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2013-2014 Academic Catalog 
    
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2013-2014 Academic Catalog [Published Catalog]

Political Science, with specializations in General Political Science, International Relations, Middle East Politics, and Political Economy (B.A.)

Bachelor of Arts

Political Science at AUC is taught as a humanistic discipline with the overall objectives of fostering understanding of the contemporary world and developing knowledge about, and an appreciation of, the complex mechanisms, authoritative structures, and the allocation of values, which characterize contemporary human communities. Political Science at AUC requires students to develop abilities of comprehension and analysis, and skills for oral and written presentations. The graduate of Political Science is thus well equipped for life in the modern world, and to follow those professions and lines of work that require independence of thought, initiative, creativity in solving problems, and continuing self development. AUC graduates of Political Science are presently found in business, journalism, research, analytic writing, and public contact work. They occupy positions in public, private, development agencies, the diplomatic service, governmental ministries and agencies, and university teaching. A significant number of past graduates have subsequently completed M.A. and Ph.D. degrees.

For students to declare a major in Political Science, they must take either POLS 1001  or POLS 2003 . POLS 1001  may only be taken in the Freshman Year by students who have a minimum of 2.5 GPA and will fulfill the Social Science requirement at the primary level of the Core Curriculum and will not be counted as part of the 45 credits required for the Political Science major. POLS 2003  must be taken after the Freshman Year and for those who have not taken POLS 1001 . Students wishing to transfer from another major after their sophomore year will be considered on a case by case basis. Junior-year (300-level) courses are required in four subfields and are prerequisite to the more advanced courses and seminars (400-level). Each semester a selection of 300 and 400 level courses and seminars is offered from which students may choose courses to complete the requirements of the major.

A total of 120 credits is required for the bachelor’s degree in Political Science:

Core Curriculum (40 credits)
Political Science Requirements (45 credits) to be taken as follows:
  1. if POLS 1001  has already been taken in the Freshman Year:
    27 credits (9 courses) in the concentration plus 18 credits (6 courses) as electives.
  2. if POLS 1001  has not been taken in the Freshman Year:
    30 credits (10 courses) in the concentration plus 15 credits (5 courses) as electives.
Collateral requirements: (6 or 9 credits)
General Electives: (26-29 credits)

All Political Science major and minor students must abide with the following regulations:

For all Political Science students:

Political Science concentration requirements (27 or 30 credits)

Collateral requirements

  • HIST - One Modern History course (3 cr.)
    (not to be taken as an independent study) in addition to:

General Electives

Students may use 15 hours of elective credit to minor in a discipline of their choice. Minoring is optional. Courses taken as collateral requirements may count towards the minor.

Students have the choice to use the 18 elective credits in Political Science (or 15 elective credits if they had to take POLS 2003  to fulfill their concentration requirements) to obtain BA in Political Science in:

  1. General field in Political Science
  2. Specialization in International Relations
  3. Specialization in Middle East Politics
  4. Specialization in Political Economy

Three courses are required for each specialization as specified below.

Students opting for a double specialization need to be encouraged to take a combination of courses from the two specializations rather than having to stick to the History courses required for one of the specializations.

1. Requirements for the General Political Science field:

Students must take five or six Political Science courses, one of which must be a seminar.

Collateral Requirements (6 credits)
General Electives (29 credits)
Depending on the number core curriculum credits taken to make up 120 credits total.

2. Requirements for the Specialization in International Relations

To specialize in International Relations, Political Science majors must, as a minimum, take the following three courses:

Requirements:

Options:

To further their understanding in this specialization, students have the option to take a number of recommended courses including:

Collateral Requirements (9 credits)

Two additional history courses chosen from among the following:

Electives (26 credits)

Depending upon the number of core curriculum credits taken.

3. Requirements for the Specialization in Middle East Politics

To specialize in Middle East Politics, Political Science majors must, as a minimum, take the following three courses:

Requirements:

Options:

To further their understanding in this specialization, students have the option to take a number of recommended courses including:

Collateral Requirements (6 credits)

  • Modern Middle East History at 300 or 400 level Credits: (3 cr.)

General Electives (29 credits)

Depending on the number of core curriculum credits taken.

4. Requirements for the Specialization in Political Economy

To specialize in Political Economy, Political Science majors must, as a minimum, take the following three courses:

Requirements:

Options:

To further their understanding in this specialization, students have the option to take a number of recommended courses including:

Collateral Requirements (6 credits)

  • One Modern History course (not to be taken as an independent study)
    in addition to:

General Electives (29 credits)

Depending on the number of core curriculum credits taken.

Dual Degree Option in Political Science (B.A.) and International Human Rights Law (M.A.)

The Dual Degree option combines a BA in Political Science and an MA in International Human Rights Law. It is a dual degree, creating a synergy between the existing BA in Political Science and the existing MA in International Human Rights Law.

The dual degree option enables good students to prepare for a postgraduate degree while completing the requirements for the BA in Political Science. Non-law students who achieve a MA Degree under the auspices of the Law Department at AUC qualify for better jobs in Egypt or abroad, or pursue a legal education at prestigious law schools in the United States and elsewhere. The MA degree also provides students with the necessary expertise in international human rights law and with the intellectual, analytical and communication tools needed to intervene critically and effectively in the global policy debates confronting their societies as policy makers, academics, activists and international civil servants.

Interested students have the option of starting the Dual Degree in the sixth semester of the political science BA at AUC. During the fifth semester (i.e., before the semester in which s/he enrolls in POLS 4371  ) the student has to declare her/his intention to pursue the Dual Degree by submitting a graduate admission application. The student should follow the application procedures for graduate studies. Admission decisions will be made by the Law Department’s Admission Committee. Successful applicants will be admitted pending the fulfillment of two conditions: i) finishing the requirements of their undergraduate degrees with at least B (GPA 3); and ii) obtaining an average of at least a B+ (GPA of at least 3.3) across the three cross-listed ‘Dual Degree’ Law courses. Places are limited.

Under this structure, dual-degree students will be required to take three 400-level courses that are cross-listed under LAW and POLS. These three “Dual Degree” cross-listed courses (see below) will count for credit towards both the BA in Political Science and under the MA in International Human Rights Law.

The three ‘Dual Degree’ Law courses to be offered to undergraduates in the Political Science Department are the following: (a)

  (b)   and (c)  The curriculum for the MA IHRL requires the completion of nine courses and a thesis, as indicated in the tentative plan below: 3 POLS/LAW undergraduate courses, 2 graduate regional human rights courses, 3 graduate elective courses,    , and the thesis.

Tentative Plan for Full-time Students


SEMESTER VI (POLS undergraduate program)

LAW/

  (counts towards both concentrations in POLS for all students) (and MA IHRL credits)
[4 POLS courses or other courses as required to complete POLS BA degree]

SEMESTER VII (POLS undergraduate program)

LAW/

  (counts towards both BA POLS and MA IHRL credits)
[4 POLS courses or other core courses as required to complete POLS BA degree]

SEMESTER VIII (POLS undergraduate program)

LAW/

  (counts towards both BA POLS and MA IHRL credits)
[4 POLS courses or other core courses as required to complete POLS BA degree]

SEMESTER IX (MA IHRL program)

  * (2 out of 3 starred courses required)
  * (2 out of 3 starred courses required)
  * (2 out of 3 starred courses required)
LAW Electives**

SEMESTER X (MA IHRL program)

LAW Electives**
LAW Electives**

 

SEMESTER XI (MA IHRL program)

 

** Lists of LAW elective courses will be provided to students in the program prior to registration for each semester.