Undergraduate Program
Requirements for a Concentration in Political Science
The Political Science undergraduate concentration is organized around three tracks:
American Politics
International and Comparative Politics
Political Theory
Students interested in graduating with a concentration in Political Science need to complete the following requirements:
Twelve courses overall: Ten within Political Science and two from outside the department related to track. If a non Political Science course is taken to fulfill the methods requirement it will not count as one of the outside courses - it becomes a 13th course.
1) Two introductory courses as follows:
- American Politics: POLS0010 AND one of the following: 0110, 0200 or 0400
- International and Comparative Politics: POLS0200 AND POLS0400
- Political Theory: POLS0110 AND one of the following: 0010, 0200 or 0400
2) One course in American Politics
One course in Political Theory
Two courses in International and Comparative Politics
3) One course in methodology from the following list:
POLS 0500 (recommended)
POLS 1600 (recommended)
AMPA 0650
ANTH 1940
ECON 1620
ECON 1630
EDUC 1100
EDUC 1110
GEOL 1320
SOC 1100
SOC 1120
4) One Senior Capstone course taken from the POLS1820/1821/1822 offerings or 1910/1920. EFFECTIVE FOR 2014 GRADUATES: Capstone course must be track related and taken at Brown during senior year.
5) Three additional 1000 level track courses from within the department
Click here for track breakdown.
6) Two 1000 level courses from outside the department which relate to track. Outside courses are chosen with the approval of the concentration advisor from appropriate 1000 level courses offered in other departments, such as, but not limited to: Afro-American Studies, American Civilization, Anthropology, Classics, Economics, History, International Relations, Philosophy, Religious Studies or Sociology. Your concentration advisor may approve a course from another department if it clearly meets the intent of the outside course requirement.
Points to remember:
Courses may count twice to fill two separate requirements provided the total number of Political Science courses is ten.
Freshman Seminars: Students can use one freshman seminar only as an elective. Freshman seminars do not count as track courses or as Intro courses.
Senior Capstone Course: The course used toward the concentration requirements must fall in the student’s subfield track. Moreover, the course must be taken at Brown DURING STUDENT’S SENIOR YEAR. Students may continue to receive credit for seminars taken abroad or at other institutions to meet other concentration requirements.
Seminar Overlap: A student cannot count as a senior seminar a course that overlaps significantly with the freshman seminar he/she is using as an elective.