The Environmental Politics and Policy concentration is designed to help students develop the knowledge and skills to analyze the connections between politics and the natural world, and pursue careers in environmental politics and policy-making. Students will learn about how political forces contribute to environmental degradation, the process for developing environmental policies, strategies to assess the strengths and weaknesses of different policy approaches, and how political forces can be harnessed to develop effective responses to problems such as climate change, water and air pollution, food security, and energy provision. Students will explore these issues from both domestic and global perspectives. Environmental Politics and Policy students are strongly encouraged to complete an internship to gain practical experience working in the field.

Learning Outcomes

Students majoring in Political Science shall demonstrate the following:

  • Ability to reason through political claims and assertions by political actors

  • Skill in recognizing and responding to diverse ideological perspectives

  • Ability to locate political issues and controversies within their relevant institutional and historical contexts

  • Familiarity with the institutional processes of politics in numerous global and domestic political arenas

  • Confidence in expressing opinions and presenting analyses of political problems and their solutions

Potential Occupations

Graduates may work as policy analysts, advocates, planners, educators or decision-makers in government agencies, non-profit organizations, businesses and consulting firms at the local, state, national and international levels.

For further information on declaring the Major in Political Science, Environmental Politics and Policy Concentration, please schedule an appointment with a College of Liberal Arts Academic Success Coordinator by calling 970-491-3117 or visit Clark C 207.

Effective Fall 2018

Political science majors must achieve a minimum grade of C (2.000) in each of the political science (POLS) courses counted toward meeting the requirement of the major.

Freshman
AUCCCredits
CO 150College Composition (GT-CO2)1A3
POLS 101American Government and Politics (GT-SS1)3C3
POLS 103State and Local Government and Politics (GT-SS1)3C3
Arts and Humanities3B6
Biological and Physical Sciences3A4
Historical Perspectives3D3
Quantitative Reasoning1B3
Electives 5
 Total Credits 30
Sophomore
 
POLS 232International Relations (GT-SS1)1C3
POLS 241Comparative Government and Politics (GT-SS1)1C3
Select one course from the following: 3
Writing Arguments (GT-CO3)2 
Writing in the Disciplines: Arts and Humanities (GT-CO3)2 
Writing in the Disciplines: Sciences (GT-CO3)2 
Writing in the Disciplines: Social Sciences (GT-CO3)2 
Writing in the Disciplines: Education (GT-CO3)2 
Writing in Digital Environments (GT-CO3)2 
Strategic Writing and Communication (GT-CO3)2 
Specialized Professional Writing2 
Tier Four: Select one from the following:1,2 3
U.S. Environmental Politics and Policy  
Global Environmental Politics  
Air, Climate, and Energy Policy Analysis  
POLS 3** Tier Three (300-level courses only; see list below)2,3 0-3
Support Option (See list below) 3-12
Biological and Physical Sciences3A3
Electives 12
 Total Credits 33
Junior
 
Tier Two: Select one from the following: 3
History of Political Thought4A,4B 
Contemporary Political Theories4A,4B 
Democratic Theory4A,4B 
American Political Theories4A,4B 
POLS *** Tier Three (courses not taken previously; see list below)2 3-6
POLS *** Tier Four (courses not taken previously; see list below)1,2 3-6
Support Option (See list below) 6-12
Electives4 3-12
 Total Credits 30
Senior
 
POLS 492 (Tier Five)5Capstone Seminar4A,4B,4C3
POLS *** Tier Four (courses not taken previously; see list below)1,2 3-6
Support Option (See list below) 6-12
Electives4 3-15
 Total Credits 27
 Program Total Credits: 120

