Description
A political science major combines the analytical and communication skills of a liberal arts degree with an in-depth understanding of governments and political processes. Your political science degree prepares you for virtually any career path, from government to law, journalism to business. Courses in political science examine government and politics in the United States and around the world.
Honors Program. Students interested in the honors program should contact John Gruhl, honors advisor, for further information.
Prelaw Students. Students in Prelaw may find the courses in American government, politics, and law particularly useful. In particular, they are advised to take some of the following courses: POLS 345 Courts, Judges, and Lawyers, POLS 347 Myths and Realities of the Justice System, POLS 441 Constitutional Law, POLS 442 Civil Liberties: Freedom of Expression and Conviction, POLS 443 Civil Liberties: Issues of Fairness and Equality, POLS 469 International Law.
College Requirements
College Admission
College Admission
The entrance requirements for the College of Arts and Sciences are the same as the UNL General Admission Requirements. Students who are admitted through the Admission by Review process may have certain conditions attached to their enrollment at UNL. These conditions are explained under “Removal of Deficiencies.”
In addition to these requirements, the College of Arts and Sciences strongly recommends a third and fourth year of one foreign language. Four years of high school coursework in the same language will fulfill the College of Arts and Sciences’ language requirement. It will also allow students to continue language study at a more advanced level at UNL, and provide more opportunity to study abroad.
Transfer Students
To be considered for admission as a transfer student, Nebraska resident or nonresident, students must have an accumulated average of C (2.0 on a 4.0 scale) and a minimum C average in the last semester of attendance at another college. Transfer students who graduated from high school January 1997 and after must also meet the UNL General Admission Requirements. Those transfer students who graduated before January 1997 must have completed in high school, 3 years of English, 2 years of the same foreign language, 2 years of algebra, and 1 year of geometry. Transfer students who have completed less than 12 credit hours of college study must also submit either their ACT or SAT scores.
Ordinarily, hours earned at a similarly accredited college or university are applicable to the UNL degree. The College, however, will evaluate all hours submitted on an application for transfer, and reserves the right to accept or reject any of them, based upon its exclusion and restriction policies. Sixty is the maximum number of hours the University will accept on transfer from a two-year college or international institution. Transfer credit in the major or minor must be approved by the departmental advisor on a Request for Substitution Form to meet specific course requirements, group requirements, or course level requirements in the major or minor. At least half of the hours in the major field must be completed at the University regardless of the number of hours transferred.
The College of Arts and Sciences will accept no more than 15 semester hours of C- and D grades from other schools. The C- and D grades cannot be applied toward requirements for a major or minor. This policy does not apply to the transfer of grades from UNO or UNK to UNL. All D grades may be transferred from UNO or UNK, but they are not applicable to a major or minor.
Readmitted Students
UNL students who choose not to take courses for more than 2 consecutive terms, must reapply to UNL. Students readmitted to the College of Arts and Sciences will follow the requirements stated in the catalog for the academic year of readmission and re-enrollment as a degree-seeking student in Arts and Sciences. In consultation with advisors, a student may choose to follow a catalog for any academic year in which they are admitted to and enrolled as a degree-seeking student at UNL in the College of Arts and Sciences. Students must complete all degree requirements from a single catalog year. Beginning in 1990-1991, the catalog which a student follows for degree requirements may not be more than 10 years old at the time of graduation.
Admission Deficiencies/Removal of Deficiencies
Students must remove entrance deficiencies in geometry and foreign language as soon as possible, and before graduating from the College of Arts and Sciences. For questions and more information, students should consult a college advisor in the Academic and Career Advising Center in 107 Oldfather Hall.
Removing Foreign Language Deficiencies
Students must complete the second semester of a first year language sequence to clear the deficiency and the second semester of the second year language sequence to complete the college graduation requirement in language.
Removing Geometry Deficiencies
A deficiency of one year of geometry can be removed by taking high school geometry courses through an approved independent study program, or by completing a geometry course from an accredited community college or a four-year institution. Neither of these options will count for college credit.
