Course variations

Course summary

This program helps students to think more critically and coherently about political matters, to understand better what is going on in the world, to make reasoned value choices about contemporary political issues and to overcome personal alienation from political life. This major is interesting, challenging, and responsive to the individual student’s intellectual and career interests. Its required components cover both longstanding philosophical questions and contemporary social scientific knowledge about political life. The elective offerings expose students to the breadth of the discipline in courses taught by experts in the various subfields that define political science: American politics, political theory, comparative politics, public administration, international relations and public law. It prepares students for a variety of challenging careers. Typical options for political science graduates include government service, diplomacy, politics, lobbying, law, teaching, business, public affairs, nonprofit institutions, interest groups, and international organizations. UMBC political science graduates have also gone on to such outstanding graduate and law schools as Yale, Harvard, the University of Chicago, and William and Mary, as well as all of the Baltimore- and Washington-area schools.

Program modules

Students must complete the following lower-level course: POLI 100 American Government and Politics [3]. They are required to take four additional courses at the 200 level. Students may choose among the following: POLI 200 Introduction to Political Science [3], POLI 210 Political Philosophy [3], POLI 220 The U.S. Constitution [3], POLI 230 Introduction to Constitutional Law [3], POLI 233 Common Law and Legal Analysis [3], POLI 240 State and Local Politics [3], POLI 250 Public Administration [3], POLI 260 Comparative Politics [3], POLI 280 International Relations [3]. At the upper level (300- and 400-level courses), students are required to take a minimum of 21 credits. All students are required to take one of the following three courses: POLI 300 Quantitative Analysis in Political Science [4], POLI 301 Research Methods in Political Science [3], POLI 302 Analysis of Political Data [3].

Entry requirement for international students

Students must have a high school diploma or its equivalent and have strong marks. Freshmen who wish to be considered for merit scholarships must sit for the SAT and present a combined critical reading and math score of 1300 or better along with high school marks that are in the top 10 per cent of their class. Otherwise, students educated overseas do not need to sit for the SAT. They must also demonstrate their English Proficiency by TOEFL or IELTS scores. If students TOEFL score falls below 48 on the internet-based, 140 on the computer-based, or 550 on the paper and pencil version, they should consider full-time enrollment in the English Language Center (ELC).

Qualification

Bachelor degree

Awarding body

University Of Maryland, Baltimore County

Department name

College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, Department of Political Science