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 major 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.
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; and POLS 469 International Law.
College Admission
The entrance requirements for the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), including any of the majors or minors offered through the college, are the same as the UNL General Admission Requirements. In addition to these requirements, the College of Arts and Sciences strongly recommends a third and fourth year of one foreign language in high school. 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.
ACADEMIC AND CAREER Advising
Academic and Career Advising Center
The Academic and Career Advising Center in 107 Oldfather Hall is the undergraduate hub for CAS students in all majors. Centrally located and easily accessed, students encounter friendly, knowledgeable people who are eager to help. Students visit the Advising Center in 107 Oldfather Hall to:
- Choose or change their major, minor, or degree program.
- Check in on policies, procedures, and deadlines.
- Get a college approval signature from the Dean's representative, Sr. Director of Advising and Student Success.
While the assigned academic advisor should be the student's primary contact, there are daily walk-ins from 12-3 where a general academic advisor can answer a quick question. In addition, the CAS Career Coaches are located here. They help students explore majors and minors, gain experience, and develop a plan for life after graduation. Not sure where to go or who to ask? The Advising Center team can help.
Assigned Academic Advisors
Academic advisors are critical resources dedicated to students' academic, personal, and professional success. Every CAS student is assigned an academic advisor based on their primary major. Since most CAS students have more than just a single major, it is important to get to know the advisor for any minors or additional majors. Academic advisors work closely with the faculty to provide the best overall support and the discipline-specific expertise.
Assigned advisors are listed in MyRED and their offices may be located in or near the department of the major for which they advise or in the Academic and Career Advising Center. Students who have declared a pre-health or pre-law area of interest will also work with advisors in the Exploratory and Pre-Professional Advising Center (Explore Center) in 127 Love South, who are specially trained to guide students preparing to enter a professional school.
For complete and current information on advisors for majors, minors, or pre-professional areas, contact the Arts and Sciences Academic and Career Advising Center, 107 Oldfather Hall, 402-472-4190, http://cas.unl.edu/advising.
Career Coaching
The College believes that Academics + Experience = Opportunities and encourages students to complement their academic preparation with real-world experience, including internships, research, education abroad, service, and leadership. Arts and sciences students have access to a powerful network of faculty, staff, and advisors dedicated to providing information and support for their goals of meaningful employment or advanced education. Arts and sciences graduates have unlimited career possibilities and carry with them important career competencies—communication, critical thinking, creativity, context, and collaboration. They have the skills and adaptability that employers universally value. Graduates are not only prepared to effectively contribute professionally in the real world, but they have a solid foundation to excel in an increasingly global, technological, and interdisciplinary world.
Students should contact the career coaches in the Arts and Sciences Academic and Career Advising Center in 107 Oldfather, or their assigned advisor, for more information. The CAS career coaches help students explore career options, identify ways to build experience, and prepare to apply for internships, jobs, or graduate school, including help with resumes, applications, and interviewing.
ACE Requirements
Students must complete one course for each of the ACE Student Learning Outcomes below. Certified course choices are published in the degree audit, or visit the ACE website for the most current list of certified courses.
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ACE Student Learning Outcomes | ||
ACE 1 : Write texts, in various forms, with an identified purpose, that respond to specific audience needs, integrate research or existing knowledge, and use applicable documentation and appropriate conventions of format and structure. | ||
ACE 2: Demonstrate competence in communication skills. | ||
ACE 3: Use mathematical, computational, statistical, logical, or other formal reasoning to solve problems, draw inferences, justify conclusions, and determine reasonableness. | ||
ACE 4: Use scientific methods and knowledge to pose questions, frame hypotheses, interpret data, and evaluate whether conclusions about the natural and physical world are reasonable. | ||
ACE 5: Use knowledge, historical perspectives, analysis, interpretation, critical evaluation, and the standards of evidence appropriate to the humanities to address problems and issues. | ||
ACE 6: Use knowledge, theories, and research perspectives such as statistical methods or observational accounts appropriate to the social sciences to understand and evaluate social systems or human behaviors. | ||
ACE 7: Use knowledge, theories, or methods appropriate to the arts to understand their context and significance. | ||
ACE 8: Use knowledge, theories, and analysis to explain ethical principles and their importance in society. | ||
ACE 9: Exhibit global awareness or knowledge of human diversity through analysis of an issue. | ||
ACE 10: Generate a creative or scholarly product that requires broad knowledge, appropriate technical proficiency, information collection, synthesis, interpretation, presentation, and reflection. | ||
College Degree Requirements
College Distribution Requirements – BA and BS
The College of Arts and Sciences distribution requirements are common to both the bachelor of arts and bachelor of science degrees and are designed to ensure a range of courses. By engaging in study in several different areas within the College, students develop the ability to learn in a variety of ways and apply their knowledge from a variety of perspectives. All requirements are in addition to University ACE requirements, and no course can be used to fulfill both an ACE outcome and a College Distribution Requirement.
