Political Science, Law 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
** Additional theory courses may qualify with department chair approval

Law Concentration - 12 credits

Courses for students interested in preparing for law school and related legal careers, as well as graduate study in Political Science with a focus on public law. (12 credits: choose four).

POLS 0105 - Law, Courts and Politics Credits: 3
POLS 0208 - Constitutional Law Credits: 3
POLS 0212 - The U.S. Supreme Court Credits: 3
POLS 0220 - International Law and Human Rights Credits: 3
POLS 0309 - Civil Liberties Credits: 3
POLS 0327 - Administrative Law Credits: 3
POLS 0323 - Selected Topics in Political Science Credits: 3
POLS 0397 - Political Science Internship Credits: 3 or 6 (can be taken for 3 credits in the Law concentration)
POLS 0398 - Washington Internship Credits: 15 (can be taken for 3 credits in the Law concentration)
POLS 0399 - Independent Study Credits: 3
* Additional courses may count with department chair approval

Required Electives - 15 Credits

15 credits of additional political science course work.

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

Students transferring from another school 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 internships toward the 36-credit major, 3 of which may be applied toward the 18-credit minor. For details, see the department internship manual on from the link https://www.westfield.ma.edu/images/uploads/political-science/Internship_Manual.pdf or pick up a copy in the department.

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 .