Shippensburg University > Catalog > 2001/2003 Undergraduate Catalog

College of Arts and Sciences
Political Science Department

• Introduction
• Political Science (B.A.)
• Public Administration (B.S.)

Introduction

 The Department of Political Science offers undergraduate programs leading to the degrees of Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Bachelor of Science in Public Administration, and Bachelor of Science in Education. The undergraduate political science major is designed to provide students with a broad-based understanding of governmental institutions and political behavior, and with specialization in an area of political science. The public administration major provides students with a foundation in public management practices and behaviors, as well as exposes students to several areas of specialization within the field of public administration. Students in both majors will learn to describe, analyze, draw conclusions, and present their findings in both orally and in writing.

 Political science students elect courses in designated subareas of political science, as well as competing core requirements. Public administration students take a core of public management courses, then select a group of electives to complete their public administration program. Students in both majors have the opportunity to perform an internship with governmental agencies, non-profit organizations, and law firms to complement and supplement their course work.

 A student can count a maximum of three internship credits toward their subfield of specialization. Additional internship credit hours can be used as Foundations in Arts and Sciences electives or free electives. For example, a student has a six hour internship with a state agency. Three credits would count towards the State and Local Government subfield; the other three credits would count toward General Education or free electives.

 For an internship to be applied to a political science subfield, the student must have written approval from both the internship coordinator and the department chair. The internship must be part of the student’s area of specialization (Group A or Group B) within Political Science. Public administration majors may use the internship as part of their group of electives.

 Political science and public administration are appropriate majors for students who plan a career in government, business, or journalism; majors are also prepared to pursue graduate study in political science, international relations, public administration, or law.

Students who plan to apply to law schools may select their major from a wide range of fields depending upon their interests. The scope of law is broad and offers room for individuals of varied educational and intellectual backgrounds.

 A campus Pre-law Club has discussions and provides information about law school admissions. Annually, the club brings staff from law schools to campus to discuss their programs.

Political Science (B.A.)

Students must earn a “C” or better in each required core course.
Areas of Concentration (15 crs.)

Group A. Students must take one course from each of the following three subfields. (9 crs.)
National Government (3 crs.)
PLS311 The Legislative Process
PLS312 The American Presidency
PLS313 The Judicial Process
State/Local Government (3 crs.)
PLS231 State and Local Government
PLS331 Municipal Government and Administration
PLS332 Federal-State-Local Relations
PLS384 Regional and Urban Planning
PLS431 Pennsylvania Local Government
International Relations and Comparative Politics (3 crs.)
PLS141 Introduction to International Relations
PLS251 Introduction to Comparative Politics
PLS341 International Law and Organization
PLS342 American Foreign Policy
PLS351 Politics of Europe and Russia
PLS352 Politics of Latin America

Group B. Students must take one course in two of the following three subfields. (6 crs.)
Political Behavior
PLS321 Public Opinion
PLS322 Interest Groups in American Society
PLS323 American Political Parties and Politics
PLS324 Women in American Politics
Political Theory
PLS361 Political Theory from Ancient Times through the 19th Century
PLS362 20th Century Political Ideologies
PLS363 American Political Thought
PLS374 Public Service Ethics
Public Law
PLS365 Constitutional Law I: The Federal System
PLS366 Constitutional Law II: First Amendment Rights
PLS367 Constitutional Law III: Criminal Law and Equal Protection

Areas of Specialization (6 crs.)

Group C. Students must take six elective credits in a single subfield. In addition to the courses listed in Group A or Group B, students may elect to take either Contemporary Issues or Selected Topics. Upon consultation with the Internship Coordinator and the department chair, students may enroll for three credits of internship.
PLS291 Contemporary Issues
PLS391 Selected Topics in Political Science
PLS395 Internship I
PLS396 Internship II
PLS397 Internship III

Allied Fields (19 crs.)
 Students majoring in political science must take the following courses in allied fields. Some of these courses also satisfy Foundation Arts and Sciences requirements.
Economics (6 crs.)
ECN101 Principles of Macroeconomics
ECN102 Principles of Microeconomics
Sociology (6 crs.)
SOC101 Introduction to Sociology: Society and Diversity

An additional sociology elective selected from the following list:
SOC242 Urban Sociology
SOC243 Minority Groups
SOC254 Social Movements and Social Change
SOC260 Elites in Society
SOC351 Race Relations
SOC363 Population Problems
SOC425 Sociology of Law
Mathematics and Computer Science (7 crs.)
MAT170 Elementary Statistics for Social Science
CPS103 Overview of Computer Science
 or
ISM100 Integrated Computer Applications

Note: All students completing a Bachelor of Arts degree are required to attain intermediate level proficiency in a foreign language. Intermediate proficiency may be satisfied by the completion of six credits of intermediate level course work in a foreign language, or four years of a foreign language in high school, or satisfactory completion of a proficiency examination.

Public Administration (B.S.)

