Location: 201 Social and Behavioral Sciences Building, Phone: (409) 880-8526
Chair: Glenn Utter
Chair E-mail: glenn.utter@lamar.edu
Degree Coordinators:
MPA Director: Michael Pennington, (409) 880-8529, michael.pennington@lamar.edu, SBS 201J
Pre-Law Advisor: Terri Davis, (409) 880-8533, davistb@my.lamar.edu, SBS 201D
The Political Science Department provides all university students with knowledge and appreciation of national and state political processes and equips undergraduate majors with a wide knowledge of the various substantive areas of the discipline, including American politics, comparative politics, public administration and public policy, political theory, and international relations. Students receive instruction in social science research methodology, critical analysis, and methods of effective communication to prepare them for appropriate professional, educational, and occupational opportunities.
Political Science faculty members have earned doctorates in a wide range of specializations within the broad areas of the discipline. Departmental instruction is energized and informed by faculty involvement in research, scholarly publication, and professional activities at political science and social science organization meetings. Department faculty serve the larger community by participating in civic organizations, commissions, and task forces, and offering professional expertise as consultants and advisers to local governmental and nongovernmental organizations.
The Department of Political Science offers the following undergraduate degrees: Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Bachelor of Science in Political Science, and Bachelor of Science in Political Science with Social Studies Teacher Certification. Additionally, the Department offers a Pre-Law Program leading to Bachelor of Arts or Science degrees with intern credit.
Bachelor of Arts in Political Science – 120 hours
Bachelor of Science in Political Science – 120 hours
Bachelor of Science in Political Science w/Social Studies Teacher Certification – 129 hours
Minor in Political Science – 18 hours
The following minimum academic standards apply to students enrolled as a major in the Department of Political Science:
One of the traditional routes to law school is a four-year undergraduate degree in Political Science. Students may pursue either the Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science or Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science as candidates for admission to a school of law. Both degrees retain the values of a liberal education (such as instruction in history, English, and foreign language) and the enhancement of technical skills (including computer science, accounting, and mathematics). With several free electives and an 18-hour minor, the Bachelor of Arts or Science in Political Science affords considerable flexibility in meeting each student’s unique educational and career needs.
The Political Science Department Pre-Law advisor assists students in selecting appropriate undergraduate courses, applying for admission to law school and maximizing the chance for success on the Law School Admission Test.
Juniors and seniors may also take part in the State Attorney General’s Internship Program and various legislative and local government internships.
Exceptional students may qualify for a cooperative education program available in the legal profession. They earn up to six semester hours of elective internship credit in their junior and senior years while working half-days in local law firms. Law office experience is combined with academic assignments to develop skills useful to the potential lawyer. Admission to the program is by permission of the chair of the Department of Political Science and the pre-law advisor.
The Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science emphasizes a traditional liberal arts or humanities curriculum and includes the following requirements:
Suggested Program of Study
Bachelor of Arts in Political Science – Total Min. Hours: 120
The Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science emphasizes quantitative skills in the applied social sciences and includes the following requirements:
Suggested Program of Study
Bachelor of Science in Political Science – Total Min. Hours: 120
(No grade less than “C”) An 18 hour Political Science minor consists of nine hours of lower division courses plus nine hours of advanced courses. The lower division courses are:
The 9 hours of advanced work may be chosen from among the department’s offerings at the 3000 and 4000 levels, excluding POLS 4310 (Directed Study) and internships.
The Department of Political Science offers a program of study leading to the Master of Public Administration degree. It is designed to prepare students for administrative positions in local, state, and federal agencies. Persons seeking admission must meet the general requirements for admission as outlined in the graduate catalog and must meet the institutional GRE and GPA standard according to the formula (GPA X 200) + (GRE V + Q) ≥ 1350.
The degree of Master of Public Administration requires the completion of 36 semester hours of graduate work: 18 in the core curriculum (POLS 5350, 5351, 5352, 5353, 5354, and 5355) and 18 from an approved list of elective courses offered by the Political Science Department and other 四虎影视 graduate programs. An internship (POLS 5358) with local agencies is also available. Students will complete the following courses if they have not taken them, or their equivalents, as undergraduates: introduction to public administration (three semester hours); urban politics (three semester hours); and statistics for social scientists (three semester hours). Students must pass both written and oral comprehensive final examinations.