Environmental Politics and Policy Concentration Tier Requirements

Code Title AUCC Credits
TIER ONE COURSES
12 credits, four courses taken in the freshman and sophomore years as shown above
POLS 101 American Government and Politics (GT-SS1) 3C 3
POLS 103 State and Local Government and Politics (GT-SS1) 3C 3
POLS 232 International Relations (GT-SS1) 1C 3
POLS 241 Comparative Government and Politics (GT-SS1) 1C 3
TIER TWO COURSES
3 credits, one course taken in the junior year, as shown above
POLS 420 History of Political Thought 4A,4B 3
POLS 421 Contemporary Political Theories 4A,4B 3
POLS 422 Democratic Theory 4A,4B 3
POLS 423 American Political Theories 4A,4B 3
TIER THREE COURSES
Select 6 unique credits, two courses, one each from among two different subfields of the three subfields below, taken in the sophomore, junior and/or senior years 2,3
American Politics and Law
POLS 302 U.S. Political Parties and Elections 4A,4B 3
POLS 303 Politics of Organized Interests 4A,4B 3
POLS 304 Legislative Politics 3
POLS 305 Judicial Politics 3
POLS 306 Executive Politics 3
POLS 309 Urban Politics 3
POLS 405 Race and Ethnicity in U.S. Politics 4A,4B 3
POLS 409 Urban and Regional Politics 3
POLS 410 American Constitutional Law 3
POLS 413 U.S. Civil Rights and Liberties 3
International Relations
POLS 331 Politics and Society Along Mexican Border 3
POLS 332/ECON 332 International Political Economy 3
POLS 362 Global Environmental Politics 3
POLS 431 International Law 3
POLS 433 International Organization 3
POLS 435 United States Foreign Policy 3
POLS 436 Comparative Foreign Policy 3
POLS 437 International Security 3
Comparative Politics
POLS 341 Western European Government and Politics 3
POLS 345 Russian, Central, and East European Politics 3
POLS 347 Comparative Authoritarianism 3
POLS 442 Environmental Politics in Developing World 3
POLS 443 Comparative Social Movements 3
POLS 444 Comparative African Politics 3
POLS 445 Comparative Asian Politics 3
POLS 446 Politics of South America 3
POLS 447 Politics in Mexico, Central America, Caribbean 3
POLS 448 Comparative Racial/Ethnic Politics 4A,4B 3
POLS 449 Middle East Politics 4A,4B 3
TIER FOUR COURSES
Select 12 unique credits, four courses taken in the sophomore, junior and/or senior years 1,2
POLS 361 U.S. Environmental Politics and Policy 3
POLS 362 Global Environmental Politics 3
POLS 364 Air, Climate, and Energy Policy Analysis 3
POLS 442 Environmental Politics in Developing World 3
POLS 459 Program Evaluation for Public Administrators 3
POLS 460 Public Policy Process 3
POLS 462 Globalization, Sustainability, and Justice 3
POLS 463 Urban Policy and Management 3
POLS 465 Public Policy Analysis 3
A maximum of six credits from the following may be used to fulfill the Tier Four requirement:
Washington DC Semester Seminar
Practicum: Legislative Politics
Practicum: Government
Internship – Washington DC Semester
Washington DC Semester Colloquium Group Study
Maximum of one course (three credits) may be taken from the following:
Introduction-Economics of Natural Resources
American West to 1900
American West Since 1900
American Environmental History
World Environmental History, 1500-Present
History of America's National Parks
Population-Natural Resources and Environment
Environmental Justice
Food, Agriculture and Global Society
Environmental and Natural Resource Sociology
Sociology of Disaster
TIER FIVE COURSE
3 credits, one course taken in the senior year
POLS 492 Capstone Seminar 5 4A,4B,4C 3

Support Option

Political Science majors must complete one of the following five Support Options.

Minor or Interdisciplinary Minor Support Option

Select a minor or interdisciplinary minor in consultation with advisor.21-24

Student-Selected Course Group Support Option

A program of courses proposed by student and approved by advisor containing a minimum of 21 credits, of which at least 12 must be upper-division (300- to 400-level).21

 Second Major Support Option

Select a second major in consultation with advisor. This option may require as much as 36 credits. Credit range shown is approximate, and may require more or less, depending on the second major chosen.27-36

Foreign Language Support Option

A minimum of 5 courses totaling at least 15 credits in a single foreign language, including at least 2 courses of language instruction or in the language at the upper-division level.15-22

Methods Support Option

Methods Support Option21
POLS 320Empirical Political Analysis3
STAT 301Introduction to Applied Statistical Methods3
Select two from the following:6
History and Philosophy of Scientific Thought (GT-AH3)
Philosophy of Behavioral Sciences
Logic and Scientific Method
Select one from the following:3
Sampling Techniques
Multiple Regression Analysis
Design of Experiments
Select two from the following:6
Method in Cultural Anthropology
Introduction to Econometrics
The Power of Numbers--Statistics in Sociology
Sociological Research Methods
1

Select a minimum of 12 upper-division (300- to 400-level) credits to fulfill Tier Four. Sophomores may take only 300-level courses from this section. Students may substitute a maximum of 3 credits in one of two ways: 1. from non-POLS specified courses shown above in the program; 2. by petitioning the advisor to include a non-POLS upper-division course when at least fifty percent (50%) of the course material and grading are related to environmental politics and policy. A course syllabus will be required for this option.

