Academics

The political science curriculum at Radford University is intended to provide undergraduates with a broad background in the discipline while allowing them to specialize in a field of special interest.  The major and minor requirements in political science are intended to develop students’ skills in critical thinking, information literacy, oral and written communication, ethical citizenship, problem solving, understanding of diversity/global issues, and collaboration—in addition to their knowledge of politics and government.  For each concentration in the major, students may pursue either a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree.

For students desiring to teach political science at the secondary level, the teacher licensure option is offered through the Bachelor of Science program for Social Science.

***Your catalogue year is the year you entered Radford***

Catalogue Year 2015-2016 AND LATER

Public Affairs

Law, Justice, and Society

Foreign and National Security Policy

Catalogue Year 2014-2015 AND EARLIER

Political Science General

Public Administration and Public Service

Law, Justice, and Society

Catalogue Year 2015-2016 and Beyond

Core Curriculum Requirements (43-45 credits)

In College Core B, all majors in programs in the College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences are required to pass a second course in Social and Behavioral Sciences; i.e., CHBS majors cannot fulfill College Core B requirements with a Health and Wellness course. Note: Some concentrations in the major require specific courses to fulfill Core Curriculum requirements.

Total Credits Needed for Degree 120

Note:  POSC electives must be taken at the 300-400 level. Courses transferred in from community college are not eligible for credit as 300-400 level classes.

Concentrations

Public Affairs Concentration (39 credits)

Political Science Foundations (27 credits)

Upper Level Courses

Upper-Level Classes (12 credits) chosen from courses with AG, PT, or PA designations. Additionally, upper-level classes may include POSC 485 - Internships in Political Science and Public Administration and POSC 498 - Independent Study (AG; CG; IR; PA; PT: as designated).

Law, Justice, and Society Concentration (39)

Core Curriculum Requirements:

Core Curriculum Requirements (43-45 credits) of which the following are required:

University Core B:

College Core A:

College Core B:

Political Science Foundations

Political Science Electives (9)

Additional Courses (15 credits)

15 credit hours of course work chosen from the list below. Courses must be chosen from 3 different disciplines. At least 9 credit hours must be at 300-400 level.

Foreign and National Security Policy Concentration (39 credits)

Political Science Foundations (24 credits)

Upper Level Courses (15 credits)

Choose 15 hours from 300-400 level classes with a CG or IR designation.  Additionally, upper-level classes may include POSC 485 - Internships in Political Science and Public Administration and POSC 498 - Independent Study.

Recommended Courses

We recommend a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree for this concentration.  Students will increase their marketability and credibility in international affairs with language training. Particularly useful are strategic languages Radford offers are Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, and Russian.

Recommended Core Curriculum Courses:

We also recommend the following course from other departments for students interested in this concentration:

B.S. Requirements (6 credits)

Bachelor of Science requirements for political science majors consist of six semester hours chosen from the following:

Note(s):  Students should consult with their academic advisors to determine which degree option best suits their needs. The department strongly encourages students to take a foreign language, but also recognizes that there is no one program of study that is equally suited to every student. Regardless of whether students pursue the Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree, they are encouraged to include some of the above courses in their elective curricula.

B.A. Requirements (6-8 credits)

Note(s): Completion of a minimum of two semesters of one language in a foreign/sign language program. Students will be placed in the appropriate level of their chosen language depending on their previous foreign language experience and on the placement examination results as determined by the Foreign Language department. 

Career Resources

Learn about working at the State Department: http://careers.state.gov/learn/who-we-are/videos

Graduation Requirements

To graduate with a major in Political Science, a student must have a grade point average of 2.0 or higher in all courses taken with a POSC prefix.

Teaching Licensure

Students wishing to teach government at the secondary level should declare a social science major Social Science, B.A. and/or Social Science, B.S.). To strengthen credentials as a government teacher, students should consider a double major in both social science and political science.

Catalogue Year 2014-2015 and Earlier

B.A./B.S. Requirements (6-12 Credits)

Total Credits Needed for Degree -120

Political Science Concentration (33 credits)

Political Science Foundations (15 credits)

  • POSC 110 - Introduction to Politics
  • POSC 120 - Introduction to American Government
  • POSC 231 - Comparative Government
  • POSC 241 - Theories of International Relations
  • POSC 490 - Seminar (AG; CG; IR; PA; PT; as designated) or POSC 491 - Scope and Methods in Political Science (PT)

Concentration (18 credits)

Students must complete one upper-level course (other than POSC 485, POSC 488, POSC 490, or POSC 498) in each of the following areas: American Government (AG), Comparative Government (CG), International Relations (CG), and Political Theory (PT). The total hours earned in political science must be a minimum of 33.