College Degree Requirements
College Distribution Requirements
Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science (16 hours + Language)
The College of Arts and Sciences distribution requirements are designed to further the purposes of liberal education by encouraging study in several different areas within the College. All requirements are in addition to University ACE requirements. A student may not use a single course to satisfy more than one of the following five distribution requirements. A student cannot use a single course to satisfy both an ACE outcome and a College distribution requirement. A student cannot use a course from their primary major to satisfy the Breadth Requirement (F), but may apply an ancillary requirement of the primary major or a course from their second major toward this requirement. Independent study or reading courses and internships cannot be used to satisfy distribution requirements. To see a complete list of excluded courses, run a degree audit through MyRED.
Courses from interdisciplinary programs will count in the same area as courses from the home/cross-listed department(s).
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| College Distribution Requirements | ||
| CDR A - Written Communication | 3 | |
| Select from courses approved for ACE outcome 1. | ||
| CDR B and BL - Natural, Physical, and Mathematical Sciences with Lab | 4 | |
| Select from biochemistry, biological sciences, chemistry, computer science, geology, meteorology, mathematics, physics and statistics. Must include one lab in the natural or physical sciences. Lab courses may be selected from biochemistry, biological sciences, chemistry, geology, meteorology and physics. | ||
| Some courses from geography and anthropology may also be used to satisfy the lab requirement above. 1 | ||
| CDR C - Humanities | 3 | |
| Select from classics, English, history, modern languages and literatures, philosophy, and religious studies. 2 | ||
| CDR D - Social Science | 3 | |
| Select from: anthropology, communication studies, geography, political science, psychology, or sociology. 3 | ||
| CDR E - Language | 0-16 | |
| Fulfilled by the completion of the 6-credit-hour second-year sequence in a single foreign language in one of the following departments: Classics and religious studies, modern languages and literatures, or anthropology. Instruction is currently available in Arabic, Chinese, Czech, French, German, Greek, Japanese, Latin, Omaha, Russian, and Spanish. A student who has completed the fourth-year level of one foreign language in high school is exempt from the languages requirement. | ||
| CDR F - Additional Breadth | 3 | |
| Select from: natural, physical and mathematical sciences (Area B), humanities (Area C), or social sciences (Area D). Cannot be a course from the primary major. | ||
| Credit Hours Subtotal: | 16-32 | |
| 1 | See degree audit or a College of Arts and Sciences advisor for approved geography and anthropology courses that apply as natural science. |
| 2 | Language courses numbered 210 or below apply only for the foreign language requirement. |
| 3 | See degree audit or College of Arts and Sciences advisor for list of natural/physical science courses in anthropology, geography, and psychology that do not apply as social science. |
Scientific Base
Bachelor of Science Only (60 hours)
The bachelor of science degree requires students to complete 60 hours in mathematical, physical and natural sciences. Approved courses for scientific base credit come from the following College of Arts and Sciences disciplines: actuarial science, anthropology (selected courses), astronomy, biochemistry (excluding BIOC 101), biological sciences (excluding BIOS 203), chemistry (excluding CHEM 101), computer science (excluding CSCE 10), geography (selected courses), geology, life sciences, mathematics (excluding courses below MATH 104), meteorology, microbiology, physics and statistics.
See your degree audit or a College of Arts and Sciences advisor for a complete list including individual classes that fall outside of the disciplines listed above. Up to 12 hours of scientific and technical courses offered by other colleges may be accepted toward this requirement with approval of a college advisor.
Foreign Languages/Language Requirement
Languages Exemption Policy
UNL and the College of Arts and Sciences will exempt or waive students from the UNL entrance requirement of two years of the same foreign language or from the College’s language distribution requirement based on documentation only. The following are the options and procedures for documentation:
High School Transcripts
For the University entrance requirement, students must show an official high school transcript with two or more years of the same foreign language.
For the College of Arts and Sciences College Distribution Requirement E-Language, students must show an official high school transcript with four or more years of the same foreign language in high school, or show evidence of graduation from a non-English-speaking foreign high school. Students whose native language is not English must show English as a Second Language study on an official high school transcript. Four years of ESL at the high school level (9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grades) will be the basis for a waiver of the CDR E Language requirement.
