Undergraduate Bulletin

Requirements for the Major and Minor in Political Science (POL)

Requirements for the Major in Political Science (POL)

The major in Political Science leads to the Bachelor of Arts degree. All political science courses numbered 200 or higher offered for the major must be passed with a letter grade of C or higher.

Completion of the major requires 42 credits.

A. Study Within the Area of the Major

• Required courses: (9 credits)
  • POL 101 World Politics
  • POL 102 American Government
  • POL 103 Comparative Politics
    Note: Above courses must be taken for a letter grade and passed with a grade of C or higher in order to be counted toward completion of the major requirements.
• Political Science electives: (24 credits)
  • All must be selected from courses numbered 200 or above (excluding POL 201), and at least 12 credits must be from courses numbered 300 or above. At least 12 of these 24 credits must be selected from courses in one of the programs of study listed below. No more than six credits from courses with Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading may be applied. 
  • At least twelve credits must be taken in courses offered by the Political Science Department at Stony Brook or cross-listed by the Department. Only transfer courses with a grade of C or higher may be accepted toward the major.

B. Study in Related Areas (6 credits)

Two courses numbered 300 or higher, offered by Asian and Asian American Studies (AAS), Africana Studies (AFS), Anthropology (ANT), Business (BUS), Economics (ECO), Globalization Studies and International Relations (GLI), History (HIS), Journalism (JRN), Philosophy (PHI), Psychology (PSY), Sociology (SOC), or Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WST) (and not crosslisted with a political science course or included within a program of study). Courses taken at another institution may be used to satisfy this requirement if they were passed with a grade of C or higher.

C. Methodology Requirement

Majors must demonstrate competence in appropriate social science methodology by passing POL 201 Introduction to Statistical Methods in Political Science with a grade of C or higher. We will accept the following equivalent courses for POL 201: AMS 102, AMS 110, BIO 211, BUS 215, ECO 320, PSY 201, or SOC 202. The Department suggests that students fulfill this requirement no later than the beginning of their junior year. A course taken to fulfill the methodology requirement may not count toward fulfilling any other major requirement. 

D. Upper-Division Writing Requirement

Students should consult with the department advisor to ensure that their plan for completing the Upper Division Writing Requirement is consistent with university graduation requirements for General Education.  Students completing the Stony Brook Curriculum (SBC) must complete a course that satisfies the "Write Effectively within One's Discipline" (WRTD) learning objective to graduate.  The Upper Division Writing Requirement is consistent in most cases with the SBC learning outcomes for WRTD.

Note:
Students must take four 300-level courses in one of the following programs of study within the major:
1. Comparative Politics and International Relations;
2. American Government, Law, and Public Policy;
3. Political Behavior and Political Psychology

Programs of Study

Comparative Politics and International Relations

POL 214, 216, 305, 308, 309, 311, 313, 334, 336, 337, 338, 339, 350, 371, 374, 380. Also,
PHI 367. Also 287, 390, 401, 447, 487, and 495 when the topic is appropriate. 

American Government, Law, and Public Policy

POL 317, 318, 319, 320, 322, 323, 324, 325, 327, 328, 330, 332, 333, 336, 344, 347, 349, 350, 351, 352, 353, 359, 365, 366, 367, 368, 369, 371. Also, PHI 277, PHI 375, and PHI 377. Also 287, 390, 401, 447, 487, and 495 when the topic is applicable. 

Political Behavior and Political Psychology

POL 270, 317, 318, 323, 344, 346, 347, 348, 349, 350, 351, 352, 353, 367, 368, 369, 371, 373, 375. Also, PHI 379. Also 287, 390, 401, 447, 487, and 495 when the topic is applicable. 

Honors Program

Departmental majors with a 3.70 g.p.a. in political science courses and a 3.40 cumulative g.p.a. may enroll in the Political Science honors program at the end of their junior year. The student, after asking a faculty member to be a sponsor, must submit a proposal to the Director of Undergraduate Studies describing the research project that is to be the subject of the honors thesis. If the project is approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies, the student may enroll in POL 495-496 Senior Honors Project in Political Science in the fall and spring semesters of the senior year. The honors paper resulting from the student's research is read by the sponsor. If the paper is judged to be of extraordinary merit and the student's record warrants such a determination, honors are conferred.

Requirements for the Minor in Political Science (POL)

The minor in Political Science is organized around one of the four programs of study listed for the major.

Completion of the minor requires 21 credits distributed as follows: 

1. Two introductory POL courses selected from 101, 102, 103, and POL 201. We will accept the following equivalent courses for POL 201: AMS 102, AMS 110, BIO 211, BUS 215, ECO 320, PSY 201, or SOC 202.
2. Five POL courses numbered 200 or higher (excluding POL 201), of which at least three must be at the upper-division level. At least three of the courses must be in one of the programs of study listed above.

Notes:
1. No more than three credits of courses with Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading may be applied to the minor. Neither POL 475 nor POL 476 may be used toward the minor.
2. All courses except POL 488 must be taken for a letter grade.
3. No grade less than C may be used to fulfill minor requirements.
4. At least nine credits must be taken in courses offered by the Political Science Department at Stony Brook or cross-listed by the Department.
5. Only transfer courses with a grade of C or higher may be accepted toward the minor.

B.A./M.A. Accelerated Degree Program in Public Policy 

In the accelerated B.A./M.A. in Public Policy, students complete the B.A. in Political Science and the M.A. in Public Policy in five years. To be eligible for admission, students must be:

• a major in political science at Stony Brook
• have completed 60 credits toward their degree
• have a minimum GPA of 3.0. 
• have two courses (six credits) remaining in the “Study Within the Area of the Major, Political Science electives” during their senior year.

In the program, students take up to two graduate courses (six credits) during their senior year which also count towards the POL major’s “Political Science elective” requirement. 500-level public policy POL courses may be applied to:

• The Political Science elective program of study requirement, and will count under the American Government, Law, and Public Policy program, and/or,
• The Political Science elective open credit requirement (not confined to a program of study).

Upon admission to the program, the student takes two courses in their senior year, one each semester. Generally, students should begin with fundamental courses such as policy analysis (POL 535) but with approval from the MA in Public Policy program director they can choose any master’s courses in public policy (POL 500 – POL 559). Students then complete the remaining master’s courses during the fifth year.