Major and Minors
Explore and Discover. Politics are everywhere, from small acts of protest to large-scale invasions. Political science studies all levels of politics across the globe. Students studying political science develop the skills they need to carefully answer questions about political life; skills that help them succeed in academia, policy research, law, politics, and the private sector.
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Degrees Offered
The Department of Political Science offers a major in political science and three minors—a minor in political economy (joint with the Department of Economics), a minor in national security, and a minor in political science with three choices of concentration: American politics, political theory, and world politics.
Political Science Major
A major in political science provides the skills needed to deeply understand and carefully analyze the political world. It also offers the opportunity to develop a breadth of knowledge across the various areas of political science, while providing the flexibility to explore in more detail one or more of the following five subfields: American politics, comparative politics, international relations, political theory, and research methods.
The political science major requires 30 credit hours of coursework made up of the following requirements:
- Foundation: 6 credit hours – Two 1000-level courses
- Breadth: 12 credit hours – One 2000-level (or above) course in four of the five subfields (American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Relations, Political Theory, Research Methods).
- Depth: 12 additional credit hours in 2000-level (or above) courses across any of the subfields:
- Note – 3 of these elective credit hours can be from an additional 1000-level course and up to 6 credit hours can be from individualized instruction courses (3883, 3883, 3841, 3842, 3851, 3852, 4998, 4999)
Please note that 24 of the 30 total required credits must be used exclusively for the PSCI major and cannot be used to satisfy other major/minor requirements. PSCI courses can be used to satisfy both PSCI major requirements and AXLE/CORE requirements.
| Foundation Requirement: 6 credit hours |
|---|
| PSCI 1100, 1101, 1102, 1103, 1104, or 1150 |
| Breadth Requirement (12 credit hours total): 3 credit hours from four of five subfields: |
|---|
| American Government and Politics PSCI 2204W, 2222, 2235, 2240, 2240W, 2241, 2242W, 2243, 2244, 2244W, 2245, 2251, 2253, 2254W, 2255, 2256, 2259, 2262, 2265, 2266, 2267, 2269, 2270, 3241, 3242, 3243, 3244, 3246, 3247, 3249, 3250, 3252, 3253, 3254, 3260/ULAW 1000, 3268, 3272, 3273, 3700W, 3701, 3893, 4444 |
| Comparative Politics PSCI 2210, 2212W, 2213, 2214, 2215, 2216, 2217, 2219, 2223, 2224W, 2228W, 2230, 2231, 2236, 2237, 2238, 2239, 2246W, 2249, 2251, 2252, 2254W, 2270, 2278, 2400W, 2405W, 3211, 3217, 3218, 3219, 3228, 3235, 3272, 3272W, 3273, 3273W, 3274, 3400, 3894, 4238 |
| International Relations PSCI 2170, 2171, 2211, 2220, 2221, 2222, 2223, 2225, 2226, 2236, 2263, 2270, 2273, 2274, 2275, 2405W, 3211, 3227, 3228, 3229, 3270, 3272, 3272W, 3273, 3273W, 3275, 3895, 4277 |
| Political Theory PSCI 2201, 2202, 2203, 2204W, 2205, 2207, 2207W, 2208, 2209, 2263, 3206, 3253, 3258, 3264W, 3265, 3266, 3271, 3333, 3896, 4257 GSS 3306, 3307, 3030 SOC 3314, 3611, 3614 PHIL 3610, 3622 |
| Research Methods PSCI 2170, 2171, 2259, 2270, 2279, 2300, 2310, 3155, 3273, 3891, 5259 |
| Depth Requirement: 12 credit hours |
|---|
| Any 2000-level (or higher) course listed above; 3891, 3897, 3898. May include one additional 1000-level course, including 1111; and up to six hours of 3882, 3883, 3851, 3852, 3841, 3842, 4998, 4999 |
| TOTAL: 30 credit hours |
Political Science Minors
A minor in political science provides students with the tools they’ll need to analyze politics across different arenas. We offer three minors—a minor in political economy (joint with the Department of Economics), a minor in national security, and a minor in political science with three choices of concentration: American politics, political theory, and world politics.
Each minor requires 18 credit hours of coursework: one political science foundation course (3 credit hours) and 15 additional credit hours of electives within that specialty. Please note that 15 of the 18 credits required for a minor in Political Science must be used exclusively for the PSCI minor and cannot be used to satisfy other major/minor requirements. PSCI courses can be used to satisfy both PSCI major requirements and AXLE/CORE requirements.
