Politics Minor
Students who major in another discipline may also decide to pursue a minor in politics. The politics minor requires completion of the three introductory courses (POL 111, POL 112, and POL 211); two courses in one of the three concentrations (American, world, or theory); and one additional politics course.
Politics Pre-Law Minor
The Department of Politics offers a minor in Politics/Pre-Law to students not majoring in Politics. Anyone interested in formally declaring the minor should contact the program coordinator, Dr. Justin Litke, for advising and apply to join the minor with this form from the School of Arts and Sciences.
The Pre-Law Minor consists of six courses:
- One of the Politics Department's introductory courses: POL 111: Introduction to American Government or POL 112: Introduction to Comparative Politics or POL 211: Introduction to Political Theory
- Another of the Politics Department's introductory courses: POL 111: Introduction to American Government or POL 112: Introduction to Comparative Politics or POL 211: Introduction to Political Theory
- POL 220: Introduction to Law and Politics
- A law related Politics course at the 300 or 400 level, including at least one semester of Constitutional Law (POL 323 and/or POL 324)
- Another law related course at the 300 or 400 level (can also be Con Law, but does not have to be)
- a 400 level seminar course on the law or courts, usually taken in the senior year
Recent law-related courses include: POL 323 - Constitutional Law I; POL 324 - Constitutional Law II; POL 404 - Law and Morality; POL 404A - Justice; POL 407A - The Supreme Court; POL 416 - American Federalism; and POL 477 - Political Theory of the American Framing. Please consult with Dr. Coyle or the department's Academic Specialist for a current list.
Certificate in Intelligence Studies
The Politics department offers an interdisciplinary Certificate in Intelligence Studies for students who seek a deeper understanding of the mysterious world of intelligence. It seeks to bridge the widely-recognized gap between what new employees in the Intelligence community should know and what they typically do know.
Students in the program must complete three intelligence courses (starting with Introduction to American Intelligence), plus three elective intelligence-related courses, one of which must be from outside the Politics major. For detailed requirements, click here. To learn more about the department's intelligence program, click here.
Students are not allowed to undertake both the Certificate in Intelligence Studies and a Minor in Politics.