Political Science and Philosophy, BS (Boston)

The combined major in political science and philosophy enables students to develop an integrated understanding of politics, political theory, ethical theory, and theories of justice. Students who complete the major will have the training to critically evaluate and assess public policies and social issues on both political and ethical grounds, including issues such as tax policy, immigration, environmental protection, trade policy, healthcare, education, defense policy, and much more.

Complete all courses listed below unless otherwise indicated. Also complete any corequisite labs, recitations, clinicals, or tools courses where specified and complete any additional courses needed beyond specific college and major requirements to satisfy graduation credit requirements.

Universitywide Requirements

All undergraduate students are required to complete the Universitywide Requirements.

NUpath Requirements

All undergraduate students are required to complete the NUpath Requirements.

Political Science Requirements 

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Core Courses in Political Science
POLS 1150	American Government	4
POLS 1155	Comparative Politics	4
POLS 1160	International Relations	4
POLS 2399	Research Methods in Political Science	4
POLS 2400	Quantitative Techniques	4
Political Thought
Complete two of the following:		8
POLS 2325	Ancient Philosophy and Political Thought
POLS 2328	Modern Political Thought
POLS 2330	American Political Thought
POLS 2332	Contemporary Political Thought
Political Science Electives
Complete four courses in the following range:		16
POLS 2000 to POLS 5999

Political Science Concentrations (Optional)

If you are working toward one of the following concentrations, declare it with your adviser so that it may be added to your record. 

• American Political Institutions
• Campaigns and Elections
• Comparative Politics
• Identity, Culture, and Politics
• International Relations and Diplomacy
• Law and Legal Studies
• Public Policy
• Security Studies

Philosophy Requirements

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Philosophy Required Courses
PHIL 1115	Introduction to Logic	4
PHIL 2303	Social and Political Philosophy	4
PHIL 2325	Ancient Philosophy and Political Thought	4
or POLS 2325	Ancient Philosophy and Political Thought
PHIL 2330	Modern Philosophy	4
Advanced Philosophy Electives
Complete two PHIL courses with a designation of 3000 or above not used to satisfy another requirement, at least one of which must be at the 4000 or 5000 level, not including PHIL 5110.		8
Critical Philosophy Elective
Complete one of the following courses not used to fulfill other requirements:		4
AFCS 1101	Introduction to African American and Africana Studies
PHIL 1104	Goddesses, Witches, Saints, and Sinners: Women and Religion
PHIL 1271	Sex in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
PHIL 2155	Human Rights
PHIL 2410	Possession, Sacrifice, and Divination in African Diasporic Religions
PHIL 2492	Indigenous Philosophy
PHIL 2619	Race and Religion in Film
PHIL 3500	Sexuality, Gender, and the Law
PHIL 3512	Religion, Race, and Politics
PHIL 3822	Philosophy of Race and Racism
Additional Electives
Complete one additional PHIL course not used to satisfy other requirements.		4

 Integrative Requirement

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Complete one of the following:
PHIL 5001	Global Justice	4
or PHIL 5002	Ethics and Public Policy
or PHIL 3512	Religion, Race, and Politics

Experiential Liberal Arts

All students in this College of Social Sciences and Humanities program are required to complete the Experiential Liberal Arts Requirement.

Program Requirement

128 semester hours required

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Concentration in American Political Institutions

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Complete four of the following:		16
POLS 3160	Campaign Strategy
POLS 3300	The U.S. Congress
POLS 3302	Judicial Process and Behavior
POLS 3307	Public Policy and Administration
POLS 3310	Public Opinion, Voting, and Elections

 

Concentration in Campaigns and Elections

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Required Courses
POLS 3160	Campaign Strategy	4
POLS 3302	Judicial Process and Behavior	4
Campaigns and Elections Electives
Complete two of the following:		8
POLS 2345	Urban Policies and Politics
POLS 3310	Public Opinion, Voting, and Elections
POLS 3320	Politics and Mass Media

 