Proficiency Examination at UNL
For the University entrance requirement, students who do not have transcript documentation can request to take a proficiency exam in the language. (This is not the same test as the Modern Languages Placement Exam.) However, UNL will provide testing only in the languages it teaches. Currently, these languages are: Arabic, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Czech, Japanese, Chinese.
For the College of Arts and Sciences College Distribution Requirement E-Language, the Department of Modern Languages will oversee the test at the 202 level. If the student passes the test, the department will sign the College Request for Waiver form and indicate the level of proficiency. The form is then forwarded to the Arts and Sciences Advising Center for approval.
The Department of Modern Languages will oversee the test and provide written documentation to the Arts and Sciences Advising Center the level of proficiency passed.
Distance Education
For the University entrance requirement, students without transcript documentation who claim proficiency in a language not taught at UNL, have the option of seeking out a distance education program in languages. If the student completes the equivalent of 102 from an approved distance education program, the student will meet the UNL entrance requirement. The student must have the course work approved before he/she takes/completes the course as equivalent to 102 by a College advisor. The student then completes the course and has the distance education program send the transcript to the Admissions Office.
For the College of Arts and Sciences College Distribution Requirement E-Language, the student can seek out a distance education program and complete the equivalent of the 202-level course. The student must submit the request on the College Request for Substitution form and have the course work approved by a College advisor. The student then completes the course and has the distance education program send the transcript to the Admissions Office.
Third Language Option
If a student demonstrates knowledge of two foreign languages at the 102 level, the College of Arts and Sciences may consider waiving two semesters of the four semester College Distribution Requirement E-Languages requirement. If this waiver were granted, the student would then be required to complete 101 and 102 in another, 3rd foreign language at UNL.
Minimum Hours Required for Graduation
A minimum of 120 semester hours of credit is required for graduation from the College of Arts and Sciences. A total grade point average of at least 2.0 is required.
Grade Rules
Restrictions on C- and D Grades
The College will accept no more than 15 semester hours of C- and D grades from other schools except for UNO and UNK. No transfer C- and D grades can be applied toward requirements in a major or a minor. No UNL C- and D grades can be applied toward requirements in a major or a minor.
Pass/No Pass Privilege
University regulations for the Pass/No Pass (P/N) privilege state:
- The Pass/No Pass option is designed for your use by seeking to expand your intellectual horizons by taking courses in areas where you may have had minimal preparation.
- Neither the P nor the N grade contribute to your GPA.
- P is interpreted to mean C or above.
- A change to or from a Pass/No Pass may be made until mid-term (see academic calendar for specific dates per term).
- The Pass/No Pass or grade registration cannot conflict with the policy of the professor, department, college, or University governing the grading option.
- Changing to or from Pass/No Pass requires using the MyRED system to change the grading option or filing a Drop/Add form with the Office of the University Registrar, 107 Canfield Administration Building. After mid-term of the course, a student registered for Pass/No Pass cannot change to a grade registration unless the Pass/No Pass registration is in conflict with the policy of the professor, department, college, or University governing Pass/No Pass.
- The Pass/No Pass grading option cannot be used for the removal of C- or D or F grades.
Pass/No Pass privileges in the College of Arts and Sciences are extended to students according to the following additional regulations:
- Pass/No Pass hours can count toward fulfillment of University ACE requirements and college distribution requirements up to the 24-hour maximum.
- Most Arts and Sciences departments and programs do not allow courses graded Pass/No Pass to apply to the major or minor. Students should refer to the department’s or program’s section of the catalog for clarification. By college rule, departments can allow up to 6 hours of Pass/No Pass in the major or minor.
- Departments may specify that certain courses of theirs can be taken only on a P/N basis.
- The college will permit no more than a total of 24 semester hours of P/N grades to be applied toward degree requirements. This total includes all Pass grades earned at UNL and other U.S. schools. NOTE: This 24-hour limit is more restrictive than the University regulation.
