Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science

The minimum number of semester credit hours required for the Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, including the Core Curriculum requirements, is 120. Thirty-nine of the total semester credit hours required for the degree must be at the upper-division level. At least 33 semester credit hours of political science coursework are required to fulfill the political science major. The 33-hour total is considered a minimum, and students are encouraged to deepen and broaden their grasp of their major through careful allocation of their elective semester credit hours. Students are required to complete at least 6 semester credit hours of support work. These courses, which require advance approval from advisors, should serve to introduce students to other social sciences.

All candidates for this degree must fulfill the Core Curriculum requirements and the degree requirements, which are listed below.

Core Curriculum Requirements (42 semester credit hours)
Students seeking the Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science must fulfill University Core Curriculum requirements in the same manner as other students. If courses are taken to satisfy both degree requirements and Core Curriculum requirements, then students may need to take additional courses in order to meet the minimum number of semester credit hours required for this degree. For a complete listing of courses that satisfy the Core Curriculum requirements, see pages 3-5 of this catalog..

Degree Requirements

1. 33 semester credit hours in the major, 21 hours of which must be at the upper-division level. Internships cannot be applied to the 21 hours of required upper-division coursework. Courses must be selected in the following manner:
   
   1. 6 semester credit hours of courses selected from the following:
      
      POL  2503  Introduction to Political Theory
      POL  2513  Public Administration and Public Policy
      POL  2533  Introduction to Political Science
      POL  2603  International Politics
      POL  2623  Law and Society
      POL  2633  Comparative Politics
      
      
   2. 3 semester credit hours:
      
      POL  2703  Scope and Methods in Political Science
      
      
   3. 21 semester credit hours of political science electives, 18 hours of which must be at the upper-division level, with at least 3 hours in each of the following subfields (see list of courses by subfield following the description of the political science minor):
      
      American politics
      Comparative politics
      International politics
      Political theory
      Public administration or public law
      
      
   4. One senior-level seminar selected from the following:
      
      POL  4153  Seminar in Jurisprudence
      POL  4973  Seminar in Political Science
      
   
   
2. 6 semester credit hours of courses in the social sciences outside the major, chosen with consent of the advisor
   
   
3. 6 semester credit hours of a single language other than English
   
   
4. 33 semester credit hours of electives

Course Sequence Guide for B.A. Degree in Political Science

This course sequence guide is designed to assist students in completing their UTSA undergraduate Political Science degree requirements. This is merely a guide and students must satisfy other requirements of this catalog and meet with advisors in the College of Liberal and Fine Arts Advising Center for individualized degree plans. Progress within this guide depends upon such factors as course availability, individual student academic preparation, student time management, work obligations, and individual financial considerations. Students may choose to take courses during Summer terms to reduce course loads during long semesters.

Bachelor of Arts in Political Science - Four-Year Academic Plan

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