Political Science (BS)

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Departmental Admission Requirements

There are no specific admission requirements for this degree plan. 

The Change Major Request Form can be found under the Academic Progress tile on ULink.

General Education Requirements

General Education Requirements31
The following courses are required by the program or program tracks and can satisfy the respective General Education Requirement(s):
Introduction to Comparative Politics - SB, D2
Principles of Microeconomics - SB

All degrees require the completion of the University-wide General Education Program (link provided above).  Some General Education requirements may be met in the requirements for the major or supporting coursework, in which case additional electives may be required to complete the minimum hours for the degree.

College/School Requirements

Arts & Sciences Requirements
GEN 100Student Success Center First Year Experience1
or GEN 101 Arts & Sciences First Year Experience
Foreign Language 16-8
Electives in Humanities or Natural Sciences at 300 level or above 26
WR—two approved courses at the 300 level or above 3
Minimum Total Hours13-15

Program/Major Requirements

Department of Political Science
POLS 201Introduction to American Government and Politics - SB3
POLS 202Introduction to Comparative Politics - SB, D23
POLS 325Public Administration3
or POLS 326 Public Policy - SB
POLS 330International Relations3
POLS 390Political Science Research Methods3
POLS 495Senior Seminar - WR, CUE3
Law and Jurisprudence Area
Select three courses:9
Constitutional Law
Constitutional Law
Judicial Politics
Race, Law and Politics - D1, SB
Gender, Sexuality & Law
Civil Rights and the Law II
International Law - WR 5
Law, Diplomacy and Power: The Foreign Relations of the U.S.
Public Policy Area
Select two courses:6
Urban Political Economy
Comparative Urban Politics
Urban Politics
Policy, Community & Service
Public Administration 6
Public Policy - SB 6
American Foreign Policy
Global Environmental Politics
Topics in Public Policy
Topics in Urban and Public Policy
Louisville Metro Council Internship
Internship II
Frankfort Legislative Internship
Political Science electives9
Minimum Total Hours42
Supporting Courses
ECON 201Principles of Microeconomics - SB3
ECON 202Principles of Macroeconomics - SB3
Electives in Social Science other than Political Science, with 6 hours at the 300 level or above12
Minimum Electives15-17
Minimum Total Hours33-35

No more than 6 hours of POLS 430POLS 510POLS 511 and/or POLS 512 may count toward the major. 

Culminating Undergraduate Experience (Graduation requirement)
Requirement fulfilled by completing:
Senior Seminar - WR, CUE
1

Completion of the second semester of a single foreign language; hours will vary depending on the language taken

2

In addition to courses counted toward General Education

3

May be incorporated into other degree requirements

4

Fulfills general education requirement.

5

Fulfills WR requirement.

6

May not be double-counted for public policy area requirement if used for core requirement or for both a programmatic and supporting course.

Flight Plan

Plan of Study Grid
Year 1
FallHours
GEN 101
Arts & Sciences First Year Experience
or Student Success Center First Year Experience
1
ENGL 101 Introduction to College Writing - WC 3
POLS 201 Introduction to American Government and Politics - SB 3
General Education: Cardinal Core Natural Sciences - S 3
General Education: Cardinal Core Natural Sciences Lab - SL 1
Foreign Language 1 3-4
 Hours15
Spring
ENGL 102 Intermediate College Writing - WC 3
General Education: Cardinal Core Natural Sciences - S 3
General Education: Cardinal Core Quantitative Reasoning - QR 3-4
General Elective 3
Foreign Language 2 3-4
 Hours16-17
Year 2
Fall
POLS 202 Introduction to Comparative Politics - SB, D2 3
POLS 330 International Relations 3
Social Science elective (300 level or above) 3
General Education: Cardinal Core Oral Communication - OC 3
General Education: Cardinal Core Arts & Humanities - AH 3
 Hours15
Spring
POLS 325
Public Administration
or Public Policy - SB
3
ECON 201 Principles of Microeconomics - SB 3
General Education: Cardinal Core Social & Behavioral Sciences Historical Perspective - SBH 3
Political Science Law & Jurisprudence course 3
General elective 3
 Hours15
Year 3
Fall
Humanities or Natural Sciences WR elective (300 level or above) 3
ECON 202 Principles of Macroeconomics - SB 3
Political Science Law & Jurisprudence course 3
Political Science Public Policy course 3
General Education: Cardinal Core Arts & Humanities US Diversity - AHD1 3
 Hours15
Spring
Humanities or Natural Science elective (300 level or above) 3
Social Science elective 3
Political Science Law & Jurisprudence course 3
POLS 390 Political Science Research Methods 3
Social Science elective 3
 Hours15
Year 4
Fall
Political Science Public Policy course 3
Political Science elective 3
Social Science elective (300 level or above) 3
General elective (300 level or above) 3
General elective (300 level or above) 3
 Hours15
Spring
POLS 495 Senior Seminar - WR, CUE 3
Political Science elective 3
Political Science elective 3
General elective 3
General elective 3
 Hours15
 Minimum Total Hours121-122

The Flight Plan outlined above is intended to demonstrate one possible path to completing the degree within four years.  Course selection and placement within the program may vary depending on course offerings and schedule, elective preferences, and other factors (study abroad, internship availability, etc.). Please consult your advisor for additional information about building a flight plan that works for you.

Degree Audit Report
Degree Audit reports illustrate how your completed courses fulfill the requirements of your academic plan, and which requirements are still outstanding. Degree audits also take transfer credits and test credits into account. "What-if" reports allow you to compare the courses you have completed in your current academic plan to the courses required in another academic plan.  Should you have questions about either report, please consult with your academic advisor.

Flight Planner
The Flight Planner tool is available for you to create a personalized Flight Plan to graduation.  Advisors have access to review your Flight Planner and can help you adjust it to ensure you remain on track to graduate in a timely manner.

To create these reports:

  1. Log into your ULink account.
  2. Click on the Academic Progress tile.
  3. Select the appropriate report.
    1. To run a Degree Audit report, click on "View my Degree Audit."
    2. To create a What-if report, click on "Create a What-if Advisement Report."
    3. To run a Flight Planner report, click on "Use My Flight Planner."

Click here to run a Degree Audit report, create a What-if report, or run a Flight Planner report.