Grading Appeals
A student who feels that he/she has been unfairly graded must ordinarily take the following sequential steps in a timely manner, usually by initiating the appeal in the semester following the awarding of the grade:
- Talk with the instructor concerned. Most problems are resolved at this point.
- Talk to the instructor’s department chairperson.
- Take the case to the Grading Appeal Committee of the department concerned. The Committee should be contacted through the department chairperson.
- Take the case to the College Grading Appeals Committee by contacting the Dean’s Office, 1223 Oldfather Hall.
Course Level Requirements
Courses Numbered above 299
Thirty of the 120 semester hours of credit must be in courses numbered above 299. Of the 30 hours above 299, 15 hours (1/2) must be completed in residence at UNL.
Graduate Courses
Seniors in the University who have obtained in advance the approval of the dean for Graduate Studies may receive up to 12 hours credit for graduate courses taken in addition to the courses necessary to complete their undergraduate work, provided that such credits are earned within the calendar year prior to receipt of the baccalaureate. For procedures, inquire at the Office of Graduate Studies.
Course work taken prior to receipt of the baccalaureate may not always be accepted for transfer to other institutions as graduate work.
Residency
Residency Requirement and Open Enrollment and Summer Independent Study Courses
Students must complete at least 30 of the 120 total hours for their degree at UNL. Students must complete at least 1/2 of their major course work including 6 hours above 299 in their major, and 15 of the 30 hours required above 299 in residence. Credit earned during education abroad may be used toward the residency requirement if students register through UNL and participate in prior-approved education abroad programs. UNL open enrollment and summer independent study courses count toward residence.
ACE Requirements
Consistent with the mission and values of the University, ACE is based on a shared set of four institutional objectives and ten student learning outcomes. The ACE program was approved by faculty in all eight undergraduate colleges and endorsed by the Faculty Senate, the student government, and the Academic Planning Committee in January 2008 for implementation in the fall 2009. ACE aligns with current national initiatives in general education.
Key characteristics of ACE demonstrate the benefits of the program to students:
- Students receive a broad education with exposure to multiple disciplines, critical life skills and important reasoning, inquiry, and civic capacities.
- ACE is simple and transparent for students, faculty and advisors. Students complete the equivalent of 3 credit hours for each of the ten student learning outcomes.
- Students connect and integrate their ACE experiences with their selected major.
- Students can transfer all ACE certified courses across colleges within the institution to meet the ACE requirement and any course from outside the institution that is directly equivalent to a UNL ACE-certified course. Courses from outside institutions without direct equivalents may be considered with appropriate documentation for ACE credit (see academic advisor).
ACE allows faculty to assess and improve their effectiveness and facilitate students’ learning.
ACE Institutional Objectives and Student Learning Outcomes
To meet the ACE Program requirement, a student will complete a minimum of 3 credit hours for each of the ten ACE Student Learning Outcomes (a total of 30 ACE credit hours). See the ACE website at: http://ace.unl.edu for the most current information and the most recently certified courses.
Catalog Rule
Students must fulfill the requirements stated in the catalog for the academic year in which they are first admitted to and enrolled as a degree-seeking student at UNL. In consultation with advisors, a student may choose to follow a subsequent catalog for any academic year in which they are admitted to and enrolled as a degree-seeking student at UNL in the College of Arts and Sciences. Students must complete all degree requirements from a single catalog year. Beginning in 1990-1991 the catalog which a student follows for degree requirements may not be more than 10 years old at the time of graduation.
Learning Outcomes
Majors in political science will be able to:
- Explain the basic theories and concepts of at least two fields of political science.
- Understand the exercise of power in pursuit of political objectives.
- Engage in analytical and critical thinking about political subjects.
- Effectively communicate the products of analytical and critical thinking orally and in writing.
Major Requirements
Thirty-three (33) hours of political science courses with at least 9 hours at the 400 level.
Core Requirements
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| POLS 100 | Power and Politics in America | 3 |
| or POLS 105 | American Ways | |
| POLS 108 | Political Ideas | 3 |
| or POLS 383 | Justice and the Good Life | |
| or POLS 384 | Liberalism and Its Critics | |
| or POLS 386 | Truth and Progress | |
| POLS 160 / POLS 160H | International Relations | 3 |
| POLS 286 | Political Analysis | 3 |
| POLS 400 | Democracy and Democratic Citizenship | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours | 15 | |
Specific Major Requirements
See the degree audit and the major advisor for specific choices within each area.
