2023-2024 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Department of Political Science and International Relations
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Political Science and International Relations
Telephone: (302) 831-2355
http://www.poscir.udel.edu/
Faculty Listing: https://www.poscir.udel.edu/people/faculty
The Department of Political Science and International Relations offers major programs leading to the B.A. in Political Science, the B.A. in International Relations, the B.A. in Political Science Education, and Honors degree options are available for all degrees. Minors in Legal Studies, Politics & Social Justice, Political Communication, and Political Science are also offered. Political Science students may also consider applying for a 4+1 Master’s in Public Administration degree during their junior year. Students may not double major in Political Science and International Relations nor can they minor in Political Science with majors in Political Science or International Relations. All other minors in the department (Legal Studies, Politics & Social Justice, and Political Communication) can be added with both the Political Science and International Relations majors.
Course work for all major options, with or without a concentration, aims to help students develop analytical, written, and oral communication skills and to prepare them for a wide array of careers and active citizenship. Upon completion of a political science or international relations Bachelor’s Degree, students will develop and strengthen their:
- ability to understand, apply, and communicate political science concepts and theories to understand and explain political phenomena.
- critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills in individual and collaborative settings.
- capacity to access, comprehend, synthesize, and apply political science literature in order to assess others’ work and for use in their own work.
- appreciation and understanding of the complexities and political implications of diversity.
- skills to critically consume and evaluate information and assess the ethical implications of contemporary political phenomena and global citizenship
- ability to apply basic research skills including research design, data analysis and interpretation.
Political Science Major
Political Science majors acquire a broad introduction to the study of government and politics within a liberal arts tradition. To graduate with a major in political science, students must complete 30 credits, including 12 core credits and 18 credits of elective while maintaining a minimum C- grade in all political science (POSC) courses. Students may choose a political science major with a concentration (American Politics; Global Politics; Law, Politics & Theory) or without a concentration. Political science majors are strongly encouraged to take advantage of many experiential learning opportunities including internships, undergraduate research, study abroad, and service learning. Detailed explanations of these opportunities are available on the Department’s website: www.udel.edu/poscir. Students should also note that no more than 45 POSC credits will count towards the 124 credits needed to graduate.
Political Science Majors often combine this major with other popular majors or minors, such as Public Policy, History, English, Psychology, Legal Studies, Political Communication, and Politics & Social Justice. Additionally, The Biden School of Public Policy and Administration (Biden School) offers a 4+1 BA/MPA program that allows students to complete both the Bachelor of Arts in Political Science (BA-PS) and the Master of Public Administration (MPA). Political Science majors may apply to the 4+1 accelerated, combined program after completing 60 credit hours. This is typically in the Fall semester of their Junior Year. The completed application will be reviewed by the admissions committee for the MPA. Find out more here.
International Relations Major
International Relations (IR) is an interdisciplinary major in the College of Arts and Sciences with core (18 credits), concentration (15 credits), and regional specialization (9 credits) requirements. Students take classes in: Political Science, History, Econics, Geography, and Foreign Languages. Students must choose one of four concentrations (Development and Political Economy; Diplomacy and Global Order; U.S. Foreign Policy and National Security; Societies and Beliefs) and one of five regional specializations (Africa; Asia; Europe; Latin America; Middle East). An honors degree option is available for all majors. All POSC courses taken for the IR major require a minimum grade of C- or better. Students must also receive a C- or better in 30 of the 42 required credit hours and have a cumulative average of 2.0 in the 42 required hours.
International Relations majors should give serious consideration to adding a major or minor in one of the University’s Area Studies programs: African Studies, Asian Studies, European Studies, Islamic Studies, Jewish Studies, and Latin American and Iberian Studies. Course work in these Area Studies programs will allow students to develop much richer and deeper knowledge of these regions. Moreover, most of the courses approved for the regional specialization within the International Relations major are also approved as fulfilling major or minor requirements in Area Studies, thereby facilitating a minor or double major.
Study Abroad, Internships, and Undergraduate Research: Political Science and International Relations majors are strongly encouraged to consider a study abroad experience as a part of their program. Students participating in study abroad programs not only enrich their education through exposure to foreign cultures, but often have the opportunity to take courses, internships, and service learning not offered on the Newark campus. In many instances, study abroad courses may count toward IR concentration and regional specialization requirements. Similarly, internships and undergraduate research experiences offered from the Newark campus may be applied to IR concentration and regional specialization requirements. Students should check with the Director of Undergraduate Studies when enrolling in study abroad courses and programs, internships, and undergraduate research programs to determine if the specific course, program, or educational experience meets a particular POSC or IR major requirement, or, if some major requirement might be waived by means of study abroad, internships, or undergraduate research programs. A maximum of three (3) credit hours of either POSC464, POSC 466, POSC 468, or POSC498 may count once towards completion of the required 18 hours of upper division coursework.
