Political Science (B.A., B.S.)

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Student Learning Outcomes

36 Major Hours, 120 Degree Hours

Students in this major must also complete requirements for a degree in the College of Arts & Sciences .

Departmental Requirements (36 hours)

Students take one course from each of the following subfields: American Politics/Institutions, Public Administration/ Public Policy, and Comparative Politics/International Relations.

Subfield A: American Politics/Institutions. Choose one of the following:

Subfield B: Public Administration/ Public Policy. Choose one of the following:

Subfield C: Comparative Politics/International Relations. Choose one of the following:

Electives:

Choose 12 credits of any POLS coursework, only three of which may be internship credits. Only three credits from a faculty led program may be applied to the twelve credits of electives.

Political Science/Criminal Justice Double Major

Students double-majoring in Criminal Justice and Political Science take either CJUS 205 or POLS 205 (but not both) and either CJUS 489 or POLS 489 (but not both), for a combined major totaling 69 credit hours.

Students may also choose one (but not both) of the following options for a double major totaling 66 credit hours:

Students who complete CJUS 396 or POLS 380 may count 3 credits toward both majors; or
Students who complete CJUS 492 or POLS 492, Faculty Led Program, may count 3 credits toward both majors.

Secondary Education/Political Science Education (B.A./B.S.)

See Political Science (B.A./B.S.) with Secondary Education Certification for program requirements for degree along with the appropriate teaching certification courses.

Students must have a CGPA of 2.6 to co-register for EDFN 338 and SEED 296 and to be admitted to Teacher Education. Beginning Summer 2015, students must have a CGPA of 2.7 to be admitted to the Teacher Education Program.

MASTER OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION FAST-TRACK PROGRAM

Political Science, Criminal Justice, International Studies, or Legal Studies faculty will nominate high achieving students who are interested in public service careers to the fast-track to the Master of Public Administration program. Students would apply to the USD Graduate School during the spring of their junior year and be admitted to the USD Graduate School contingent on receipt of their undergraduate degree. After completing 90 hours (senior status), students may take 12 graduate hours that will count toward their undergraduate degree and also count toward the NASPAA accredited Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree. After receiving their undergraduate degree and satisfactory progress in the four graduate courses, students would continue to pursue coursework leading to the MPA degree.

Four-Year Program Guides and Costs

USD encourages students to take 15 credits per semester or 30 credits within the year in order to graduate in four years. To help students complete their academic degree program in four years, we provide a sample academic plan. Please work with your academic advisor to confirm your plan.

State Authorization - It Matters Where You Live

If your learning placement course (internship, externship, clinical, rotation, practicum, independent study, study away, etc.) or your online course will be taken outside South Dakota, please reference USD’s State Authorization webpage.

State Authorization