Department of Political Science, College of Social and Applied Human Sciences.

The Department of Political Science offers courses in the following areas: Theory and Analysis, Canada and the Americas, Public Policy and Administration, and Comparative / International Development. A brochure describing each of these fields of study, and containing further course information, is available from the departmental office. The Department of Political Science also participates in several interdisciplinary programs, including European Studies and International Development Studies.

Students taking courses in Political Science may enrol initially in POLS*1150, POLS*1400, POLS*1500, the latter 2 courses providing overview and introductory treatments of particular interest to students who wish to take higher level courses in the department but who do not intend to specialize in the discipline. For students intending to pursue a general or honours specialization in Political Science, however, POLS*1150 is required.

Courses at the 2000 level provide students with essential grounding in specific areas of the discipline and are normally prerequisite for enrolment in 3000 and 4000 level courses. Students in the honours program major are required to take POLS*3650. This course is also required for students in the honours program minor.

In addition to the requirements set out in the B.A. Program Regulations, the Department of Political Science requires that students pursuing general and honours programs successfully complete a core requirement of 2.50 credits and meet specific distribution requirements as follows:

Core Requirements

a) POLS*1150, POLS*2000, POLS*2300

b) POLS*2080 or POLS*2100

c) POLS*2200 or POLS*2250

Area of Concentration (General Program)

A minimum of 5.00 credits in Political Science is required, including:

a) the Political Science core

b) 2.50 additional credits, at least 1.50 of which must be at the 3000 level or above

Major (Honours Program)

A minimum of 9.00 credits in Political Science is required, including:

a) the Political Science core

b) POLS*3650

c) at least 0.50 credit at the 3000 level in three of the 4 fields in the department

d) 2.00 credits at the 4000 level, including the POLS*4970/POLS*4980 Honours Thesis sequence

Minor (Honours Program)

A minimum of 5.00 credits in Political Science is required, including:

a) the Political Science core

b) POLS*3650

c) 0.50 credit at the 4000 level

The Department of Political Science offers a comprehensive counselling service for students in Political Science. As part of their program, the department also permits students to include 0.50 credit towards the general degree and 1.00 credit towards the honours degree from an approved list of courses offered by other departments.

Students are encouraged to consult with the departmental advisor for either of these programs about course selection, substitution of courses offered by other departments, or other matters.