MORGAN
home » academics » Liberal-Arts » PoliSci
Campus Pipeline Help! Campus Directory Campus Calendar Search!



 Additional Information

Contact Us:
Holmes Hall, Room G-05
1700 E. Cold Spring Lane
Baltimore, MD 21218

Phone: 443.885.3277
Fax: 443.885.8230

Technical comments or suggestions about this web site, please send them to:

Deptment of Political Science

REQUIREMENTS FOR MAJORS IN POLITICAL SCIENCE

College-wide Requirements: In addition to meeting the requirements in General Education and in the major, students must also complete six (6) credits in the Liberal Arts Core required of all majors in the College of Arts and Sciences. Options for satisfying this requirement are outlined under the section on the College of Liberal Arts. Also, in order to qualify for graduation, students must pass the Senior Departmental Comprehensive Examination; must have taken all of their junior- and senior-level requirements in the major at Morgan (unless granted prior written permission by the Dean to take courses elsewhere); and must have earned a cumulative average of 2.0 or better and a major average of 2.0 or better, with no outstanding grades below "C" in the major (which includes all courses required for the major and required supporting courses).

Major requirements

All Political Science majors are required to have 57 credits in the major and supporting courses. The department requires that each major have 39 credits of Political Science courses. Of the 39 credits, the department requires seven (7) core courses.

POSC 101 Introduction to Political Science 3 credits
POSC 201 American National Government 3 credits
POSC 307 Scope and Methods of Political Science (Juniors and Seniors only) 3 credits
POSC 314 Comparative Government 3 credits
POSC 385 Introduction to International Relations 3 credits
POSC 402 Political Theory 3 credits
POSC 450 Senior Seminar 3 credits
The remaining 18 credits must be distributed with at least one course in each of the areas of the Political Science disciplines listed: Comparative Government (excluding POSC 314), International Relations and American Government and Politics (excluding POSC 201 and POSC 385).
Introduction to Political Science (POSC 101) and American Government (POSC 201) are prerequisites for admittance to all 300 and 400 level courses in the Department.

REQUIREMENTS FOR A MINOR IN POLITICAL SCIENCE

The Department of Political Science requires 18 credit hours for a minor in Political Science. The required courses for a minor are:

Introduction to Political Science (POSC 101) 3 credits
American Government (POSC 201) 3 credits
Scope and Methods of Political Science (POSC 307) 3 credits

The remaining 9 credits in Political Science may be distributed according to the student's desires and in consultation with the major advisor.

PRE-LAW PROGRAM

Through the Department of Political Science and International Studies, a pre-law program is offered to serve those students planning to attend law school. The Pre-Law Advisor coordinates the program and advises students on courses to pursue, provides assistance in preparing students to take Law School Admission Tests (LSAT) through LSAT workshops and coordinates visits by law schools and other persons. The Pre-Law Club assists in these activities. The student preparing for law school is expected to develop basic skills and insights through: (1) comprehension and expression in words; (2) critical understanding of human institutions and values with which the law deals; and (3) active powers of thinking. In order to realize these objectives, the student should pursue a wide range of interdepartmental courses to assure a broad liberal education.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PRE-LAW MINOR

The Pre-Law Minor is open to students from all disciplines and requires 18 credit hours. Students minoring in Pre-Law are required to take the following courses (15 credits):
SOCI 315 Sociology of Law and Law Enforcement
HIST 355 American Constitutional History
POSC 415 American Constitutional Law
PHIL 333 Philosophy of Law
POSC 455 Seminar in Legal Research and Writing

In addition, they must satisfy the 3-credit elective requirement by selecting one of the following courses:
POSC 304 The Supreme Court and Civil Rights
POSC 416 Race and Public Law
POSC 390 Study and Practice of Law
BUAD 381 Legal Environment I
BUAD 382 Business Law
SPCH 201 Argumentation and Debate
POSC 498 Senior Internship
SOCI 498 Senior Internship
PSYC 210 Abnormal Psychology

THURGOOD MARSHALL PRE-LAW SOCIETY

The Thurgood Marshall Pre-Law Society is named for the first African-American appointed to the Supreme Court. The Society is an organization of pre-law majors or students planning to attend law school. The Society sponsors programs, which enhance student's academic achievement and provide meaningful exchange for student participation. Example of programs are: Law Night and the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) Preparation. In addition, students participate in the Maryland Student Legislature where they can become "legislators" and conduct "mock" legislative sessions. Our students have been successful in getting legislation passed as well as being elected to office of this association.

PUBLIC INTERNSHIP PROGRAMS

The Department of Political Science and International Studies offers public service internships to all interested sophomore, junior and senior political science majors. These internships permit students to work with judges of the Supreme Bench and District Court; legislators of the General Assembly; Baltimore City Council; Juvenile Services Department, and other state, local and federal agencies. Students may receive a stipend, as well as earn five credits, while working a minimum of 15 hours per week at their placement.

SPECIAL PROGRAMS

In addition to the undergraduate degree programs outlined below, the Department offers several special programs. It has a graduate program, leading to the M. A. in International Studies. In cooperation with the Middle East Institute in Washington, D. C., it offers the Arabic Language Program at Morgan. It also sponsors a number of special events during the academic year; these include the International Career Day and speakers on special topics.

Greyline.gif