Program Overview

Bachelor of Arts with a Major in Political Science (Public Policy Focus)

The Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a focus in Public Policy degree provides training for active citizenship and the development of skills to analyze public policy problems. Inside the classroom, students learn from leading experts in policy issues and current events, while outside the classroom they benefit from ample opportunities to intern on the Hill or at government agencies. The public policy-focused degree includes four upper-level electives, three of which are related to public policy. Students majoring in political science with a public policy focus also complete a required proseminar as juniors or seniors, in which they examine a policy issue and produce scholarly writing on the topic. By examining policy issues in-depth, graduates are well-prepared to enter a variety of careers in research, public affairs, and public policy. Some program graduates continue their education through graduate work or law school.

Many students supplement their classwork with study abroad and internships for credit.

Overview

• The bachelor of arts in political science with a focus in public policy degree provides training for active citizenship and the development of skills to analyze public policy problems.
• Students learn from leading experts in policy issues and current events.
• The public policy-focused degree includes four upper-level electives, three of which are related to public policy.
• Students majoring in political science with a public policy focus also complete a required proseminar as juniors or seniors.

Admissions

• For information about the admission process, including deadlines, visit the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.
• Applications can be submitted via the Common Application.

Requirements

• The following requirements must be fulfilled:
  • The general requirements stated under Columbian College of Arts and Sciences (CCAS), Undergraduate Programs.
  • CCAS stipulates that a student must complete the major requirements published in the Bulletin for the academic year in which the student declares their major.
• Program-specific curriculum:
  • Prerequisite courses:
    • PSC 1001: Introduction to Comparative Politics
    • PSC 1002: Introduction to American Politics and Government
    • PSC 1003: Introduction to International Politics
    • IAFF 1005: Introduction to International Affairs
  • Required for the major:
    • Six 2000-level political science courses (18 credits) distributed as follows:
      • Three courses (9 credits) selected from the following:
        • PSC 2211: State and Urban Politics
        • PSC 2212: State and Urban Policy Problems
        • PSC 2213: Judicial Politics
        • PSC 2216: The American Presidency
        • PSC 2217: Executive Branch Politics
        • PSC 2218: Legislative Politics
        • PSC 2219: Political Parties and Interest Groups
        • PSC 2222: Science, Technology, and Politics
        • PSC 2224: Issues in Domestic Public Policy
        • PSC 2240: Poverty, Welfare, and Work
        • PSC 2241: The Politics of Education Policy
        • PSC 2446: U.S. Foreign Policy
        • PSC 2468: Post-Soviet Foreign Policy
      • Three courses (9 credits) from the following groups:
        • Group A (comparative politics)
        • Group B (American government and politics)
        • Group C (international politics, law, and organizations)
        • Group D (research methods)
        • Group E (political thought)
  • One proseminar (3 credits) and one advanced topics course (3 credits):
    • PSC 3192W: Proseminar: Political Science
    • PSC 3500: Advanced Topics in Political Science
  • Six courses (18 credits) in other social sciences and statistics, including:
    • Four required courses:
      • ECON 1011: Principles of Economics I
      • ECON 1012: Principles of Economics II
      • ECON 2101: Intermediate Microeconomic Theory
      • STAT 1051: Introduction to Business and Economic Statistics
    • Two courses selected from the following:
      • DATS 1001: Data Science for All
      • DATS 2102: Data Visualization for Data Science
      • DATS 2103: Data Mining for Data Science
      • DATS 2104: Data Warehousing for Data Science
      • DATS 4001: Data Science Capstone
      • ECON 2122: Monetary Theory and Policy
      • ECON 2136: Environmental and Natural Resource Economics
      • ECON 2151W: Economic Development
      • ECON 2157: Urban and Regional Economics
      • ECON 2158: Industrial Organization
      • ECON 2159: Government Regulation of the Economy
      • ECON 2167: Economics of Crime
      • ECON 2181: International Trade Theory and Policy
      • ECON 3142: Labor Economics
      • ECON 3148: Health Economics
      • ECON 3161: Public Finance: Expenditure Programs
      • ECON 3162: Public Finance: Taxation
      • ECON 3190: Law and Economics
      • ECON 3191: Game Theory
      • SOC 2105: Social Problems in American Society
      • SOC 2112: Evaluation Research
      • SOC 2135: Youth and Delinquency
      • SOC 2136: Criminology
      • SOC 2137: Transnational Crime
      • SOC 2139: Alternatives to Imprisonment
      • SOC 2143: Criminal Justice System Arrest Through Appeal
      • SOC 2145: Criminal Law
      • SOC 2146: The Bill of Rights and Criminal Justice
      • SOC 2161: Sociology of Complex Organizations
      • SOC 2162: Sociology of the Family
      • SOC 2163: Sociology of Education
      • SOC 2169: Urban Sociology
      • SOC 2170: Class and Inequality in American Society
      • SOC 2174: Sociology of Immigration
      • SOC 2179: Race and Minority Relations
      • STAT 1129: Introduction to Computing
      • STAT 2118: Regression Analysis
      • STAT 2123: Introduction to Econometrics
      • STAT 2183: Intermediate Statistics Lab/Packages

General Education

• In addition to the University General Education Requirement, undergraduate students in Columbian College must complete a further, College-specific general education curriculum—Perspective, Analysis, Communication (G-PAC) as well as the course CCAS 1001 First-Year Experience.
• Together with the University General Education Requirement, G-PAC engages students in active intellectual inquiry across the liberal arts.
• Students achieve a set of learning outcomes that enhance their analytical skills, develop their communication competencies, and invite them to participate as responsible citizens who are attentive to issues of culture, diversity, and privilege.
• Coursework for the University General Education Requirement is distributed as follows:
  • One course in critical thinking in the humanities.
  • Two courses in critical thinking, quantitative reasoning, or scientific reasoning in the social sciences.
  • One course that has an approved oral communication component.
  • One course in quantitative reasoning (must be in mathematics or statistics).
  • One course in scientific reasoning (must be in natural and/or physical laboratory sciences).
  • UW 1020 University Writing
  • After successful completion of UW 1020, 6 credits distributed over at least two writing in the discipline (WID) courses taken in separate semesters.
• Coursework for the CCAS G-PAC requirement is distributed as follows:
  • Arts—one approved arts course that involves the study or creation of artwork based on an understanding or interpretation of artistic traditions or knowledge of art in a contemporary context.
  • Global or cross-cultural perspective—one approved course that analyzes the ways in which institutions, practices, and problems transcend national and regional boundaries.
  • Local or civic engagement—one approved course that develops the values, ethics, disciplines, and commitment to pursue responsible public action.
  • Natural or physical science—one additional approved laboratory course that employs the process of scientific inquiry (in addition to the one course in this category required by the University General Education Requirement).
  • Humanities—one additional approved humanities course that involves critical thinking skills (in addition to the one course in this category required by the University General Education Requirement).
  • CCAS 1001 First-Year Experience

Special Honors

• In addition to the general requirements stated under University Regulations, to be considered for graduation with Special Honors a student must have a minimum GPA of 3.8 in all upper-level Political Science (PSC) courses.
• The GPA is calculated using only PSC courses taken at the 2000, 3000, and 4000 levels; GW courses other than those specified and transfer courses are not included.
• The designation of Honors appears on the student's transcript, not on the diploma.

Combined Program

• Dual Bachelor of Arts with a major in political science (public policy focus) and Master of Public Policy.