Mar 29, 2024  
2017-2018 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2017-2018 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Political Science Major, B.A.


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College of Arts and Sciences


Department of Political Science, International Affairs, and Public Administration


Political Science Program Information


Box 70651
Phone: (423) 439-4217
Web Address:http://www.etsu.edu/cas/polisci/

Political Science is the study of government, politics, and public policy in the United States and other countries, and of the relations among nations and states in the world community. The Political Science curriculum is designed to provide students with factual knowledge of these subjects and with the ability to analyze and evaluate different governmental systems, ideologies, political practices, and policy proposals. The Political Science major prepares students to be informed and engaged citizens and to pursue careers in government, law, public administration, education, journalism, international institutions, and political organizations.

The total number of credits required for graduation in the Political Science major is 120. A minor field of study, of 18-27 credit hours, is required. The Political Science major requires the university-wide standard of a minimum 2.0 grade point average (GPA). Double counting of credits for the Political Science major and for another major or a minor is limited and must have the approval of the Coordinator of the Political Science major or the Chair of the Political Science Department.

Advising

Students with 0-59 earned credit hours:

Contact the Center for Advisement and Student Excellence (CASE) to schedule an appointment with your advisor. Visit the CASE website (http://www.etsu.edu/cas/case/) or call (423) 439-5602.

Students with 60 or more earned credit hours:

Contact Dr. Andrew Battista [battista@etsu.edu; (423) 439-4217] or Dr. David Briley [briley@etsu.edu; (423) 439-4217] for advising.

Transfer Students

Transfer students majoring in political science should contact the chair of the department for advising as soon as possible. This will ensure that the student’s previous work will be coordinated efficiently with ETSU requirements.

Transfer students should note that the Political Science major requires that at least 15 of the 36 credit hours required must be completed at East Tennessee State University.  Additionally, they must meet the specific requirements for the major or minor and maintain a minimum grade point average of 2.0 in their courses in Political Science (see section of this catalog on transfer students for other requirements).

For further information about the Political Science major contact Prof. Andrew Battista, Department Chair and Coordinator, at battista@etsu.edu or 423-439-6628.

General Program Information


To earn a degree from ETSU, there are specific course requirements established by ETSU, by the East Tennessee State University Board of Trustees, by each college, and by each department. All students must meet the degree requirements at each of these levels outlined in the following list:

University-level Degree and Graduation Requirements

Total Credit Hours for Degree: 120


College of Arts and Sciences B.A. Degree Requirements


Students majoring in the College of Arts and Sciences must meet the following requirements for the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree. Some requirements must be taken in addition to the General Education Core, whereas others specify which courses from the General Education Core must be taken.

Foreign Languages Completion of a foreign language course numbered 2020 or above with a grade of C- or better * **
   
Mathematics Specified General Education Core: MATH 1530  or MATH 1910  
   
Non-U.S. History 3 credit hours

 

* International Students whose native language is not English, and whose admission to ETSU requires them to take a standardized test of English as a foreign language (e.g., TOEFL), may substitute scores that meet the admission requirements for the foreign language requirement.
** Consult the Literature and Language Department’s placement policy listed at www.etsu.edu/cas/litlang/documents/foreignlanguagerequirement.pdf and in the listing for Foreign Languages in this catalog.

 

General Education Requirements: 41 - 42 Credit Hours


Listed below are the categories and courses specified under East Tennessee State University Board of Trustees General Education Requirements. Note that certain courses are required for this degree, specific to this major. Thus, these courses will satisfy both a General Education requirement AND a requirement of this major. (Other majors may require different General Education courses.) Where specific courses are required for this major, only those courses are listed under the category. If there are no specific major requirements for a category, all course options appear.
 

Communication


9 credits, consisting of 6 credits of written composition and 3 credits of oral communication.

Written Composition


Complete both of the following: 

Oral Communication


Complete one of the following:

Humanities and Fine Arts


9 credits, consisting of 3 credits of literature, 3 credits of fine arts, and 3 credits of humanities electives.

Humanities Electives


Complete one of the following:

Note:


Other courses from this block are acceptable, but PSCI 1110  and PSCI 1120  satisfy the TBR General Education Social and Behavioral Science requirement and Political Science Major Requirements.

History


6 credits, consisting of both of the following:

Natural Sciences


8 credits, consisting of two of the following (some require labs which are listed directly after the lecture):

(Note: Students pursuing a Bachelor of Science in the College of Arts and Sciences must select 8 credit hours in a SINGLE laboratory science. Please see listing in College of Arts and Sciences B.S. Degree Requirements for options.)

Mathematics


Students will enroll in the appropriate general education math course during their first calendar year of enrollment at ETSU. Students required to complete learning support in mathematics must enroll in a learning support-designated section (L01-L99) of MATH 1530  during their first 15 hours at ETSU (not including summer) unless they are also required to complete learning support in reading or writing. Students needing learning support in reading or writing in addition to learning support in math should enroll in MATH 1530-Lxx immediately upon completing their other learning support requirements. Additional information may be found on the University Advisement Center website http://www.etsu.edu/uac/learningsupport/

Complete one of the following:

Political Science Major Requirements: 36 Credit Hours


The following courses are required in this program of study.  Some can also be used to fulfill certain General Education requirements.  If students take other general education courses, they must still satisfy these requirements in the major.

Select three: 9 Credit Hours


  • Three courses to be selected freely from the Political Science, International Affairs, and Public Administration Department’s offerings (9 credits)

Minor: 18 - 24 Credit Hours


Electives: 9-19 Credit Hours


B.A. Foreign Language Requirements


The Bachelor of Arts degree requires completion of at least one foreign language course with a number of 2020 or higher with a grade of at least C-. Students may need prerequisites that could include courses numbered 1010, 1020, and/or 2010 to prepare for success in 2020.

Additional Information


Click here to view the Political Science Major Suggested Course Sequence .

Graduation Requirements


Graduation in this major/concentration requires a minimum of 120 credits, including General Education requirements, CSCI 1100 , college degree requirements, major requirements, and minor requirements.

Passing the CSCI 1100 proficiency test produces no credit, but satisfies the graduation requirement (see http://www.etsu.edu/cbat/computing/uit/). If the total credits from these areas are less than 120 credits, students may use free electives to complete the requirement.

Teacher Education


Students interested in pursuing a teacher education program for certification as a teacher will major in the subject they wish to teach and minor in Secondary Education. They should see their major advisor AND an advisor in the College of Education Office of Student Services, 321 Warf-Pickel Hall. The Teacher Education program has separate admission requirements, and teaching certification has these additional requirements:

  • Professional Education requirements met through the Secondary Education Minor  
  • Fulfillment of Teaching Content Area requirements
  • Successful completion of CUAI 4580 “Residency II”
  • Praxis II for content area
  • PLT Praxis
  • Recommendation for Licensure

All students desiring to complete a teacher education or other public school licensure program (for initial licensure, add-on endorsement, or advanced study in education) must file a Declaration of Intent in the College of Education Office of Student Services, 321 Warf-Pickel Hall. The Declaration of Intent should be filed before 30 credit hours of coursework has been completed or, in the case of transfer and post-baccalaureate students, in the first semester at ETSU. Delay or failure to file the Declaration of Intent may result in incomplete advisement. Students who have not filed the Declaration of Intent will not be considered for admission to teacher education and may be ineligible to enroll in many professional education courses.

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