POSC electives must be taken at the 300-400 level. Courses transferred in from community college are not eligible for credit as 300-400 level classes

Public Administration and Public Service Concentration (42 credits)

Political Science Foundations (18 credits)

  • POSC 110 - Introduction to Politics
  • POSC 120 - Introduction to American Government
  • POSC 231 - Comparative Government
  • POSC 241 - Theories of International Relations
  • POSC 490 - Seminar (AG; CG; IR; PA; PT; as designated)
  • POSC 491 - Scope and Methods in Political Science (PT)

Upper-level courses

Students also complete one upper-level course (other than POSC 485, POSC 488, POSC 490, orPOSC 498) in each of the following areas: Comparative Government (CG), International Relations (IR), and Political Theory (PT).

Concentration (15 hours)

Students must complete:

  • POSC 300 - Public Administration (AG, PA)
  • POSC 335 - American Public Policy (AG, PA)
  • POSC 432 - Public Organization Theory and Leadership (AG, PA)
  • POSC 435 - Contemporary Problems in Public Administration (AG, PA)

and one of the following AG courses:

  • POSC 320 - Congress (AG)
  • POSC 321 - The American Presidency (AG)
  • POSC 330 - State and Local Government (AG)
  • POSC 331 - Urban and Metropolitan Politics (AG)
  • POSC 485 - Internships in Political Science and Public Administration

Note(s):

POSC electives must be taken at the 300-400 level. Courses transferred in from community college are not eligible for credit as 300-400 level classes.

Concentration In Law, Justice, and Society

Core Curriculum Requirements:

Core Curriculum Requirements (43-45 credits) of which the following are required:

University Core B:

  • Humanities: PHIL 112
  • Social and Behavioral Sciences: SOCY 110 or SOCY 121 or ECON 205 or ECON 206

College Core A:

  • Global Perspectives: ENGL 201 or ENGL 202 or HIST 101 or HIST 102 or INST 101 orRELN 112
  • US Perspectives: HIST 111 or HIST 112

College Core B:

  • Humanities/VP: POSC 110
  • Social/Behavioral Sciences: HIST 111 or HIST 112 or ECON 205 or ECON 206 or PSYC 121 or SOCY 110.

Political Science Foundations (15 hours)

  • POSC 120 - Introduction to American Government
  • POSC 231 - Comparative Government or  POSC 241 - Theories of International Relations
  • POSC 291 - Political Inquiry or POSC491 - Scope and Methods in Political Science (PT)
  • 300-400 level Political Theory course
  • POSC 492 - Mock Trial or POSC 493 POSC 493 - Moot Court

Political Science Electives (9)

  • POSC 320 - Congress (AG)
  • POSC 321 - The American Presidency (AG)
  • POSC 333 - Judicial Process (AG)
  • POSC 438 - Constitutional Law: Governmental Powers (AG)
  • POSC 439 - Constitutional Law: Civil Liberties (AG)
  • POSC 440 - Law, Justice, and Public Policy
  • POSC 485 - Internships in Political Science and Public Administration

Additional Courses (15 credits)

15 credit hours of course work chosen from the list below. Courses must be chosen from 3 different disciplines. At least 9 credit hours must be at 300-400 level.

  • COMS 332 - Argumentation and Advocacy
  • COMS 400 - Media Law and Ethics
  • CRJU 100 - Introduction to Criminal Justice
  • CRJU 315 - Constitutional Rights and the Criminally Accused
  • CRJU 360 - Criminal Law and Evidence
  • CRJU 481 - Forensic Law
  • ENGL 306 - Professional Writing
  • HIST 331 - African American History from 1865 (A)
  • HIST 354 - American Social History (A)
  • HIST 355 - American Social History (A)
  • HIST 356 - History of American Religious Thought (A)
  • HIST 381 - Recent America (A)
  • PHIL 213 - Critical Reasoning and Argumentation
  • PHIL 375 - Philosophy of Law
  • SOCY 210 - Social Problems
  • SOCY 250 - Social Inequality
  • SOCY 360 - Sociological Theory
  • SOCY 443 - Deviance
  • SOCY 444 - Juvenile Delinquency

B.S. Requirements (6 credits)

Bachelor of Science requirements for political science majors consist of six semester hours chosen from the following:

  • STAT 200 - Introduction to Statistics
  • ECON 105 - Principles of Macroeconomics OR
  • ECON 106 - Principles of Microeconomics

B.A. Requirements (6-12 credits)

The Bachelor of Arts degree requires completion of the B.A. language requirements described in the undergraduate catalog.

Graduation Requirements

To graduate with a major in Political Science, a student must have a grade point average of 2.0 or higher in all courses taken with a POSC prefix.

Teaching Licensure

Students wishing to teach government at the secondary level should declare a social science major (see Social Science, B.A. and/or Social Science, B.S.). To strengthen credentials as a government teacher, students should consider a double major in both social science and political science.

Minor in Political Science (18 Semester Hours)

The minor in political science consists of two courses from among POSC 110, POSC 120, POSC 231, and POSC 241; and twelve additional hours in the department, at least nine of which are at the 300- or 400-level.