2

Courses selected to fulfill Tier Three requirements may not also fulfill Tier Four requirements, and vice versa. 

3

Sophomores may take only 300-level Tier Three courses.

4

Select enough elective credits to bring the program total to a minimum of 120 credits, of which at least 42 must be upper-division (300- to 400-level).

5

Students must complete one upper-division course in each of four of the five departmental subfields (American Politics, Political Theory, International Relations, Comparative Politics, and Public Policy and Administration) prior to taking POLS 492

Distinctive Requirements for Degree Program:

Political science majors must achieve a minimum grade of C (2.000) in each of the political science (POLS) courses counted toward meeting the requirement of the major.

Upper-Division course in at least four subfields of Political Science required to register for POLS 492. 

Freshman
Semester 1CriticalRecommendedAUCCCredits
CO 150College Composition (GT-CO2) X1A3
POLS 101American Government and Politics (GT-SS1) X3C3
Arts and Humanities  3B3
Biological and Physical Sciences  3A4
Elective   2
 Total Credits   15
Semester 2CriticalRecommendedAUCCCredits
POLS 103State and Local Government and Politics (GT-SS1) X3C3
Arts and Humanities  3B3
Historical Perspectives  3D3
Quantitative ReasoningX 1B3
Elective   3
CO 150 and AUCC 1B (Quantitative Reasoning) must be completed by the end of Semester 2.X   
 Total Credits   15
Sophomore
Semester 3CriticalRecommendedAUCCCredits
POLS 232International Relations (GT-SS1) X1C3
POLS 241Comparative Government and Politics (GT-SS1)  1C3
Support Option (See option list on Concentration Requirements Tab)   3-12
Tier Three (See Department List on Concentration Requirements tab)   0-3
Biological and Physical Sciences X3A3
Elective   3
 Total Credits   18
Semester 4CriticalRecommendedAUCCCredits
Select one course from the following: X 3
Writing Arguments (GT-CO3)  2 
Writing in the Disciplines: Arts and Humanities (GT-CO3)  2 
Writing in the Disciplines: Sciences (GT-CO3)  2 
Writing in the Disciplines: Social Sciences (GT-CO3)  2 
Writing in the Disciplines: Education (GT-CO3)  2 
Writing in Digital Environments (GT-CO3)  2 
Strategic Writing and Communication (GT-CO3)  2 
Specialized Professional Writing  2 
Tier Four: Select one course from the following:   3
U.S. Environmental Politics and Policy    
Global Environmental Politics    
Air, Climate, and Energy Policy Analysis    
Electives   9
 Total Credits   15
Junior
Semester 5CriticalRecommendedAUCCCredits
Tier Four (See List on Concentration Requirements Tab)   3-6
Tier Three (See List on Concentration Requirements Tab)   3-6
Support Option (See option list on Concentration Requirements Tab)   3-6
Elective   0-3
 Total Credits   18
Semester 6CriticalRecommendedAUCCCredits
Tier Two: Select one from the following:   3
History of Political Thought  4A,4B 
Contemporary Political Theories  4A,4B 
Democratic Theory  4A,4B 
American Political Theories  4A,4B 
Support Option (See option list on Concentration Requirements Tab)   3-6
Electives   3-9
 Total Credits   12
Senior
Semester 7CriticalRecommendedAUCCCredits
Tier Four (See List on Concentration Requirements Tab)X  3-6
Support Option (See option list on Concentration Requirements Tab)X  3-6
ElectiveX  0-3
 Total Credits   12
Semester 8CriticalRecommendedAUCCCredits
POLS 492 (Tier Five)Capstone SeminarX 4A,4B,4C3
Support Option (See option list on Concentration Requirements Tab)X  3-6
ElectivesX  3-12
The benchmark courses for the 8th semester are the remaining courses in the entire program of study.X   
 Total Credits   15
 Program Total Credits:   120