- A student may not use a single course to satisfy more than one College Distribution Requirement, with the exception of CDR Diversity. Courses used to meet CDR Diversity may also meet CDR Writing, CDR Humanities, or CDR Social Science.
- Independent study or reading courses and internships cannot be used to satisfy distribution requirements.
- Courses from interdisciplinary programs will be applied in the same area as courses from the home/cross-listed department.
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| College Distribution Requirements | ||
| CDR: Written Communication | 3 | |
| Select from courses approved for ACE outcome 1. | ||
| CDR: 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: Humanities | 3 | |
| Select from classics, English, history, modern languages and literatures, philosophy, and religious studies. 2 | ||
| CDR: Social Science | 3 | |
| Select from anthropology, communication studies, geography, political science, psychology, or sociology. 3 | ||
| CDR: Human Diversity in U.S. Communities | 0-3 | |
| Select from a set of approved courses as listed in the degree audit. | ||
| CDR: 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 or modern languages and literatures. Instruction is currently available in Arabic, Chinese, Czech, French, German, Greek, Japanese, Latin, 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, but encouraged to continue on in their language study. | ||
| Credit Hours Subtotal: | 13-32 | |
| 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 220 and below do not fulfill the CDR Humanities. |
| 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. |
Language Requirement
UNL and the College of Arts and Sciences place great value on academic exposure and proficiency in a second language. The UNL entrance requirement of two years of the same foreign language or the College’s language distribution requirement (CDR: Language) will rarely be waived and only with relevant documentation. See the main College of Arts and Sciences page for more details.
Scientific Base - BS Only
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 100 or 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 (excluding MBIO 101), and physics.
See your Degree Audit or your assigned academic 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 the College of Arts and Sciences. See your assigned academic advisor to start the approval process.
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 cumulative 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 domestic institutions except for UNO and UNK. All courses taken at UNO and UNK impact the UNL transcript. No transfer of 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. International coursework (including education abroad) with a final grade equivalent to a C- or lower will not be validated by College of Arts and Sciences departments to be degree applicable.
Pass/No Pass Privilege
The College of Arts and Sciences adheres to the University regulations for the Pass/No Pass (P/N) privilege with 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 at the 300 or 400 Level
Thirty (30) of the 120 semester hours of credit must be in courses numbered at the 300 or 400 level. Of those 30 hours, 15 hours (1/2) must be completed in residence at UNL.
Residency Requirement
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 coursework, including 6 hours at the 300 or 400 level in their major and 15 of the 30 hours required at the 300 or 400 level, in residence. Credit earned during education abroad may be used toward the residency requirement only if students register through UNL.
Catalog to Use
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
Graduates of 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
Political science core requirements, plus completion of 9 hours within two of the four subareas.
Core Requirements
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| POLS 100 | Power and Politics in America | 3 |
| POLS 160 / POLS 160H | International Relations | 3 |
| POLS 286 | Political Analysis 1 | 3 |
| POLS 400 | Democracy and Democratic Citizenship 1 | 3 |
| Credit Hours Subtotal: | 12 | |
| Political Theory Course | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Political Ideas | ||
| Justice and the Good Life | ||
| Liberalism and Its Critics | ||
| Truth and Progress | ||
| Marx and the Aftermath of Marxism | ||
| Credit Hours Subtotal: | 3 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 15 | |
| 1 |
Specific Major Requirements
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Political Science Sub-Areas | ||
| Select two of the following four sub-areas. Complete 9 hours from each of those two subareas with at least 6 hours at the 400 level: 2 | 18 | |
| American Government and Public Policy | ||
| Bureaucracy and the American Political System | ||
| Politics in State and Local Governments | ||
| Nebraska Government and Politics | ||
| The Presidency | ||
| Elections, Political Parties, and Special Interests | ||
| Public Issues in America | ||
| Public Policy: Concepts and Processes | ||
| Public Policy Analysis: Methods and Models | ||
| Blacks and the American Political System | ||
| Legislative Process | ||
| Climate Change: Policy and Politics | ||
| Polls, Politics and Public Opinion | ||
| Women and Politics | ||
| Courts, Judges, and Lawyers | ||
| Myths and Realities of the Justice System | ||
| Congress and Public Policy | ||
| Topics in American Public Policy | ||
| Political Communication | ||
| Constitutional Law | ||
| Civil Liberties: Freedom of Expression and Conviction | ||
| Civil Liberties: Issues of Fairness and Equality | ||
| Water Quality Strategy | ||
| International Relations and Comparative Politics | ||
| Comparative Politics | ||
| Introduction to East Asian Civilization | ||
| Problems in International Relations | ||
| Conflict and Conflict Resolution | ||
| Causes of War and Peace | ||
| Threats to World Order | ||
| From National to Human Security | ||
| Latin American Politics | ||
| Challenges to the State | ||
| Climate Change: Policy and Politics | ||
| Immigration and Politics | ||
| The United Nations and World Politics | ||
| United States Foreign Policy | ||
| International Political Economy | ||
| Pro-seminar in International Relations I | ||
| Pro-seminar in International Relations II | ||
| International Law | ||
| Ethnic Conflict and Identity | ||
| Israel and the Middle East | ||
| Pro-seminar in Latin American Studies | ||
| Human Rights and Security | ||
| Causes of War and Peace | ||
| Threats to World Order | ||
| From National to Human Security | ||
| Globalization, Human Rights and Diversity | ||
| Conflict and Development in Africa | ||
| Transnational Criminal Networks | ||
| American Foreign Policy and the Use of the Military | ||
| International Human Rights | ||
| State Terror | ||
| Problems in International Law and Organization | ||
| Ethnic Conflict and Identity | ||
| Insurgency, Guerrilla Warfare, and Terrorism | ||
| Biology, Psychology, and Politics | ||
| Introduction to Biology, Psychology, and Politics | ||
| Genetics, Brains, and Politics | ||
| Issues in Biology, Psychology, and Politics | ||
| Conducting Research in Political Psychology | ||
| Credit Hours Subtotal: | 18 | |
| 2 | Courses may only count in one sub-area. |
Additional Major Requirements
Prerequisite Requirements/Rules
POLS 286 is a prerequisite for POLS 400. Junior standing or above is recommended for all 400-level courses.
