Political Science, Public Administration Concentration, B.A.

Requirement for the Political Science Major - 36 Credits

Required Major Core – 9 Credits

Required Courses

POLS 0101 - American National Government Credits: 3
POLS 0206 - Political Analysis Credits: 3

One of the following political theory courses

POLS 0215 - American Political Thought Credits: 3
POLS 0301 - Classical Political Thought Credits: 3
POLS 0302 - Modern Political Thought Credits: 3
POLS 0335 - Feminist Political Thought Credits: 3
POLS 0340 - Politics and “The Family” Credits: 3

Required Major Concentration - 12-18 Credits

12 credits in one of the Political Science concentrations.18 credits for students pursuing Law interdisciplinary option or International Studies interdisciplinary option.

Required Electives - 9 -15 Credits

15 credits of additional political science course work. 9 credits of additional political science coursework for students pursuing the Law interdisciplinary option or International Studies interdisciplinary option.

For Selected Topics courses (POLS 0323 ) to count toward the field of concentration, the courses must be within that field.

Students transferring from another college must complete a minimum of 18 credits in Political Science at Westfield State University.

The Department of Political Science encourages students to participate in internships. Students may apply up to 6 credits of internship toward the 36-credit major, 3 of which may be applied to the field of concentration. Up to 3 credits of internship may be applied toward the 18-credit minor. For details, see the department internship manual on the web page or pick up a copy in the department.

Public Administration

Courses providing necessary academic and technical expertise for professions in the public sector and graduate study in public administration (12 credits; choose 4).

POLS 0103 - State and Local Government Credits: 3
POLS 0204 - Introduction to Public Administration Credits: 3
POLS 0205 - Metropolitan Politics Credits: 3
POLS 0318 - Public Management Skills Credits: 3
POLS 0320 - Politics of Budget-Making Credits: 3
POLS 0321 - American Public Policy Credits: 3
POLS 0323 - Selected Topics in Political Science Credits: 3
POLS 0327 - Administrative Law Credits: 3
POLS 0397 - Political Science Internship Credits: 3 or 6
POLS 0398 - Washington Internship Credits: 15
POLS 0399 - Independent Study Credits: 3

Additional Graduation Requirements

All students must meet the University Graduation Requirements and complete a common core of studies, distributed among the different academic areas as detailed in the Common Core .