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Political Science Sub-Areas | ||
| Select two (2) of the following four (4) sub-areas. Complete nine (9) hours of POLS in each (see Degree Audit for specific course choices in each area.) | 18 | |
American Government and Public Policy | ||
International Relations and Comparative Politics | ||
Human Rights and Security | ||
Biology, Psychology, and Politics | ||
| Credit Hours Subtotal: | 18 | |
Additional Major Requirements
Grade Rules
C- and D Grades
A grade of C or above is required for all courses in the major and minor.
Pass/No Pass
No course taken Pass/No Pass will be counted toward the major or minor, with the exception of POLS 395 Internship in Political Science.
Course Level Requirement
At least 9 hours must be at the 400 level.
Prerequisite Requirements/Rules
For courses at the 400 level the prerequisite, unless otherwise stated, is junior standing or above or permission.
POLS 286 Political Analysis and a theory course are prerequisites for POLS 400 Democracy and Democratic Citizenship.
Requirements for Minor Offered by Department
Eighteen (18) hours of POLS courses, including POLS 100 Power and Politics in America, and at least one course at the 400 level.
Grade Rules
C- and D Grades
A grade of C or above is required for all courses in the major and minor.
Pass/No Pass
No course taken Pass/No Pass will be counted toward the major or minor, with the exception of POLS 395 Internship in Political Science.
Description: Introduction to American government and politics.
Description: Description and analysis of the principal types of modern political systems, including types of democracies and dictatorships found in Western systems, Eastern systems, and the Third World. Occasional comparison made with American institutions and political processes. Deals both with structures and major policy problems confronting these political systems: the politics of education, human rights, demands for regional autonomy, ethnic conflict and diversity, political violence, demand for welfare services, crises in agriculture, and other topics of relevance.
Prerequisites: Open to freshmen only.
Description: Develops an historical perspective on current American political problems. The peculiar American relationship to questions of scarcity and how our political institutions have been shaped by those questions.
Description: Introduction to major political concepts and controversies that have developed in the Western world. Liberty, equality, democracy, human nature, among others. Readings come from leading political theorists, past and present.
Description: Broad introduction to how the media work to disseminate information, how people use the media to gather information, and how politicians use the media to get their messages out. Evaluate bias and media effects from the perspective of journalists, politicians, and the public.
Description: An introduction to the central theories, methods, and findings in the application of biological and psychological techniques to politics.
Description: How and why states act as they do in their contemporary international relations. Continuing factors, such as power, war, ideology, and governmental organizations, and recently emerging influences, including supranational organizations, multinational corporations, and natural resource allocation analyzed. Diverse approaches and theories examined.
Description: How and why states act as they do in their contemporary international relations. Continuing factors, such as power, war, ideology, and governmental organizations, and recently emerging influences, including supranational organizations, multinational corporations, and natural resource allocation analyzed. Diverse approaches and theories examined.
Description: Survey of the traditional cultures and modern history of China and Japan. Emphasis on political systems, intellectual and religious history, and cultural developments.
Prerequisites: Good standing in the University Honors Program or by invitation.
University Honors Seminar 189H is required of all students in the University Honors Program.
Description: Topics vary.
Description: Hot political topics of the day. Topics will vary.
Description: Introductory survey to the administrative arm of American national, state, and local government. Bureaucracy has become so important to the functioning of the federal system it has been termed "the fourth branch of government." Bureaucracy's role as a political institution of the first order, not just as an implementer of policy. Bureaucratic power, structure, and democratic control.
Description: Broad introduction to the political structure and operations of state and local governments. Role and power of state and local governments; government institutions; political parties and interest groups; public policy; state constitutions.
Description: Various aspects of Nebraska government and politics. Unicameral Legislature, the governor and executive branch, the courts, political parties in Nebraska politics, political participation, and current issues of concern to Nebraskans.