Students must earn a “C” or better in each required core course.
Electives (9 crs.)
PLS331 Municipal Government and Administration 3 crs.
PLS332 Federal-State-Local Relations 3 crs.
PLS201 Introduction to Political Science 3 crs.
PLS374 Public Service Ethics 3 crs.
PLS381 Principles of Labor Relations 3 crs.
PLS382 Legal Framework for Collective Bargaining in the Public Sector 3 crs.
PLS383 Dispute Resolution in Public Sector Labor Relations 3 crs.
PLS384 Regional & Urban Planning 3 crs.
PLS391 Selected Topics in Political Science 3 crs.
PLS395 Internship I 3 crs.
PLS396 Internship II 3 crs.
PLS397 Internship III 3 crs.
PLS431 Pennsylvania Local Government 3 crs.

 With the written approval of the department chair and the student’s academic advisor, one or two political science courses may be substituted for a public administration elective(s). An application for such an exception can be obtained from the student’s academic advisor. Written approval must be obtained before scheduling the course.

 The department strongly encourages students to complete an internship. To qualify for an internship, a student must have a 2.0 overall QPA and a 2.3 in the public administration major. Students must have completed the following courses to be eligible to apply for an internship:  PLS101; PLS102; PLS201; PLS231; PLS271; PLS301; and one elective course in public administration.

 Students who do not meet either the overall QPA or QPA in major requirement may seek approval of an internship by first contacting their academic advisor. If the academic advisor approves the student’s request, he/she can appeal to the department chair and the internship coordinator. Both the department chair and the internship coordinator must give written approval before a student is permitted to enroll for the internship.

 A student can count a maximum of three internship credits toward the major. Additional internship credit hours can be used as General Education credits.
Allied Fields (19 crs.)

 Students majoring in public administration must also take the following courses in allied fields. Some of these courses also satisfy Foundations in Arts and Sciences requirements.
Economics (6 crs.)
ECN101 Principles of Macroeconomics
ECN102 Principles of Microeconomics
Sociology (6 crs.)
SOC101 Introduction to Sociology: Society and Diversity

And either an additional Economics course or an additional sociology course from the following list:
SOC242 Urban Sociology
SOC243 Minority Groups
SOC254 Social Movements and Social Change
SOC260 Elites in Society
SOC351 Race Relations
SOC363 Population Problems
SOC425 Sociology of Law
Mathematics and Computer Science (7 crs.)
MAT170 Elementary Statistics for Social Science
CPS103 Overview of Computer Science
 or
ISM100 Integrated Computer Applications

Comprehensive Social Studies—Political Science Concentration (B.S.Ed.)

Group A. Students must take one course from each of the following three subfields. (9 crs.)
National Government (3 crs.)
PLS311 The Legislative Process
PLS312 The American Presidency
PLS313 The Judicial Process
State/Local Government (3 crs.)
PLS231 State and Local Government
PLS331 Municipal Government and Administration
PLS332 Federal-State-Local Relations
PLS384 Regional and Urban Planning
PLS431 Pennsylvania Local Government
International Relations and Comparative Politics (3 crs.)
PLS141 Introduction to International Relations
PLS251 Introduction to Comparative Politics
PLS341 International Law and Organization
PLS342 American Foreign Policy
PLS351 Politics of Europe and Russia
PLS352 Politics of Latin America

Group B. Students must take one course in two of the following three subfields. (6 crs.)
Political Behavior
PLS321 Public Opinion
PLS322 Interest Groups in American Society
PLS323 American Political Parties and Politics
PLS324 Women in American Politics
Political Theory
PLS361 Political Theory from Ancient Times through the 19th Century
PLS362 20th Century Political Ideologies
PLS363 American Political Thought
PLS374 Public Service Ethics
Public Law
PLS365 Constitutional Law I: The Federal System
PLS366 Constitutional Law II: First Amendment Rights
PLS367 Constitutional Law III: Criminal Law and Equal Protection

Group C. One elective in any field of Political Science from Group A or Group B. (3 crs.)
Allied Fields (36 crs.)
History (9 crs.)
HIS105 World History I
HIS106 World History II
American History elective
Sociology/Anthropology (6 crs.)
SOC101 Introduction to Sociology: Society and Diversity
ANT111 Cultural Anthropology
 or
ANT211 Comparative Cultures
Economics (6 crs.)
ECN101 Principles of Macroeconomics
ECN102 Principles of Microeconomics
Geography/Earth Science (6 crs.)
GEO101 World Geography
ESS110 Introduction to Geology
 or
ESS111 Introduction to the Atmosphere
Psychology (6 crs.)
PSY101 General Psychology
PSY355 Psychology of the Exceptional Child
 or
Psychology Elective
Cognate Field (6 crs.)
 In addition to the above courses, students must take two courses (6 crs.) in one of the five allied social sciences. These courses should be at the 200-level or higher. By meeting this requirement, a student develops a second disciplinary sequence of either 12 crs. in sociology/anthropology, economics, geography/earth science, or psychology or 15 crs. in history.

Political Science Minor – (18 crs.)

Public Administration Minor –  (18 crs.)

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