POLITICAL SCIENCE STUDENT 0 HANDBOOK

POLITICAL SCIENCESTUDENT0HANDBOOK

Welcome to the Department of Political Science in theSchool of Public and International Affairs (SPIA). Ifyou are considering a major in Political Science, youprobably have an adventuresome attitude and a keencuriosity about the world.Congratulations! You have come to the right place.The Department of Political Science offers a wide rangeof courses in Theory and Methods, American Studies,and Global Studies. In addition to the Bachelor of Artsdegree in Political Science, the Department also offersthe Masters in Political Science and InternationalAffairs, and the Masters and PhD in Political Scienceand International Affairs. The Department’s facultyhave won every teaching award that the University ofGeorgia has to offer, and is widely known on campus toprovide an extremely high level of excellence inclassroom instruction and student engagement.This handbook is intended to help you navigatethrough the requirements of the major, as well as tooffer you information about student organizations andother extracurricular activities in areas in which many ofour SPIA students are campus leaders andentrepreneurs.We look forward to seeing you in Baldwin Hall as astudent majoring in this outstanding program. If youhave any questions, do not hesitate to contact me or theDepartment Head, Professor John Maltese.Ourcontact information is on the front of this handbook.Here’s wishing you a bon voyage on your newintellectual adventure in Political Science!Sincerely,

This handbook is intended to provide students with informationabout (1) completing the degree requirements for a major inPolitical Science, (2) internship and experiential learningopportunities and requirements, (3) student organizations thatmay be of interest to students studying Political Science, and(4) careers in Political Science and related fields. Information inthis handbook is intended to be consistent with all degreerequirements at the university level. For questions, please contactPaul Welch at 706-542-0096.Political Science offers students interested in developing abroader and deeper understanding of politics the opportunity todo so within a structured program of study. The faculty'sinterests cover most specialties within political science. A range ofcourses cover politics in the United States, important debates inpolitical philosophy, legal and constitutional issues, research skillsand other topics.Students begin their political science coursework within thegeneral education core curriculum with POLS 1101“Introduction to American Government” (or its honorsequivalent POLS 1105H) and POLS 2000 “Introduction toPolitical Science.” POLS 1101 must be completed prior totaking POLS 2000 and subsequent upper-level major specificcoursework. The political science faculty strongly encouragesstudents to complete POLS 2000 before beginning upper-levelmajor courses. The major requires 24 hours of 3000-4999 levelcoursework (8 courses) beyond POLS 1101 and POLS 2000.These 24 hours include at least 6 hours of Theory and Methodscourses, 6 hours of American Studies courses, and 3 hours ofGlobal Studies (INTL) courses. The remaining 9 hours may betaken in any of the department’s three fields, with no more than3 hours each from INTL or PADP courses. All courses for themajor must have a grade of “C” or better and no more than 6hours of transfer credit may be counted toward the major.

The department’s course requirements and offerings reflect itsdesire to provide a major with an appropriate mix of breadth andspecialization. Courses are divided into three broad fields: theoryand methods, American studies, and global studies.courses address theory in twosenses of the term. One examines questions that have dominatedpolitical debates for centuries and the leading thinkers who havestudied these questions. The other type of theory offers ways ofexplaining and understanding political events. Methods coursesdevelop the skills needed to test these suggested explanations aswell as to study the topics covered in the other subfields. A list ofapproved courses for the theory and methods requirement isavailable in Appendix I.courses cover politics in the UnitedStates, including institutions such as the Congress and thePresidency, types of political behavior such as voting behavior,issues relevant to local, state, and national government, the legalsystem including constitutional law, as well as publicadministration and policy. Courses approved for use towards theAmerican studies requirement are listed in Appendix I.courses address comparative politics andinternational relations. Political science majors choose one fromtwo upper-level introductory courses from international affairs:INTL 3200 “Introduction to International Relations” or INTL3300 “Introduction to Comparative Politics.” Additionally, oneof the three major elective courses may come from otherapproved INTL courses as outlined in in Appendix I.Brief course descriptions and archived syllabi are searchable online at the UGA Bulletin at bulletin.uga.edu under the “courses”tab.courses comprise additional courses from theabove areas. Students take an additional three courses (9 hours)of upper-division coursework from any of the departments in theSchool of Public and International Affairs: Political Science(POLS), International Affairs (INTL), or Public Administrationand Policy (PADP). Six of those hours must be in PoliticalScience (POLS).

