You should declare a major prior to the start of your fifth semester of academic work. The forms to declare your major may be obtained from your advisor or the Registrar's Office. Any full time political science faculty member can sign your declaration form and assign you an advisor within the department. After being signed, the form must be submitted to the Registrar's Office.
You can declare a minor by going to the Registrar's Office and getting a declaration form. Any full time political science faculty member can sign your declaration form; after being signed, the form must be submitted to the Registrar's Office. This process can be completed as you are declaring a major, but it does not have to be.
The concentration consists of the core classes, IAF/POL 253 and IAF 400, plus 36 hours selected from those POL, HIS, and FLL courses designated below; at least 18 hours must be elected from one of these three disciplines and at least 9 hours must be elected from each of the other two disciplines. Students must take all their FLL courses in a single language. Should a student elect 18 hours in FLL, the following stipulations apply; for FRE or SPN, students must take two intermediate level courses, two composition/conversation courses, and two literature courses from those designated below; for GER, students must take two intermediate-level courses, GER 311, and three more 300-level GER courses from those designated below. In addition, students must complete a study abroad requirement of at least one semester and a community/campus project designed to promote global awareness. This concentration is under the direction of the Political Science Department. Designated courses are (1) POL 310, 312, 313, 351, 352, 354, 355, 356, 480; (2) HIS 317, 318, 322, 324, 326, 327, 329, 332; (3) FRE or SPN 251, 252, 301, 302, 303, 304, 315, 320, or GER 251, 252, 311, 321, 251, 352, 353.
A political science major at Mercer University consists of a total of 30 semester hours or nine courses, including POL 101, POL 200, POL 253, and POL 495. The six remaining courses are to be selected from among courses numbered up to 480, and distributed across the three fields of American Government, International and Comparative Studies, and Law and Political Theory, as follows: four courses in one field and one course selected from each of the remaining two fields. At least eighteen hours (six courses) must come from courses numbered between 300 and 480.
Majors are strongly advised to schedule the required courses at the earliest possible time, and before taking any 300 level courses in the different fields. Students in political science are also encouraged to consider taking a number of related and complementary courses offered in other programs such as ECN 150, ECN 151, CSC 125, foreign languages, and any of the research methodology or statistics courses offered by the departments of Sociology or Psychology. Internships are encouraged, so that students can experience the practical, as well as the more theoretical, aspects of the field. In addition, majors should look into the study abroad programs arranged through the College with reputable academic institutions worldwide.
A minor in political science requires a total of 18 hours, including POL 101, POL 200, POL 253, and three courses between 300 and 480, one from each of the fields of American Government, International and Comparative studies, and Law and Political Theory.
Majors may attain Departmental Honors in political science by meeting the following requirements: (1) achieve an over-all grade point average of 3.5, and (2) achieve a grade point average of 3.75 in the political science major.
POL 305: State and Local Government
POL 320: Public Policy
POL 330: Race and Politics in the United States
POL 335: Congress and the Legislative Process
POL 336: Campaigns and Elections
POL 339: The American Presidency
POL 351: American Foreign Policy
POL 352: U.S. National Security Policy
POL 380: Seminar on Political Topics
POL 345: Environmental Justice
POL 348: Constitutional Law: Separation of Power and Federalism
POL 349: Constitutional Law: Civil Rights and Liberties
POL 350: Judicial Politics
POL 354: Principles of International Law
POL 372: Advanced Studies in Political Thought
POL 373: American Political Thought
POL 480: Seminar on Political Topics
POL 310: Western European Governments
POL 312: Developing Political Systems
POL 313: Middle East Politics
POL 355: International Conflict and Security
POL 356: International Political Economy
POL 480: Seminar on Political Topics