POLS 0224 - Politics of Developing Countries Credits: 3
POLS 0230 - Asian Politics Credits: 3
POLS 0231 - Latin American Politics Credits: 3
POLS 0305 - American Foreign Policy Credits: 3
POLS 0323 - Selected Topics in Political Science Credits: 3
POLS 0337 - The World at War Credits: 3
POLS 0397 - Political Science Internship Credits: 3 or 6 (can be taken for 3 credits in the International Studies concentration)
POLS 0398 - Washington Internship Credits: 15 (can be taken for 3 credits in the International Studies concentration)
POLS 0399 - Independent Study Credits: 3
* Additional courses may count with department chair approval.

Required Electives - 15 Credits

15 credits of additional political science course work.

For Selected Topics courses (POLS 0323) to count toward the field of concentration, the courses must be within that field.

Students transferring from another school must complete a minimum of 18 credits in Political Science at Westfield State University.

The Department of Political Science encourages students to participate in internships. Students may apply up to 6 credits of internships toward the 36-credit major, 3 of which may be applied toward the 18-credit minor. For details, see the department internship manual on from the link https://www.westfield.ma.edu/images/uploads/political-science/Internship_Manual.pdf or pick up a copy in the department.

Additional Graduation Requirements

All students must meet the University Graduation Requirements and complete a common core of studies, distributed among the different academic areas as detailed in the Common Core .