Undergraduate Program

College of Arts and Sciences and Department of Political Science Undergraduate Admission Requirements

A minimum of 26 credit hours; 23 credit hours must be in courses acceptable toward graduation.

A cumulative grade point average of at least 2.00 on all work.

  • Transfer students must have a 2.00 transfer GPA.
  • Continuing UNM students must have a 2.00 institutional GPA.

Demonstrated academic achievement by satisfying the following:

  • Completion of General Education Curriculum: Communication.
  • Completion of General Education Curriculum: Mathematics and Statistics.
  • Completion of General Education Curriculum: Second Language.

Completion of Department of Political Science admission course work with grades of "C" or better:

  • Two POLS courses from 1120, 1140, 2110, 2120, 2130, 2140, or 2150.

Degree Offered

  • Bachelor of Arts in Political Science (B.A.)

Shared-Credit Undergraduate/Graduate Degrees Program

The Department of Political Science offers a Shared-Credit Undergraduate/Graduate Degrees Program. The Program enables completion of the B.A. in Political Science, and the Master of Arts (M.A.) in Political Science in five years of study. See the "Shared-Credit Undergraduate/Graduate Degrees Program" section of this page for specific admission information and requirements.


Major Study Requirements

A total of 36 credit hours is required for a major in Political Science. These credit hours must be distributed among the following:

  • 12 credit hours from the core courses (1120, 2110, 2120, 2130, 2140, and 2150), including at least one course from each of the following groups: (1120 or 2150), (2110 or 2120) and (2130 or 2140).
  • 21 credit hours from courses numbered 300 or above.
  • 3 additional credit hours from any level.

NOTE: Students who have already had courses in political science may not count POLS 1140 toward a major. A grade of "C" or better is required in all political science courses counted toward the major. Only 3 credit hours of POLS 2996 is permitted toward the major. However, students may enroll in additional credit hours of POLS 2996 and count them as electives. No more than a total of 6 credit hours of Internship (291 and/or 491) or Independent Study (499) combined can be counted toward the major.


Shared-Credit Undergraduate/Graduate Degrees Program

The shared-credit program allows high-achieving Political Science majors to take graduate courses for shared undergraduate credit in their senior year and finish the M.A. in Political Science in one additional year.

Admission Requirements

Students seeking admission to the shared-credit program should contact the Political Science Graduate Director in the Fall semester of their junior year and apply to the graduate program early in the Spring semester of their junior year. Applicants should have completed 90 credit hours toward the B.A. degree by the end of their junior year and must also meet the following other requirements:

  • B.A. program core requirements completed;
  • POLS 280 completed with a grade of “B” or better;
  • Two upper-division courses (taught by regular department faculty) completed with a grade of “B” or better;
  • Political Science major GPA of 3.5 or higher;
  • Overall GPA of 3.20 or higher.

Program Requirements

For shared-credit coursework to count toward the M.A. degree, the student must maintain at least a 3.20 GPA in courses taken for graduate credit after admission to the program.

Students enter the program in the Fall semester of their senior year, and will complete the following alongside their undergraduate classes:

  • POLS 581 (4 credit hours),
  • POLS 582 (1 credit hour), and
  • a professional seminar in one of the subfields (3 credit hours).

In the Spring of their senior year, students must complete the following alongside their remaining undergraduate courses:

  • two other graduate courses in Political Science (6 credit hours).

These 21 credit hours count towards the upper-division course requirement for the B.A. in Political Science.

In the Fall semester of their "plus-one" year, participants are enrolled as graduate students and take:

  • POLS 580 (3 credit hours),
  • two other graduate courses in Political Science (6 credit hours).

In the Spring semester of their "plus-one" year, students take:

  • two professional seminars and one graduate research seminar (9 credit hours).

Additional Information

Shared-credit coursework will count toward the undergraduate degree whether or not the student gains admission into the M.A. program provided that the student earns a grade of “B” or better in those courses. After meeting the course and GPA requirements, students in the Shared-Credit Degrees Program graduate with the B.A. in Political Science at the end of the Spring semester of their senior year and with the M.A. in Political Science at the end of the Spring semester of their "plus-one" year. Students who choose not to complete the graduate portion of the program are still awarded the undergraduate degree when all undergraduate requirements are met.


Distributed Minor for Political Science Majors

A Political Science major may pursue a distributed minor consisting of courses in related disciplines, provided the minor program of courses is approved by the department chairperson.


Minor Study Requirements

A total of 24 credit hours, including at least three of the core courses and four courses numbered 300 or above, is required for a minor in Political Science. A grade of "C" or better is required in all courses counted toward the minor. Only 3 credit hours of POLS 2996 are permitted toward the minor. However, students may enroll in additional credit hours of POLS 2996 and count them as electives. No more than a total of 3 credit hours of Internship (291 and/or 491) or Independent Study (499) combined can be counted toward the minor.


