Political Science, Law Concentration, B.A.

Requirements for the Political Science Major

39 total credits are required to fulfill this major’s requirements, as defined below:

12 credits of Political Science Core courses
12 credits within the chosen concentration
15 credits of additional Political Science electives

Students pursuing the Interdisciplinary Options for Law and International Studies concentrations should expect to complete 18 credits within their concentration, and 9 credits of elective coursework.

Students transferring in coursework from other schools 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 Internship credits toward the 39 credit major.

3 of these Internship credits may be applied to the concentration.
Up to 3 of these Internship credits may be applied toward the 18-credit minor.

For details about Political Science Internship credits, please click here to view the department’s Internship manual, or contact the department.

Required Major Core (12 credits)

Required Major Courses
POLS 0101 - American National Government Credits: 3
POLS 0206 - Political Analysis Credits: 3
ENGL 0204 - Composition II: Rhetoric and Research Credits: 3
Students must select 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 0310 - ”Non-Western” Political Thought Credits: 3
POLS 0323 - Selected Topics in Political Science 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)

Required Major 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 internship toward the 39-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 in the link or pick up a copy in the department.

Law Concentration (12 credits)

This concentration is ideal for students interested in preparing for law school and related legal careers, as well as graduate study in Political Science with a focus in public law.

Choose four courses (or a total of 12 credits) from below:

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
POLS 0398 - Washington Internship Credits: 15
POLS 0399 - Independent Study Credits: 3

Additional Courses

A maximum of one course from the list below may be substituted for one of the four courses in the Law Concentration:

BIOL 0233 - Environmental Legislation Credits: 3
COMM 0307 - Communication Law Credits: 3
CRJU 0302 - Criminal Law Credits: 3
CRJU 0308 - Rights of the Convicted Credits: 3
CRJU 0320 - Criminal Procedure: Fourth Amendment Rights of the Accused Credits: 3
GPS 0225 - Legal Issues in Zoning and Planning Credits: 3
HIST 0351 - U.S. Constitutional History: Famous Cases Credits: 3
MGMT 0241 - Business Law Credits: 3
PHIL 0103 - Symbolic Logic I Credits: 3
SOCI 0330 - Sociology of Law Credits: 3
Additional courses may count with department chair approval.

Additional Graduation Requirements

All students must meet the University Graduation Requirements and complete a general education or common core of studies, distributed among the different academic areas as detailed in General Education: WISE or Common Core .