Brief course descriptions and syllabi for POLS classes, as well asother SPIA classes, are available and searchable through the UGABulletin on-line at bulletin.uga.edu (under the “courses” tab).Many POLS courses are offered as exclusively Honors classes andare designated with an “H” suffix. Any non-honors course taughtby a tenured or tenure-track faculty member may be taken as an“honors option” course. Please speak with an advisor in SPIA orthe Honors Program for more information on the “honorsoption.”Students completing a minor are required to pass 15 hours ofupper-level political science and/or international affairs courseswith a grade of “C” or better. At least 6 hours must be in two ofthe three fields of study in the major. The other 9 hours may befrom any of the fields in the major. The complete requirementsfor a minor are outlined in the Undergraduate Bulletin.All students in the School of Public and International Affairs arerequired to complete certain course requirements as part of theirprogram of study in any major. Many of these requiredproficiencies apply to all UGA students and are consistent withthe area requirements for the Bachelor of Arts degree. Academicadvisors will assist students in completing the SPIA requirementsby identifying classes that are consistent with and complementstudents’ interests and intellectual or career objectives. Pleasenote that one course may not satisfy more than one SPIArequirement. The SPIA requirements include foreign language,literature, fine arts/humanities, quantitative skills, economics,and cultural diversity; courses that satisfy these requirements areset forth in Appendix II to this Handbook.Students intending to major in Political Science must also satisfythe requirements for the AB degree as specified in bulletin.uga.edu); as noted above, a number of these

requirements overlap with SPIA requirements. Appendix III tothis handbook provides a recommended approach to completingthe general education core curriculum area-by-area for PoliticalScience majors. Further information can be found at theDepartment of Political Science homepage at pols.uga.edu.Currently enrolled students must be advised each term beforethey register for the next term’s classes. In SPIA, academicadvising is provided by appointment with the student’s assignedadvisor. Students must schedule advising appointments onlinethrough SARA (Student Advising and Registration nts/Unified Login.php). During the appointment, students and advisors will review thestudent’s academic progress and discuss course options for theremaining degree requirements. Students are also encouraged totrack their programs of study independently with the help ofDegree Works (degreeworks.uga.edu). After the student has beenadvised, the advisor will remove the student’s advising “hold” inAthena (athena.uga.edu), the UGA online class registrationsystem, so that the student may register for classes each semester.Questions about appointments, SARA, or any other element ofthe advising system may be directed to the Advising Office at706-542-0096.During the second or third week of the fall and spring terms, theSPIA Advising Office sends notifications to all students withcurrent information on advising and advising appointments forthe term. These notifications are made via the SPIADVISlistserv, Facebook (facebook.com/SPIAdvis) and Twitter(@SPIAdvis). The advising team also maintains a blog atSPIAdvis.wordpress.com to keep students updated on advising,events, and other matters.Students are expected to besubscribed to the SPIADVIS listserv and obligated to check theiremail accounts regularly for notifications from the AdvisingOffice.Students who are living away from Athens during the fall orspring term are responsible for coordinating advising via e-mail.Students who miss their advising appointments must contacttheir advisor to reschedule before they can register for classes.

For follow-up questions related to advising or other issues (studyabroad, internships, etc.), advisors are available from 2 to 3 p.m.on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. These times are notintended for advising or for lifting advising holds, which require aformal advising appointment.Currently enrolled UGA students may declare a major in politicalscience at any time via Athena by selecting the “Student” tab,and then the “My Programs” tab. Always add the major youwant first before deleting any programs from your records.Minors and Certificate Programs may be added in the samelocation in Athena. Once the political science major is added,please contact the advising office in Candler Hall at 706- 5420096 to schedule your initial advising appointment and to beassigned a SPIA advisor.If you have any problems or issues accessing Athena or makingadjustments to your academic programs, please call the Office ofthe Registrar at 706-542-4040.SPIA encourages prospective students interested in majoring inpolitical science at UGA to mark their intention on theapplication for admission.Please note: SPIA does not require special application to any ofits majors. Any UGA student may declare a SPIA major at anytime by simply following the required steps in Athena.An internship is a temporary position in an organization outsidethe University that provides an experiential and hands-onlearning opportunity tied to the student’s career goals or field ofstudy. The majority of internships take place in the summer, butmany are available throughout the academic year. Internshipprograms may be found at (but are not limited to) privatecorporations, government offices, and nonprofit organizations,and may be paid or unpaid (in fact, according to UGA’s CareerCenter, 50% are unpaid). Under certain circumstances describedbelow, students may be able to earn academic credit.