Major in Political Science, U.S. Government, Law, and Policy Concentration

The U.S. Government, Law, and Policy concentration is designed to prepare students to become future leaders in the public sector. The skills gained in this concentration help prepare students for a variety of careers. Resources for careers include the American Political Science Association and the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration. The courses in this concentration educate students about the political processes and the legal environment of all levels of American government, as well as the processes of policymaking and the administrative apparatus used to implement public policy. Students will also be exposed to a variety of substantive policy issues including urban policy, energy policy, and environmental policy in the United States. U.S. Government, Law, and Public Policy students are strongly encouraged to complete an internship in one of the many organizations in the broader community. Students in this concentration are also encouraged to participate in the Legislative Internship Program during their junior or senior years.

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, nonprofits, community organizations, lobbying firms, elected office, political communication, research and policy analysts. Other graduates will utilize their political science education to prepare for law and graduate schools. Past students have completed internships with a variety of law firms, the cities of Fort Collins, Windsor, Loveland, and Westminster, the Colorado General Assembly, and Woodward among others.

To change your Major to Political Science, U.S. Government, Law, 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.

U.S. Government, Law, 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 Support 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.