Concentration in Comparative Politics

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Theoretical Requirement
Complete two of the following:		8
POLS 2282	The Holocaust and Comparative Genocide
POLS 2356	Democratic Erosion
POLS 2359	Immigration Politics
POLS 2370	Religion and Politics
POLS 3418	Nationalism
POLS 3430	Revolution, Civil War, and Insurrection
POLS 3487	Politics of Developing Nations
Regional Requirements
Complete one of the following:		4
POLS 3435	Politics and Governance of Europe and the European Union
POLS 3465	Government and Politics in the Middle East
Experiential/Practicum Requirement
Complete one of the following:		4
POLS 4915	Model Arab League
POLS 4918	Model NATO
POLS 4937	Dialogue of Civilizations: Government and Politics Abroad

 

Concentration in Identity, Culture, and Politics 

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Core Course
POLS 3418	Nationalism	4
Electives
Complete three of the following:		12
POLS 2359	Immigration Politics
POLS 2368	Music and Politics in America and Abroad
POLS 2370	Religion and Politics
POLS 3309	Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues in Public Policy
POLS 3324	Law and Society

Concentration in International Relations and Diplomacy

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Experiential/Practicum Requirement
Complete one of the following:		4
POLS 4910	Model United Nations
POLS 4915	Model Arab League
POLS 4938	Dialogue of Civilizations: International Politics Abroad
Core Courses
Complete three of the following:		12
POLS 3405	International Political Economy
POLS 3406	International Law
POLS 3435	Politics and Governance of Europe and the European Union
POLS 5408	International Security

Concentration in Law and Legal Studies

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Complete four of the following:		16
POLS 2330	American Political Thought
POLS 3300	The U.S. Congress
POLS 3302	Judicial Process and Behavior
POLS 3324	Law and Society
POLS 3406	International Law
POLS 4500	U.S. Constitutional Law
POLS 4505	U.S. Civil Liberties

 

Concentration in Public Policy

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Core Requirement
POLS 3307	Public Policy and Administration	4
Electives
Complete three of the following:		12
POLS 2345	Urban Policies and Politics
POLS 2390	Science, Technology, and Public Policy
POLS 2395	Environmental Politics and Policy
POLS 3425	U.S. Foreign Policy

 

Concentration in Security Studies

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Complete four of the following:		16
POLS 3420	U.S. National Security Policy
POLS 3423	Terrorism and Counterterrorism
POLS 3425	U.S. Foreign Policy
POLS 3430	Revolution, Civil War, and Insurrection
POLS 3487	Politics of Developing Nations
POLS 5408	International Security

Sample Plan of Study

Four Years, Two Co-ops 

Year 1
Fall	Hours	Spring	Hours	Summer 1	Hours	Summer 2	Hours
ENGW 1111	4	MATH 1215	4	PHIL 2325 or POLS 2325	4	PHIL Elective	4
PHIL 1115	4	POLS 1150	4	PHIL Restricted Elective	4	Elective	4
POLS 1000	1	POLS 1160	4
POLS 1155	4	Elective	4
POLS elective	4
	17		16		8		8
Year 2
Fall	Hours	Spring	Hours	Summer 1	Hours	Summer 2	Hours
PHIL 2330	4	Co-op	0	Co-op	0	Critical Philosophy elective	4
POLS 2399	4					POLS Elective	4
POLS Thought	4
Elective	4
EESH 2000	1
	17		0		0		8
Year 3
Fall	Hours	Spring	Hours	Summer 1	Hours	Summer 2	Hours
PHIL 5001	4	Co-op	0	Co-op	0	POLS elective	4
POLS 2400	4					Elective	4
POLS elective	4
POLS elective	4
	16		0		0		8
Year 4
Fall	Hours	Spring	Hours
PHIL Elective	4	PHIL Restricted Elective	4
POLS Thought course	4	Elective	4
POLS elective	4	Elective	4
POLS elective	4	Elective	4
	16		16
Total Hours: 130