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.
Requirements for Minor Offered by Department
Eighteen (18) hours of political science 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 .
Description: Introduction to American government and politics.
Description: Introduction to American government and politics.
Prerequisites: Declared major in Political Science
Description: Introduction to the wide world of political science, the areas of work, and the UNL experiences that will help you navigate your academic journey. Learn about your skills and strengths and how to apply these towards your academic work and career goals. Formulate a degree plan that encompasses your personal, academic, and career goals.
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.
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.
This course is a prerequisite for: HIST 380
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.
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; 12 hours of POLS; and permission.
Pass/No Pass only. 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: Permission.
Prerequisites: POLS 286 with a grade of C or higher. Political science major.
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.
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 with a grade of C or higher.
Description: Advanced consideration of the theories, methods, and findings in the application of biological and psychological techniques to politics. Focus on experimental and survey research design, quantitative data analysis using statistical software (R/RStudio), and written and oral presentation of research findings.
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.
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.
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.
Topical seminar required for all Latin American Studies majors.
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.
Description: Examine the theory of restorative justice and critically evaluate the restorative processes. Discuss if restorative justice works, how it compares to retributive justice, and to what extent a restorative approach can work in the aftermath of extreme societal violence.
Description: Arguments in favor of and opposed to Marxism, both in theory and practice.
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 - ***Total Credits Applying Toward 120 Total Hours***
- A minimum 2.00 GPA required for graduation.
- Complete 30 hours in residence at UNL.
4. Complete 30 hours at the 300 or 400 level.
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
- Contextualize political, social, and historical events
- Defend and discuss complex issues from multiple angles
- Develop and defend evidence based arguments
- Communicate clearly using different forms of writing to and for a variety of different audiences
- Gain global perspective and high levels of intercultural awareness
- Make decisions carefully, using appropriate theoretical frameworks
- Read, understand, and critically review scientific information
- Simplify complex information and present it to others
- Understand the connection between people, places, and communities
- Use various qualitative and quantitative research methodologies
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Jobs of Recent Graduates
- Campaign Organizer, Impact Organization/Environment New Mexico - Albuquerque NM
- Assistant Attorney General, Nebraska Attorney General's Office - Lincoln NE
- 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
- Civic Engagement and Organizing Coordinator, Border Action Network - Tucson AZ
- Deputy Data Director, Democrat Party of Virginia - Richmond VA
- Resource and Student Engagement Coordinator, Nebraska Family Alliance - Lincoln NE
- Immigration Services Officer, The Department of Home Land Security - Lincoln NE
- Financial Services Officer, Sacs Federal Credit Union - Omaha NE
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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
- Senator Deb Fischer Intern, United States Senate - Lincoln NE
- CommerceConnect Intern, United States Dept of Commerce - Washington DC DC
- School of Government Internship, Sun Yat-Sen University - Guangzhou, China ZZ
- Congressman Adrian Smith Intern, United States House of Representatives - Washington D.C. DC
- National Intern, Project Vote Smart - Philipsburg MT
Graduate & Professional Schools
- Juris Doctorate, Harvard University - Cambridge MA
- Master's Degree, International Education and Policy Management, Vanderbilt University - Nashville TN
- Master's Degree, Public Administration, University of Nebraska at Omaha - Omaha NE
- Ph.D., Economic Analysis and Policy, Stanford University - Stanford CA
- Ph.D., Political Science, University of Rochester - Rochester NY
- School of Language Studies, Foreign Service Institute -
- Master's Degree, Teacher Education, Doane College - Crete NE
- Master's Degree, International Relations, University of Oregon - Eugene OR
- Ph.D., Diplomatic History, Ohio State University - Columbus OH
- Juris Doctorate/Master of Business Administration, Kansas University - Lawrence KS
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