Description: Creation, development, structure, powers, and functions of the office of the President of the United States.
Description: Roles of political parties and interest groups in government and politics, focusing on their efforts of elections and lobbying.
Description: Major public issues in American politics. Government spending, civil rights; welfare and health care; poverty; education; urban problems; crime, violence and repression; defense policy; agricultural policy; environment/energy policy.
Description: Basic policy theories and the policy process, paying special attention to key events that create or prevent policy opportunities and problems that arise throughout the policy process. Substantive policy issues used to illustrate the various concepts and process models.
Description: Approaches to public policy analysis. The nature of politics and policy with emphasis on the role of the citizen, uses of information types in the formation of public policy, the analysis of policy content, and the problems of training for policy analysis. Basic policy analysis methods including interviewing participant observation, document analysis, and surveying.
Description: Role of the Blacks in the American political system, with emphasis on strategies used to gain political power and influence decision makers; problems faced in the southern and urban political settings.
Description: Role of genes, neural activity, and physiology in shaping human behavior, especially political behavior.
Description: Selected current or otherwise important problems in international relations. Content varies but may include such subjects as weapons and security policies, human rights, multinational corporations, ideologies, etc.
Description: Introduction to the study of the biological, economic, political-historical, and cultural bases of war and group conflict.
Description: Leading theories on war and peace, highlighting the causes and consequences of WWI, WWII, the Korean War, Vietnam, and the Gulf War.
Description: Variety of global crises and challenges that pose threats to world order. Population growth; scarcities of food, energy, and non-fuel minerals; vulnerability of industrial states to resource scarcities; nuclear proliferation; arms racing; and terrorism.
Description: Provide a solid understanding of the historical and theoretical debates related to security studies within the sub field of international relations. Traditional and ¿new threats¿ to security as it relates to world order. How nation-states are responding to these threats ¿ namely through multilateral, multi-level strategies based on certain assumptions of governance.
Description: Constitutional and political development of selected Latin American countries; contemporary problems and institutions. Latin America in world affairs with special reference to the inter-American relations and the United States.
Description: Challenges to the state related to human rights and gender issues. How growth of non-state actors affects individuals and groups and their rights. Gendered notions of the state, national security, women's rights, and humanitarian intervention.
Description: Ways of studying politics and social situations. Rather than asking what political systems "should" do, the primary questions are what political systems actually do and how we know what they do. Whether the application of the scientific process to social questions is valid? Problems in carrying out proper scientific research. The wide variety of techniques that have been applied to analyze politics.
This course is a prerequisite for: POLS 450
Description: The development and workings of the Nebraska legislature. POLS 295 requires serving as page with the Nebraska Unicameral.
Description: Legislature's role in the American arrangement of legislative-executive-judicial responsibilities. Attention to the internal operation of the Congress with focus on the standing committee stage. State legislative experiences and proposals to reform the legislative system emphasized.
Description: Examines how the impacts of climate change are evaluated and used to motivate policy; analyzes proposals and policies aimed at mitigating climate change at both the federal and the international level; and identifies stakeholders and assesses their impacts on climate change dialogue and policy.
Description: Immigration as a multifaceted sociopolitical phenomenon. The history of different waves of immigration to the United States. Emphasis on the diversity within every immigrant group, as well as differences and similarities regarding their acculturation process. Public attitudes towards immigration in historical perspective. The American political system's capacity to incorporate newcomers into civic life.
Description: Attitudes and behavior of citizens with respect to politics, how these attitudes and behaviors are shaped, how they are measured, and what influence they have on government.
Description: Survey of women as political actors: participation in political life, barriers to participation, political attitudes, issues of special concern to women, and issues of particular concern to women of color.
Description: Role of courts, judges, and lawyers in the American legal system and political process. Covers all federal and state courts but emphasizes the US Supreme Court.
Description: American criminal justice system from arrest through sentencing. How the system appears to operate. How the system actually operates.
Description: A consideration of special issues in the study of biology, psychology, and politics, including emotions, behavioral genetics, neuroimaging, decision-making, and research on human subjects.
