Degree Requirements
Major Requirements (34 hours)
- POLS 112
- POLS 200
- Two of the following: POLS 250, POLS 270, or POLS 280
- POLS 300
- Diversity and Politics Course Requirement (One of the following): POLS 354, POLS 440, POLS 441, or POLS 446
- POLS 400
A minimum of 15 additional credit hours of any 300-400 level elective courses in Political Science, subject to the restrictions below. POLS 292 may be substituted in place of a 300-level elective course.
- At least one of these must be a lecture or seminar course for a minimum of three credit hours at the 400-level. POLS 440, POLS 441, or POLS 446 do not count towards this requirement if it was taken to satisfy the Diversity and Politics Course Requirement.
- The course taken to satisfy the Diversity and Politics Requirement does not double count toward the 15 additional credit hour requirement.
- A maximum of 3 credits of political science internship courses (POLS 410, POLS 411, and POLS 412) can count toward the 15 credit hours of major electives. However, these courses do not satisfy the required 400-level elective course requirement.
- Up to 3 credit hours of political science major credit will be counted for POLS 310.
Required Minor (18-21 hours)
Electives (26-31 hours)
A minimum of 120 hours is required for the degree.
Requirements for Students Seeking Professional Educator Licensure
Students pursing the BA or BS in history, geography, or political science who are also seeking Professional Educator Licensure must complete the social science minor to qualify in the state of state of Illinois for Social Science Certification, since Illinois licensure is certified only in social science. All of the following required courses must be completed for the social science minor, with a grade of "C" or better:
- ANTH 111B – Human Culture & Communication
- ECON 111 – Macroeconomics
- ECON 112 – Microeconomics
- GEOG 111 - Introduction to Geography or GEOG 205 – Human Geography
- GEOG 201 – World Regions
- HIST 330 - History of Illinois
- HIST 112A – World History or HIST 112B – World History
- HIST 323 – History/Pedagogy
- POLS 112 - American National Government
- POLS 250 - Introduction to Comparative Politics
- SOC 111 – Introduction to Sociology
If applicable, these courses may also count toward a student's respective major in history, geography, or political science.
- Licensure requires a 2.75 GPA in political science courses, including those completed at past institutions
- Completion of the minor in social sciences
Pre-Law Preparation
Entrance into law school does not require any specific major or any specific course requirements. Law schools judge applicants based upon their cumulative GPA and law school admission test (LSAT) scores. Students wishing to attend law school must obtain an undergraduate degree before entering law school. However, students typically apply to law school beginning in the fall of their senior year. To prepare for entrance, students are encouraged to take the LSAT in June following their junior year or in October of their senior year.
Many students find that undergraduate courses in political science, history, English, and philosophy (such as critical thinking) are helpful in law school, and any course emphasizing technical writing skills is especially helpful. Students considering law should like working with people, enjoy reading, have good communication skills and be excellent writers.
The University encourages students interested in a law career to participate in the Pre-Law Association. The association, together with Student Legal Services, sponsors an annual Pre-Law Night in the fall of each year, which brings recruiters from numerous law schools to campus to discuss admission to law school with interested students. The Pre-Law Association also visits area law schools and brings in speakers on law-related topics.
Retention
Students must maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 to remain in good academic standing. Students whose cumulative GPA falls below 2.0 will be placed on academic probation, returned to undeclared status and limited to a maximum of 12 hours of enrollment per term.
General Education Requirements
University general education requirements are outlined in the general education section of the undergraduate academic catalog and included in the sample curriculum.
Students electing completion of a Bachelor of Arts must complete eight courses in fine and performing arts or humanities including one year of the same foreign language.
