Political Science, with specializations in General Political Science, International Relations, Comparative Politics, Political Economy and Public and International Law (B.A.)

For all Political Science students:

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.

Political Science Specializations:

1. General field in Political Science
2. Specialization in International Relations
3. Specialization in Comparative Politics
4. Specialization in Political Economy
5. Specialization in Public and International Law

1. Requirements for the General Political Science field:

Students must take five Political Science courses (if they took POLS 1001  ) or four Political Science courses (if they took POLS 2003 ).

Collateral Requirements (6 credits)
General Electives (29 credits)

2. Requirements for the Specialization in International Relations

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

3. Requirements for the Specialization in Comparative Politics:

To specialize in Comparative Politics, Political Science majors must, as a minimum, take three courses, chosen as clarified below:

4. Requirements for the Specialization in Political Economy:

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

5. Requirements for the Specialization in Public & International Law:

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

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. The MA degree 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.

By the end of the sixth semester of the political science BA at AUC, and after successfully completing 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.

Students enrolled in the dual degree will receive a political science BA degree certificate upon the completion of their undergraduate course requirements.

Under this structure, dual-degree students will be required to take three 4000-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)

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, a choice of 1 of the following three: a graduate regional human rights, an economic social and cultural rights or an international humanitarian law course, 3 graduate elective courses, the Graduate Law Seminar, and the thesis.