Description: Analysis of the role and influence of the United Nations in international relations. Comparison of the UN with the League of Nations and with regional international organizations such as the Organization of American States and NATO. Attention to UN programs concerning security, human rights, economic development, and environmental protection.
Description: Sources of globalization, its various forms, and how it triggers resistance from those who wish to preserve the local and particular from globalizing influences.
Description: Major domestic factors affecting how US foreign policy is made and the resulting patterns of policy. US foreign policy in four issue-areas: security, human rights, economics, and ecology.
Description: An introduction to the United Nations system and the Model United Nations program, including research, debate and resolution writing.
Description: Uses knowledge, theories, methods, and historical perspectives appropriate to the social sciences to understand the causes of conflict and development in Africa. Pays attention to the diversity of conflict and development-related experiences on the continent.
Description: Causes, consequences and aftermath of drugs and thugs (war criminals, drugs/arms traffickers and modern-day caudillos, among others) and their role in contemporary international and human security.
Description: Interdisciplinary comparative literature course that offers critical studies on socio-political changes in modern nations and respective cultures. It focuses on war, revolution, migration, exile, diaspora, and transnational conditions. Letter grade only.
Description: The questions of how we ought to live our lives via the study of classic texts in political thought. Debate what makes our actions ¿ and, indeed our lives ¿ just, choice-worthy, and even heroic.
Description: The core ideas of liberal political thought. Critiques from both the Left and the Right to shed list on why the American experiment in governance ¿ with it intellectual roots in the Enlightenment of 17th and 18th Century Europe ¿ turned out as it did and how it might have been changed or improved.
Description: Surveys the landscape of contemporary political theory, addressing some of the major debates of the past twenty years about reason, right action, human nature, good government, and truth.
Prerequisites: Junior standing and 12 hrs POLS.
Pass/No Pass only. POLS 395 requires the assignment of and the supervision by a faculty member.
Description: Internship in government agencies, public-interest groups, political parties, or other organizations.
Prerequisites: Permission.
Prerequisites: Good standing in the university honors program or by invitation; open to candidates for degrees with distinction, with high distinction, and with highest distinction in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Prerequisites: Political science major or permission.
Description: Democracy as a form of government. Types of democracy, alternatives to democracy, and the history and consequences of democracy. Democratic citizenship, what makes a good democratic citizen, whether and how democratic citizenship can be promoted.
Description: The policy making role of the Congress including the institutionalization of the House and the Senate, an analysis of congressional behavior, the committee process, and the policy responsiveness of Congress.
Description: A significant public policy in American politics. Topics: science, technology, and public policy; or health politics.
Prerequisites: 12 hrs communication studies, or permission.
Description: Role of communication in the political process, with emphasis on communication strategies in political campaigns. Includes communication variables important in the political process, an application of communication theory and principles to political rhetoric, and analysis and criticism of selected political communication events.
Description: Supreme Court doctrine determining the distribution of powers within the national government and between the national government and the state governments.
Description: Supreme Court doctrine interpreting the First Amendment, covering freedom of speech, assembly, and association; freedom of the press; and freedom of religion.
Description: Supreme Court doctrine covering the rights of the accused, the right to privacy and the right to racial and sexual equality.
Prerequisites: POLS 286 or permission of instructor
Description: Advanced consideration of the theories, methods, and findings in the application of biological and psychological techniques to politics.
Description: Interface of politics and economics in the international arena. Political dimension of international economic issues emphasized. Includes: liberal, mercantile, and radical approaches; theories of imperialism; dependency and interdependency; distribution of the global product; the global division of labor; the political aspects of markets; the politics of trade, aid, investment, multinational corporations, food, and energy.
Description: Military action as an instrument of American foreign policy. Constitutional basis of the president's and Congress's war powers; assessments of the role of the White House, Congress, CIA, senior pentagon officials, the American public, and military alliances - NATO and coalitions of the willing - in supporting and directing the use of military action abroad; and the political and strategic consequences of various American applications of military force.
Prerequisites: Senior standing and permission.
Open to students with an interest in international relations.
Description: Topic varies.