Minor in Political Economy
The minor, offered jointly with the Department of Economics, allows students to gain expertise across political science, economics, and public policy. Students engage with the economic analysis of political institutions and behavior, as well as the analysis of the political consequences of economic decisions, policies, and outcomes. Students in the minor acquire a common foundation of tools in microeconomic theory and game theory and will take substantive and methodological coursework to build on these analytics foundations.
| Courses | Credit Hours Required |
|---|---|
| All students are required to complete either PSCI 2259 or ECON 3012 as a pre-requisite for the minor. | |
| PSCI 3400/ECON 4230 PSCI 3401/ECON 4240 | 6 credit hours |
| Plus four of the following: PSCI 2211, 2221, 2225, 2226, 2274, 2228W, 2259, 2300, 3259, 3252 ECON 2890, 3110, 3200, 3032/3035, 4220, 4260, 4540 Of the 4 elective classes, at least one has to be taken from a course offered by the Department of Political Science, and at least one has to be taken from a course offered by the Department of Economics. | 12 credit hours |
| TOTAL | MINIMUM 18 CREDIT HOURS |
Minor in National Security
The national security minor is an interdisciplinary program that equips students with a foundation in security studies, global affairs, and foreign policy in the United States. Students who minor in national security will acquire substantive knowledge in traditional and non-traditional global security challenges and develop critical analytical skills required for roles in national security, intelligence analysis, diplomacy, cybersecurity, and international policy analysis.
| Courses | Credit Hours Required |
|---|---|
| PSCI 2234 OR PSCI 1102. (PSCI 2234 may be used as an elective if a student takes PSCI 1102 and wants to take both courses.) | 3 |
| Two from one of the following groups: Data Science track PSCI 1104 and one other Data Science (DS) course Formal Theory track PSCI 2105 and PSCI 3229 Computer Science track CS/DS 1100 and CS 2204 or CS 1101 and CS 2201 | 6 |
| Any three of the following: PSCI 2211, PSCI 2219, PSCI 2221, PSCI 2225, PSCI 2227, PSCI 2234, PSCI 2235, PSCI 2246, PSCI 2259, PSCI 2273, PSCI 2274, PSCI 2275, PSCI 2400, PSCI 3272, PSCI 3275, PSCI 4277, PSCI 2170/2171, ECON 2340, HIST 1730, HIST 1735W, HIST 1740, HIST 1702, HIST 1700, HIST 2110, HIST 2111, HIST 2457, HIST 2710, HIST 2720, HIST 2723, ANTH 3133, ANTH 3261, ANTH 3371, MHS 2250 One of the following: NS 1690, NS 1691, MS 1510 | 9 |
| TOTAL | MINIMUM 18 CREDIT HOURS |
Minor in Political Science
American politics concentration
Students study the ways in which American political institutions interact with mass political behavior to influence American politics and policymaking in contemporary and historical periods of the United States.
| Courses | Credit Hours Required |
|---|---|
| PSCI 1100 or 1150 | 3 credit hours |
| Plus any five of the following: PSCI 2204W, 2222, 2235, 2240, 2240W, 2241, 2242W, 2243, 2244, 2245, 2251, 2253, 2255, 2256, 2259, 2262, 2265, 2266, 2267, 2270, 3241, 3242, 3244, 3246, 3247, 3249, 3250, 3252, 3253, 3254, 3260, 3268, 3700W, 3893, 4444 | 15 credit hours |
| TOTAL | MINIMUM 18 CREDIT HOURS |
Political theory concentration
Students draw on the works and insights of a broad range of historical and contemporary political theorists to engage with foundational normative questions of political life, including democracy, governance, rights, and justice.
| Courses | Credit Hours Required |
|---|---|
| PSCI 1103 | 3 credit hours |
| Plus any five of the following: PSCI 2201, 2202, 2203, 2204W, 2205, 2207, 2207W, 2208, 2209, 2263, 3206, 3253, 3258, 3264W, 3265, 3266, 3270, 3271, 3333, 3896, 4257 | 15 credit hours |
| TOTAL | MINIMUM 18 CREDIT HOURS |
World politics concentration
Students study fundamental questions of democratic development and conflict across a wide range of global settings. Students may focus on comparative politics or international relations, or they may mix the two areas of concentration. A student may focus on comparative politics or international politics, or may mix the two.
| Courses | Credit Hours Required |
|---|---|
| PSCI 1101 or 1102 | 3 credit hours |
| Plus any five of the following: PSCI 2170, 2171, 2210, 2211, 2212W, 2213, 2214, 2215, 2216, 2217, 2219, 2220, 2221, 2222, 2223, 2224W, 2225, 2226, 2228W, 2230, 2231, 2236, 2237, 2238, 2239, 2246W, 2249, 2251, 2252, 2254W, 2263, 2270, 2273, 2274, 2275, 2278, 2400W, 2405W, 3211, 3217, 3218, 3219, 3228, 3229, 3235, 3272W, 3273, 3273W, 3274, 3475, 3400, 3894, 3895, 4238, 4277 | 15 credit hours |
| TOTAL | MINIMUM 18 CREDIT HOURS |
Declaring a Major or Minor
To declare a major or minor in Political Science a student should:
- Email the Director of Undergraduate Studies to request an adviser. In that email, be sure to include the subfield that you think is most likely to be your specialty within political science (American politics, comparative politics, international relations, political theory, research methods). This will help in assigning you the appropriate faculty adviser.
- Go to Vanderbilt’s Undergraduate Forms page
- Click on the “Major/Minor Declaration/Change” link
- Complete the online form. In the “Comments” section of the online form, be sure to indicate your subfield of interest (American politics, comparative politics, international relations, political theory, research methods).
- Submit the form. You will be notified by email once your request has been processed. The confirmation email will include the name of your adviser.