Major in Political Science, Global Politics and Policy Concentration

The Global Politics and Policy concentration is designed to help students develop the knowledge and skills to analyze political relationships between and within countries and to pursue careers in international affairs. Students will learn about different systems of government, state-society relations in various parts of the world, the ways that public and private actors interact through international institutions and the global economy, as well as the causes of and responses to domestic and international conflict. Global Politics and Policy students are strongly encouraged to study a foreign language and to complete some of their coursework in one of CSU’s many study abroad programs.

Learning Objectives

Students majoring in Political Science shall demonstrate the following:

1. Ability to reason through political claims and assertions by political actors.
2. Skill in recognizing and responding to diverse ideological perspectives.
3. Ability to locate political issues and controversies within their relevant institutional and historical contexts.
4. Familiarity with the institutional processes of politics in numerous global and domestic political arenas.
5. Confidence in expressing opinions and presenting analyses of political problems and their solutions.

Potential Occupations

Graduates may work for government agencies, intergovernmental organizations, international businesses, consulting firms or non-profit organizations in the U.S. and abroad.

To change your Major to Political Science, Global Politics and Policy Concentration, you can either call the College of Liberal Arts Academic Advising Center at 970-491-3117 or send an email to cla_advising@colostate.edu. More information is available on https://advising.libarts.colostate.edu.

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.

Global Politics and Policy Concentration Tier Requirements

Support Option

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

Minor or Interdisciplinary Minor Support Option

Course List

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

Student-Selected Course Group Support Option

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
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

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
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

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
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

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Methods Course Option		21
POLS 320	Empirical Political Analysis	3
STAT 301	Introduction to Applied Statistical Methods	3
Select two from the following:		6
PHIL 120	History and Philosophy of Scientific Thought (GT-AH3)
PHIL 327	Philosophy of Behavioral Sciences
PHIL 415	Logic and Scientific Method
Select one from the following:		3
STAT 305	Sampling Techniques
STAT 340	Multiple Regression Analysis
STAT 350	Design of Experiments
Select two from the following:		6
ANTH 441	Method in Cultural Anthropology
AREC 335/ECON 335	Introduction to Econometrics
SOC 210	The Power of Numbers--Statistics in Sociology
SOC 311	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.

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.