Political Science, BA

Degree Requirements

The major in Political Science leads to the Bachelor of Arts degree. 

Overview of All Areas of the Major

Completion of the major requires 42 credits, organized into the areas and requirements below:

• Required Courses (9 credits)
• Concentration (12 credits)
• Political Science Electives (12 credits)

Notes:

1. All courses taken to fulfill major requirements must be passed with a letter grade of C or higher, except for those with a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading scale which must be passed with an S.
2. No more than six credits of courses with Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading may be applied to the major.
3. Neither POL 475 nor POL 476 may be used toward the major.
4. Only transfer courses with a grade of C or higher may be accepted toward the major.

Political Science Honors Program

Departmental majors with a 3.70 g.p.a. in political science courses and a 3.40 cumulative g.p.a. may enroll in the Political Science honors program at the end of their junior year. The student, after asking a faculty member to be a sponsor, must submit a proposal to the Director of Undergraduate Studies describing the research project that is to be the subject of the honors thesis. If the project is approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies, the student may enroll in POL 495 -POL 496 - Senior Honors Project in Political Science  in the fall and spring semesters of the senior year. The honors paper resulting from the student’s research is read by the sponsor. If the paper is judged to be of extraordinary merit and the student’s record warrants such a determination, honors are conferred.

BA/MA Accelerated Degree Program in Public Policy

In the accelerated B.A./M.A. in Public Policy, students complete the B.A. in Political Science and the M.A. in Public Policy in five years. To be eligible for admission, students must be:

• a major in political science at Stony Brook
• have completed 60 credits toward their degree
• have a minimum GPA of 3.0. 
• have two courses (six credits) remaining in the “Study Within the Area of the Major, Political Science electives” during their senior year.

In the program, students take up to two graduate courses (six credits) during their senior year which also count towards the POL major’s “Political Science elective” requirement. 500-level public policy POL courses may be applied to:

• The Political Science elective program of study requirement, and will count under the American Government, Law, and Public Policy program, and/or,
• The Political Science elective open credit requirement (not confined to a program of study).

Upon admission to the program, the student takes two courses in their senior year, one each semester. Generally, students should begin with fundamental courses such as policy analysis (POL 535) but with approval from the MA in Public Policy program director they can choose any master’s courses in public policy (POL 500 - POL 559). Students then complete the remaining master’s courses during the fifth year.

SBC Courses

This table illustrates major courses that can also be used to fulfill SBC requirements. (See Note 1 & Note 2)

Note 1: Some course information may be subject to change. Please contact your major advisor for additional consultation.

Note 2: For majors that require study in a related area or completion of a minor, visit the respective program’s “Major SBC Courses” page to view expanded SBC options. 

Note 3: Denotes any course in which students can choose from more than one option. These may include, but are not limited to, major electives, concentration/track/specialization courses, or calculus/physics/chemistry sequences.

Note 4: CEAS majors, the Athletic Training major, the Respiratory Care major, and the Clinical Laboratory Sciences major are exempt from the LANG learning objective. Students enrolled in the major in Social Work are exempt from the LANG learning objective, but are required to enroll in and pass with a letter grade of C or higher the first semester of an elementary foreign language course numbered 111, or satisfy through alternate methods.

Note 5: Students are responsible for completing the general education requirements published in the Bulletin that was current as of the first semester of matriculation (or rematriculation). The following student groups must satisfy the DIV learning objective as part of their degree requirements:

• Freshmen who matriculate in the Fall of 2019 or later
• Transfer students who matriculate in the Spring of 2020 or later
• Students who rematriculate in the Fall of 2019 or later

Sample Course Sequence