Prerequisites: Senior standing and permission.
Open to students with an interest in international relations. Topics vary.
Description: Rules and principles accepted by the members of the community of nations as defining their rights and duties, and the procedure employed in protecting their rights and performing their duties.
Description: Development of international norms on human rights and attempts to implement those standards. Emphasis on political process, with attention to law, philosophy, economics, and culture. Coverage of the United Nations, regional organizations, private agencies, and national foreign policies.
Prerequisites: Permission.
Description: Use of terror as an instrument of state policy. A series of case studies of large scale politically based killings. Why and which states use terror and politicide against their own citizens.
Description: Selected issues in international law and organization. Content varies. Includes: US Senate's treatment of treaties, use of customary law by US courts, current cases before the World Court, leading legal issues handled by the UN Security Council and General Assembly, etc.
Prerequisites: Senior standing or permission
Capstone course.
Description: Holistic approach to the selection and analysis of planning strategies for protecting water quality from nonpoint sources of contamination. Introduction to the use of methods of analyzing the impact of strategies on whole systems and subsystems; for selecting strategies; and for evaluating present strategies.
Description: Theories of natinalism and ethnic conflict. Case studies of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The post-Cold War era as multi-polar and multi-cilizational. The states and different cultures that compete for influence and authority to dominate the "New World order." The division of the world along ethnic, religious, and class lines rather than by ideology. The future of international politics and the reassessment of the causes of "conflicts of culture" and their containment.
Description: Israeli politics, society, and relations with its neighbors, particularly the Palestinians. Rise of Zionism and the Palestinian response to it; wars between Israel and Arab neighbors, and the eventual peace agreements between the two; the internal dynamics of Israeli political life; and state of Zionism today.
Prerequisites: Junior standing and permission.
Description: An interdisciplinary analysis of topical issues in Latin American Studies.
Description: Nature, strategies, and mechanics of insurgency, guerrilla warfare and terrorism, where they fit in the spectrum of conflict, and various techniques and methods for analyzing them.
PLEASE NOTE
This document represents a sample 4-year plan for degree completion with this major. Actual course selection and sequence may vary and should be discussed individually with your college or department academic advisor. Advisors also can help you plan other experiences to enrich your undergraduate education such as internships, education abroad, undergraduate research, learning communities, and service learning and community-based learning.
Political Science (B.A.)
Critical - A minimum 2.00 GPA required for graduation.
- ***Total Credits Applying Toward 120 Total Hours***
- Complete 30 hours in residence at UNL.
Career Information
The following represents a sample of the internships, jobs and graduate school programs that current students and recent graduates have reported.
Transferable Skills
- Understand human interactions and behaviors in multiple environments
- Use various qualitative and quantitative research methodologies
- Listen actively and facilitate individual and group communication
- Present information and research to large and small groups
- Examine and address social problems, and implement creative solutions
- More...
Jobs of Recent Graduates
- Campaign Organizer, Impact Organization/Environment New Mexico - Albuquerque NM
- Civic Engagement and Organizing Coordinator, Border Action Network - Tucson AZ
- Director of Voting Rights, Nebraskans for Civic Reform - Lincoln NE
- Economic Analyst, The United States Government - Washington D.C. MD
- Public Involvement Specialist, State of Nebraska - Lincoln NE
- More...
Internships
- Legislative Research Aide, Lancaster County Veteran Services - Lincoln NE
- Intern, Great Plains National Security Education Consortiu - Lincoln NE
- Country Assistance Coordinator Intern, United States Dept of State - Washington DC
- Legislative and Lobbying Intern, Nebraskans for Civic Reform - Lincoln NE
- Community Development Intern, Nebraska Dept of Economic Development - Lincoln NE
- More...
Grad Schools
- Ph.D. Diplomatic History, Ohio State University - Columbus OH
- JD/MBA, Kansas University - Lawrence KS
- Economic Analysis and Policy Ph. D, Stanford University - Stanford CA
- Political Sdcience, Ph.D, University of Rochester - Rochester NY
- Juris Doctorate, Harvard University - Cambridge MA
- More...