Political Science, BA

Location(s): Main Campus

Political science studies and evaluates theories and practices of politics and government at various levels - domestic, foreign, and international. Depending on the area studied, particular emphasis may be given to the role and performance of institutions and political systems, to the political behavior of individuals and groups, or to questions of a philosophical nature. Our program exposes students to theories and methods from the major political science subfields while still allowing students to focus on coursework in their personal interests in the discipline. Students acquire skills in critical and analytical thinking, writing and communication, and scientific reasoning that will prepare them for further study at the graduate level in political science as well as policy, sociology, or law. Students not wishing to pursue graduate level study can pursue careers in various fields, such as education, policy making, data analysis, and more.

Program Requirements

University General Education Requirements

All Binghamton University undergraduate students are required to fulfill this set of university-wide requirements to ensure that every graduate acquires the essential core of a SUNY university undergraduate education. Please refer to the General Education page for more information.

Harpur College Requirements

All students in Harpur College must fulfill additional requirements designated by Harpur College to complement and extend the general education requirements. Please refer to the Harpur College of Arts and Sciences page for more information.

Major Requirements

Political Science BA Requirements

Students must complete 56 credits for the major. This includes 10 courses (40 credits) in political science and 4 courses (16 credits) from outside the department, as follows:

Ten Courses in Political Science:
- Choose three Political Science courses from three different subfields’ course lists*:
  - American Politics Courses
  - Political Theory Courses
  - Comparative Politics Courses
  - International Relations Courses
- Two 400-level Political Science Seminars taken in residence
- Four additional upper-level courses in Political Science
- One elective in Political Science**
Four courses complimenting Political Science in at least three other Social Science Departments

*Students pursuing the SUNY transfer path in Political Science must fulfill this requirement with PLSC 111, PLSC 113, and PLSC 117

**Students pursuing the SUNY transfer path in Political Science must fulfill this requirement with PLSC 115

Political Science: Legal Studies BA Track Requirements

Students must complete 56 credits for the major. This includes 10 courses (40 credits) in political science and 4 courses (16 credits) from outside the department, as follows:

Ten Courses in Political Science*:
- Choose three Political Science courses from three different subfields’ course lists*:
  - International Relations Courses
  - Comparative Politics Courses
  - Political Theory Courses
  - American Politics Courses
- One elective in Political Science
- Two 400-level Political Science Seminars
- Four additional upper-level courses in Political Science
Four courses complimenting Political Science in at least three other Social Science Departments

*Seven of the ten courses must be in Legal Studies, of which, three of these must be core courses from the Legal Studies list. This overlaps with the requirements for the ten political science courses.

Political Science: Global and International Affairs BA Track Requirements

Students must complete 56 credits total for the major. This includes 10 courses (40 credits) in political science and 4 courses (16 credits) from outside the department, as follows:

Choose one political Science course in American Politics OR Political Theory
Four Political Science courses in International Relations, one of which must be a 400-level seminar
Four Political Science courses in Comparative Politics, one of which must be a 400-level seminar
Four additional upper-level courses in Political Science
Four courses complimenting Political Science in at least three other Social Science Departments

Additional Information About the Program

The Political Science Department views the grade of D as passing but unsatisfactory. Courses passed with a grade of D do not fulfill requirements for the major. Courses taken Pass/Fail do not count toward the major. Transfer course grades must be C- or better to count toward the major. No transfer course counting toward the major may have been taken Pass/Fail.

Courses acceptable for meeting the distribution requirements are identified as American, theory, comparative or international in the course descriptions. With the approval of the student’s advisor, appropriate alternative courses may be used to satisfy the distribution requirements.

Students of senior standing with appropriate political science background are allowed to take graduate-level courses with the instructor’s consent. Successful completion of such courses is counted toward the seminar requirement of the political science major. Majors are strongly encouraged to complete at least one substantial paper, based on their own investigation of a problem in an area of the political science discipline, either as part of a regular course, through independent study or as an honors thesis (PLSC 498 and 499).

Residency Requirement: All students must take at least six political science courses (24 credits), including the two 400-level seminars, in residence at Binghamton University.

For more information on the Political Science BA program, please refer to the Political Science Department website. To apply to the Political Science BA program, please visit the University Admissions website.