Departmental Honors

Superior sophomore and junior students are invited to apply for admission to the Undergraduate Honors Program, beginning in the junior year. Students participating in this program are eligible to graduate with departmental honors if recommended by the faculty on the basis of outstanding performance. Those enrolled in the honors program are expected to complete the following sequence of courses for a total of 9 credit hours: POLS 495, 496 (or, with prior approval, another 400-level course) and 497.


Undergraduate courses in Political Science (POLS) are categorized in content areas. The category for each course appears in parenthesis at the end of the course description according to the following legend:

Introductory and General (I); Core (C); American Politics (AP); Comparative Politics (CP); International Politics (IP); Political Theory (PT); Public Policy (PP).


Courses

POLS 1120. American National Government. (3)



POLS 1140. The Political World. (3)



POLS 1996. Topics. (1-6, no limit Δ)



POLS 2110. Comparative Politics. (3)



POLS 2120. International Relations. (3)



POLS 2130. Political Ideas: Introduction to Political Theory. (3)



POLS 2140. Introduction to Political Analysis. (3)



POLS 2150. Public Policy and Administration. (3)



POLS 254. Introduction to Latin American Society I: Social Sciences. (3)



POLS 291. Internship. (1-3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)



POLS 2996. Topics. (3, no limit Δ)



POLS *300. Political Topics. (3, no limit Δ)



POLS 301. The Government of New Mexico. (3)



POLS *302. Comparative State Politics. (3)



POLS 303. Law in the Political Community. (3)



POLS *305. Public Opinion and Electoral Behavior. (3)



POLS *307. The Politics of Ethnic Groups. (3)



POLS *308. Hispanics in U.S. Politics. (3)



POLS 309. Black Politics. (3)



POLS *311. The Legislative Process. (3)



POLS *312. The American Presidency. (3)



POLS 313. Women and the Law. (3)



POLS 314. Sex and the State. (3)



POLS *315. Constitutional Law: Powers. (3)



POLS *316. Constitutional Law: Liberties. (3)



POLS 317. Constitutional Law: Rights. (3)



POLS *320. Topics in Comparative Politics. (3, no limit Δ)



POLS 323. The Politics of Global Development. (3)



POLS 324. The Politics of Poverty and Inequality. (3)



POLS 325. European Politics. (3)



POLS 326. Comparative Political Economy. (3)



POLS 327. Qualitative Research Methods. (3)



POLS 329. Introduction to African Politics. (3)



POLS *340. Topics in International Politics. (3, no limit Δ)



POLS 341. International Conflict and Cooperation. (3)



POLS *342. American Foreign Policy. (3)



POLS 346. International Political Economy. (3)



POLS 360. Latin American Culture and Society. (3)



POLS *361. Ancient and Medieval Political Theory. (3)



POLS *362. Modern Political Theory. (3)



POLS 372. Urban Politics. (3)



POLS 376. Health Policy and Politics. (3)



POLS 377. Population Policy and Politics. (3)



POLS *400. Advanced Political Topics. (3, no limit Δ)



POLS *410. U.S. Campaigns and Elections. (3)



POLS 441. Civil Wars. (3)



POLS 442. International Peacekeeping and Conflict Resolution. (3)



POLS 453. Asian Studies Thesis. (3)



POLS *478. Seminar in International Studies. (3)



POLS 491. Internship. (1-6 to a maximum of 6 Δ)



POLS 495. Junior Honors Seminar. (3)



POLS 496. Undergraduate Seminar. (3, no limit Δ)



POLS 497. Senior Thesis. (3)



POLS 499. Independent Study. (1-3)



POLS 510. Pro-Seminar in American Government and Politics. (3)



POLS 511. Research Seminar in American Government and Politics. (3, no limit Δ)



POLS 512. Topics in Government and Politics. (3, no limit Δ)



POLS 520. Pro-Seminar in Comparative Politics. (3)



POLS 521. Research Seminar in Comparative Politics. (3, no limit Δ)



POLS 525. Pro-Seminar in Latin American Politics. (3)



POLS 540. Pro-Seminar in International Relations. (3)



POLS 541. Research Seminar in International Relations. (3, no limit Δ)



POLS 551–552. Problems. (1-3, no limit Δ; 1-3, no limit Δ)



POLS 570. Pro-Seminar in Public Policy. (3)



POLS 580. Introduction to Empirical Research. (3)



POLS 581. Statistics for Social Research. (4)



POLS 582. Survey of Political Science as a Discipline and a Profession. (1)



POLS 584. Interdisciplinary Seminar on Problems of Modernization in Latin America. (3, no limit Δ)



POLS 585. Introduction to Game Theory Research in Political Science. (3)



POLS 599. Master's Thesis. (1-6, no limit Δ)



POLS 681. Advanced Statistical Analysis for Social Science Research. (3)



POLS 699. Dissertation. (3-12, no limit Δ)



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