Adding the Political Science or International Relations Major: Students wishing to change their major to political science or international relations must have a minimum grade point average of 2.0.
Transfer Students: Students transferring from outside the University of Delaware should first pursue credit transfer through the UD Transfer Center. Political Science and International Relations courses not listed in the UD transfer matrix may be submitted to the Director of Undergraduate Studies for review.
Political Science Residency Requirement: At least 15 credits applicable to the political science major (courses with a POSC prefix) must be taken at the University of Delaware.
International Relations Residency Requirement: At least nine credits applicable to the International Relations major (courses with a POSC prefix) must be taken at the University of Delaware.
Political Science Education Major
In partnership with the Department of History, we also offer a major in political science education, which is one of several options in the Social Studies Secondary Education Program. It is a rigorous four-year program that prepares students to gain state certification to teach all Social Studies courses in both middle school and high school (grades 6-12). This program is accredited by the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and the Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (CAEP). Our program is also host to the Delaware chapter of the National Council for History Education (NCHE). Schools across the nation are seeking to hire well trained, enthusiastic, and creative teachers who will inspire their students to become knowledgeable and engaged citizens. The Social Studies Secondary Education Program at the University of Delaware is an outstanding place to learn how to become that teacher! Learn more here.
Legal Studies Minor
Director: Professor Wayne Batchis
Email: batchisw@udel.edu
https://www.poscir.udel.edu/undergrad/minors-offered/legal-studies
The minor in Legal Studies provides undergraduate students with the opportunity to explore the law from an interdisciplinary perspective. This program is designed for any student who is interested in examining the law and its influence on society. Legal studies is not a “pre-law” program, and it does not offer paralegal training. Because law is relevant to virtually all fields - academic and vocational - it is an appropriate and valuable minor for all students. The program is also a suitable minor for those who plan to pursue professional legal training.
The law is central to theories and research in the social sciences, humanities, business, and public policy. Courses concerned with law are available in a variety of departments including political science, sociology, communication, economics, history, accounting (business law), finance (corporate governance), applied economics and statistics (environmental law), marine studies, education, and urban affairs.
The minor program provides coherence and guidance in the study of law in at least four ways. First, each student minoring in Legal Studies is exposed to the real life practice of law and its impact on daily life through the one-credit weekly lecture series “The Law and You.” Second, the minor provides students with an opportunity to examine the law from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. Third, the program offers both a substantive introduction to law and an interdisciplinary introductory course in legal studies. Finally, it offers an interdisciplinary capstone experience with a senior seminar that requires a research paper.
Politics & Social Justice Minor
The Politics & Social Justice minor has been designed for students who want to understand and change social injustices and are seeking the necessary theoretical and practical tools to do so. The Department of Political Science and International Relations has partnered with other departments to develop this interdisciplinary program that focuses on both local and global social injustice and social movements. This minor enables students to understand the causes of domestic and international inequalities in social, economic, and political rights and opportunities. Students will be able to explore both theoretical and practical solutions towards addressing these inequalities, and gain practical experience working with a social justice organization to address these inequalities. Partnering departments include: Africana Studies, Anthropology, History, School of Public Policy and Administration, Sociology/Criminal Justice, Women & Gender Studies.
Political Communication Minor
The Departments of Communication and Political Science & International Relations offers a minor in Political Communication. This minor provides University of Delaware undergraduates with the opportunity to experience multidisciplinary teaching and research in the leading-edge concepts of political communication and digital technology, as expressed and experienced in political campaigns and public policy debates at the local and national levels. In particular, the minor allows Communication and Political Science majors to specialize in Political Communication as well as make the field accessible to students from other majors. The minor will encourage University of Delaware students to become leaders in this rapidly developing field.
Political Science Minor
A minor in political science must complete 15 credits of work in the Department of Political Science and International Relations, including POSC 150 (Introduction to American Politics), and additional classes at the advanced level. Advanced courses should be taken in two of the four fields below (Please refer to the list of approved elective courses in each field ): American Politics; Comparative Politics; International Relations; Political Theory.
ProgramsMajorMinorHonors Degree4+1
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