Political Science

All WSU undergraduates must complete a minimum of 120 semester credits of which 40 credits must be at the 300 – 400 level. Students must also complete the University Common Requirements (UCORE). These can generally be satisfied with a direct transfer degree. For a list of direct-transfer agreements, visit WSU’s Transferring an Associate Degree page.

Students must also fulfill the College of Arts and Sciences graduation requirements and the program requirements of the degree. Time to degree completion varies depending on semester of enrollment and course availability. Not all courses are available all semesters. Your academic advisor will help map out the best plan for you. The major requires 36 semester credits in political science course work, at least 15 credits of political science at WSU. (Note: 9 credits must be at the 300 – 400 level)

12 semester credits

• POL_S 101 [SSCI] – American National Government
• POL_S 102 [SSCI] – Introduction to Comparative Politics
• POL_S 103 [SSCI] – International Politics
• POL_S 201 [QUAN] – Political Research Methods

24 semester credits

Students must complete 24 credits of electives in Political Science, 6 credits of electives should be used to fulfill the University Writing Requirements. Political Science electives should include a sufficient number of 300 – 400 level electives to fulfill the university requirement of 40 upper division credits.

Students must complete the University Writing Portfolio, and two Writing in the Major courses. For online students, the Writing in the Major requirement will be fulfilled by taking two courses from the list below:

• POL_S 404 [M] – The Judicial Process
• POL_S 405 [M] – Comparative Criminal Justice Systems
• POL_S 430 [CAPS] [M] – The Politics of Natural Resource and Environmental Policy
• POL_S 472 [CAPS] [M] – European Politics

All students, including community college transfer students with an approved transferable AA degree from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Arizona or Hawaii, or students pursuing a second major in the College of Arts and Sciences, will be held to the following additional requirements:

• Foreign Language: Complete 2 years of high school or 1 year of college in a single foreign language
• Completion of an [EQJS] designated course.
• Additional 1 lab credit of [BSCI], [PSCI] for a total of 8 semester credits and 2 labs.

The Pre-Law option is designed to prepare students for law school and eventual careers in law. The curriculum reflects recommendations of the Association of American Law Schools.

A total of 30 Political Science credits are required.

Political Science Core Requirements

• Pol_S 101 [SSCI] – American National Government
• Pol_S 102 [SSCI] – Comparative Politics
• Pol_S 103 [SSCI] – International Politics
• Pol_S 201 [QUAN] – Political Research Methods

Political Science Pre-Law

• Pol_S 300 – The American Constitution
• Pol_S 402 – Civil Liberties
• Pol_S 404 [M] – The Judicial Process

Political Science Electives

At least 9 additional credits.
3 credits must be from a Writing in the Major [M] course.

Advanced Writing – select one class

• English 201 [WRTG] – Writing & Research
• English 301 [WRTG] – Writing & Rhetorical Conventions
• Phil 200 [WRTG] – Critical Thinking & Writing

Communication – select one class

• Com 102 [COMM] – Public Speaking in Digital Age
• H_D 205 [COMM] – Communication & Life Skills

Economics – select one class

• EconS 101 [SSCI] – Fundamentals of Microeconomics
• EconS 102 [SSCI] – Fundamentals of Macroeconomics

Ethics and Law – select one class

• BLAW 210 – Law and the Legal Environment of Business
• CRMJ 320 – Criminal Law (CRMJ 101 pre-req)
• CRMJ 420 [M] – Criminal Procedure (CRMJ 101 pre-req)
• ENGLISH 112 – Language in the Real World
• HISTORY 410 – History of American Indian Sovereignty and Federal Indian Law
• PHIL 360 – Business Ethics
• PHIL 365 – Biomedical Ethics

Philosophy

• Phil 201 [QUAN] – Introduction to Formal Logic
• Phil 470 – Philosophy of Law