Political Science BS Degree Requirements (120 hours)

Degree Plan

General Education Curriculum

GEC 01. Written Communication (6 hours)

ENG 101 - Composition One 3 hrs.
ENG 102 - Composition Two 3 hrs.

GEC 02. Natural Science (8-10 hours minimum)

Select 2 courses with labs:

AST 111 - General Astronomy I 3 hrs. AND
AST 111L - General Astronomy I Laboratory 1 hr.
AST 112 - General Astronomy II 3 hrs. AND
AST 112L - General Astronomy II Laboratory 1 hr.
BSC 103 - Biology and Society 3 hrs. AND
BSC 103L - Biology and Society Laboratory 1 hr
BSC 107 - Essentials of Human Anatomy and Physiology 3 hrs. AND
BSC 107L - Essentials of Human Anatomy and Physiology Laboratory 1 hr.
BSC 110 - Principles of Biological Science I 3 hrs. AND
BSC 110L - Principles of Biological Science I Laboratory 1 hr.
BSC 111 - Principles of Biological Science II 3 hrs. AND
BSC 111L - Principles of Biological Science II Laboratory 1 hr.
BSC 250 - Human Anatomy and Physiology I 3 hrs. AND
BSC 250L - Human Anatomy and Physiology I Laboratory 1 hr.
BSC 251 - Human Anatomy and Physiology II 3 hrs. AND
BSC 251L - Human Anatomy and Physiology II Laboratory 1 hr.
CHE 104 - Chemistry and Our Environment 3 hrs. AND
CHE 104L - Chemistry and Our Environment Laboratory 1 hr.
CHE 106 - General Chemistry I 3 hrs. AND
CHE 106L - General Chemistry I Laboratory 1 hr.
CHE 110 - Fundamentals of General, Organic and Biochemistry 3 hrs. AND
CHE 110L - Fundamentals of General, Organic and Biochem Lab 1 hr.
GHY 104 - Weather and Climate 3 hrs. AND
GHY 104L - Weather and Climate Laboratory 1 hr.
GHY 105 - Land and Water 3 hrs. AND
GHY 105L - Land and Water Lab 1 hr.
GLY 101 - Physical Geology 3 hrs. AND
GLY 101L - Physical Geology Laboratory 1 hr.
GLY 103 - Historical Geology 3 hrs. AND
GLY 103L - Historical Geology Laboratory 1 hr.
MAR 151 - Introduction to Ocean Science 3 hrs. AND
MAR 151L - Introduction to Ocean Science Laboratory 1 hr.
PHY 103 - Introductory Physics 3 hrs. AND
PHY 103L - Introductory Physics Laboratory 1 hr.
PHY 111 - General Physics I 3 hrs. AND
PHY 111L - General Physics I Laboratory 1 hr.
PHY 112 - General Physics II 3 hrs. AND
PHY 112L - General Physics II Laboratory 1 hr.
PHY 201 - General Physics I with Calculus 4 hrs. AND
PHY 201L - General Physics I with Calculus Laboratory 1 hr.
PHY 202 - General Physics II with Calculus 4 hrs. AND
PHY 202L - General Physics II with Calculus Laboratory 1 hr.
PSE 190 - Living in a Material World 3 hrs. AND
PSE 190L - Lab for Living in a Material World 1 hr.

GEC 03. Humanities (9 hours)

ENG 203 - World Literature 3 hrs.

Select 2 courses, 1 History required

HIS 101 - World Civilizations: Beginnings to 1500 C.E. 3 hrs.
HIS 102 - World Civilizations: 1500 to the present 3 hrs.
HUM 201 - Colloquium on the Pre-Modern World 3 hrs.
HUM 202 - Colloquium on the Modern World 3 hrs.
PHI 151 - Introduction to Philosophy 3 hrs.
PHI 171 - Ethics and Good Living 3 hrs.
REL 131 - Comparative Religion 3 hrs.

GEC 04. Aesthetic Values (3 hours)

Select 1 course:

GEC 05. Social and Behavioral Sciences (6 hours)

Select 2 courses:

ANT 101 - The Human Experience: A Global Perspective on Human Diversity 3 hrs.
ANT 221 - Introduction to Cultural & Linguistic Anthropology 3 hrs.
ECO 101 - Basic Economics 3 hrs.
GHY 101 - World Geography: Dynamics of a Changing Earth 3 hrs.
HHS 100 - Concepts of Wellness 3 hrs.
PS 101 - American Government 3 hrs. *
PSY 110 - General Psychology 3 hrs.
SOC 101 - Understanding Society: Principles of Sociology 3 hrs.

GEC 06. Mathematics (3 hours)

Select 1 course:

MAT 100 - Quantitative Reasoning 3 hrs. ***
MAT 101 - College Algebra 3 hrs.
Higher-level MAT course
ACT Math sub score of 24 or higher
SAT Math score of 560 or higher

GEC 07. Writing-Intensive Requirement (Major Area)

Students must take one Major Area of Study course designated as Writing-Intensive (WI).
ENG 101 & ENG 102 prerequisites

GEC 08. Speaking Intensive Requirement (3 hours)

Select 1 course:

CMS 111 - Public Speaking 3 hrs. (SI)
CMS 305 - Interpersonal Communication 3 hrs. (SI)
CMS 320 - Professional Communication 3 hrs. (SI)
CMS 330 - Small-Group Communication 3 hrs. (SI)

GEC 09. Capstone Requirement (Major Area)

PS 491 - Proseminar in Political Science 3 hrs. (Capstone)
Must be taken Senior Year; ENG 101 & ENG 102 prerequisites

Note:

*This course satisfies both the GEC requirement and a program requirement for this major.

**This particular GEC course is recommended by this major.

***This course does not satisfy prerequisites for any other math course.

GEC 07 - GEC 09 courses are specific to this major.

For full description of the GEC, see here .

Program Curriculum

DEG 01. Major Area of Study Requirements (33-36 hours)

PS 101 - American Government 3 hrs.
PS 201 - Great Issues of Politics 3 hrs.
PS 491 - Proseminar in Political Science 3 hrs. (Capstone)
SSGS 400 - Conducting Research in the Social Sciences 3 hrs.
SSGS 401 - Data Analysis and Statistics in the Social Sciences 3 hrs.

Select 1 course from each of the four areas of Political Science:

Theory Courses include all PS courses from 320-329 or 420-429

American Politics: American courses include all PS courses from 300-309 or 400-409

Global Politics: Global courses include all PS courses from 330-339, 350-359, 430-439, or 450-459

Public Law and Administration: Public Law and Administration courses include all PS courses from 370-379, 380-389, 470-479, or 480-489

Select 4 additional courses from at least 2 groups above.

DEG 02. Additional Requirements (6-12 hours)

Select 2 courses (6 hrs.):

Any ANT*, ECO*, GHY* (no more than one may count), HHS* (no more than one may count), LGL, PSY* (no more than one may count) or SOC*

* may overlap with GEC 05

World Language Requirement:

6 hours in a single foreign language; fewer hours may suffice, but course level 102 must be completed.

DEG 03. Required Minor (18 hours)

Students must fulfill requirements to receive a minor in another discipline.

DEG. 04 Electives

Choose electives as needed with adviser’s approval. (See Hours to Degree below.)

Hours to Degree

120 hours are needed to graduate with a BS in Political Science. Of the total hours applied to this degree, 30 hours must be in courses numbered at the 300 level or above. The student must earn at least 21 of the last 30 hours of course work and at least 12 hours in the major area of study from Southern Miss. See Residence Hour Requirements for more information.