All candidates for the Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Political Science must complete 120 credit hours of academic work, including the general education requirements listed below (56-58 hours), either a minor (18 hours) or a cognate (12 hours), and the major requirements below.
Political Science and History majors who either have a completed degree in another field, or are working on another degree concurrently, or have declared a double major, are not required to have a minor or cognate as a requirement for graduation. All course work counting towards the major, minor or cognate must be completed with at least a C grade. Courses in which a grade less than C is made may be repeated. Electives, courses not counting towards the general education requirements, major requirements, or either the minor or cognate, should be chosen to provide the student with the broadest possible education. Developmental courses will not count toward the 120 hour requirement for a bachelor’s degree in this department.
The maximum number of credit hours for activities courses accepted for credit towards a Political Science or a History degree is four. The department chair will determine the applicability of all transfer courses towards degrees granted in the department. Transfer students working towards a degree in History or Political Science must take a minimum of 12 hours of major requirement courses at USC Aiken.
It is the student’s responsibility to plan a suitable course of study for her/his goals and to consult frequently with a major advisor as to the selection of courses. Each student is responsible for ensuring completion of all degree requirements and compilation of records of course work
Technological Literacy in History and Political Science
History and Political Science majors receive fundamental information technology instruction and develop basic computer skills needed for their respective fields in their required methodology courses, HIST 300 and POLI 301. All other Department courses, surveys as well as upper level courses, require some exposure to computer technology, from simple word-processing, to internet and Web-usage, to more complex data manipulation. The particular mode of technology is left to the discretion of the instructor and the nature of the course.
Political Science Honors Recognition
Senior Political Science majors (90 hours or more) will be considered by the department as a "Political Science Honors Major", upon completion of the Senior Honors Thesis, POLI 500, with the grade of B or higher. See the description of POLI 500 for prerequisites and conditions. POLI 500 will be included as one of five electives, either in Option #1 or Option #2 below.
| Credits | ||
1. General Education Requirements |
50 - 53 |
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| A. Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural World | 31 - 34 | |
| At least 3 hours must be in Non-Western World Studies, unless an approved non-Western world studies course has been completed elsewhere in the student’s degree program. See definition and list of approved courses in the Undergraduate and Graduate Programs Bulletin. | ||
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1. Natural Sciences Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Geology, Astronomy (1 lab) |
7 - 8 | |
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2. History of Civilization (HIST 101 or HIST 102) |
3 | |
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3. Social and Behavioral Sciences (two areas) Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, Economics, Political Science, Geography |
6 | |
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4. Languages (Two (2) semesters of the same language required.) |
6 - 8 | |
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5. Humanities (at least two areas)1 Communications (last two digits must be in 50s or 60s), History, Art History, Music History, Theatre History, Literature, Philosophy (other than logic), Religion, Selected Language courses, Humanities (HSSI acronym), Honors (HONS acronym) |
9 | |
| B. Intellectual and Practical Skills | 16 | |
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1. Critical Inquiry Freshmen must take Critical Inquiry in their first semester of enrollment at USC Aiken. Students in degree programs which require more than 16 credit hours in the first semester of enrollment may complete Critical Inquiry during their second academic semester. Transfer students are not required to take the Critical Inquiry course; however, the one credit hour requirement will still need to be completed within the degree requirements. |
1 | |
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2. English 101 and 102 Students should take English in their first semester of enrollment at USC Aiken (unless they have received credit for ENGL 101 and 102 through concurrent enrollment, AP, etc.). Students must complete English 101 and English 102 with a grade of C or better in order to fulfill general education requirements and before taking Writing Intensive courses (see #6) and other English courses. |
6 | |
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3. Oral Communication (COMM 201, COMM 241) |
3 | |
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4. Math/Statistics/Logic Students should take math in their first year of enrollment at USC Aiken (unless they have already completed general education requirements for math through concurrent enrollment, AP, etc.). MATH 221 and MATH 222 cannot be used for General Education math credit EXCEPT by students graduating with degrees in Elementary, Early Childhood or Special Education. |
6 | |
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5. Satisfactory completion of Writing Proficiency Requirement |
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6. Satisfactory completion of three courses designated as Writing Intensive, at least one of which is in the student’s major. |
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| C. Personal and Social Responsibility | 3 | |
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1. American Political Institutions (POLI 201, HIST 201, or HIST 202) |
3 | |
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2. Inter-Curricular Enrichment Program (ICE) Two approved events in each semester of enrollment. |
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| D. Integrative Learning | ||
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While there are no specific course requirements in this category, students are strongly encouraged to include one or more integrative learning experiences in their academic programs, such as linked courses, study abroad internship, service learning, faculty-mentored research, capstone. |
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