Program Requirements

1. Must complete a minimum of 39 semester hours in political science, of which at least 21 must be upper-division courses.
2. Fifteen of the 39 hours must be taken from CU Denver faculty.
3. A minimum GPA of 2.0 or better is required for all PSCI courses taken at CU Denver.
4. Adhere to the following course requirements

• Take all of the following required courses:

• PSCI 1001 - Introduction to Political Science: The Quest for Freedom and Justice
• PSCI 1101 - American Political System
• PSCI 2011 - Logic of Political Inquiry *

• *This course must be taken by all majors as part of their first 24 credit hours in the program. If this requirement poses a hardship due to such issues as late-declaring majors, scheduling problems, or students transferring in multiple credits, please contact the Department undergraduate advisor to craft a solution.

   

• Take two of the following political theory courses:

• PSCI 4207 - Theories of Social and Political Change
• PSCI 4265 - Social Justice And Globalization
• PSCI 4407 - Early Political Thought
• PSCI 4417 - Modern Political Thought
• PSCI 4427 - Law, Politics and Justice
• PSCI 4437 - Coercion and the State
• PSCI 4457 - American Political Thought
• Other theory courses may apply to this requirement, see advisor

•  

  Take one of the following 4000-level American Politics courses:

• PSCI 4009 - Politics of the Budgetary Process
• PSCI 4014 - Media and Politics
• PSCI 4024 - State Politics: Focus Colorado
• PSCI 4034 - Political Parties and Pressure Groups
• PSCI 4044 - The Presidency
• PSCI 4057 - Religion and Politics
• PSCI 4074 - Urban Politics
• PSCI 4084 - Local Government and Administration
• PSCI 4094 - Seminar: American Politics
• PSCI 4124 - Denver Politics
• PSCI 4236 - American Foreign Policy
• PSCI 4237 - American National Security
• PSCI 4324 - Politics, Public Policy and Leadership
• PSCI 4330 - U.S. Health Policy
• PSCI 4354 - Environmental Politics
• PSCI 4374 - Public Priorities for the 21st Century
• PSCI 4444 - Contemporary Culture and Politics in America
• PSCI 4457 - American Political Thought
   
• PSCI 4477 - Constitutional Law I
• PSCI 4487 - Constitutional Law II
• PSCI 4494 - Judicial Politics
• PSCI 4545 - Immigration Politics
• PSCI 4554 - Chicano and Latino Politics
• PSCI 4564 - Gender and Politics
• PSCI 4644 - Ethical Responsibilities of Leaders
• PSCI 4827 - Women and the Law
• PSCI 4837 - Contemporary Issues in Civil Liberties
• PSCI 4934 - CU at the Capitol

•  

  Take one of the following 4000-level Comparative Politics courses:

• PSCI 4057 - Religion and Politics
   
• PSCI 4074 - Urban Politics
   
• PSCI 4085 - Comparative Governance: Environment and Society
   
• PSCI 4105 - Comparative Politics: Europe
• PSCI 4115 - Third World Politics
• PSCI 4144 - Indigenous Political Systems
• PSCI 4146 - Indigenous Politics
• PSCI 4155 - Political Systems of the Middle East and North Africa
• PSCI 4165 - Islamic Politics and Culture
• PSCI 4176 - Gandhi’s Legacy: Non-Violent Resistance Today
• PSCI 4185 - Corruption in the U.S. and Abroad
• PSCI 4195 - Political Systems of Sub-Saharan Africa
• PSCI 4206 - Social Movements, Democracy and Global Politics
• PSCI 4215 - Women’s Rights, Human Rights: Global Perspectives
• PSCI 4224 - Dictatorships in 21st Century
• PSCI 4225 - Democracy and Democratization
• PSCI 4235 - Politics and Markets in Latin America
• PSCI 4248 - Gender, Globalization and Development
• PSCI 4265 - Social Justice And Globalization
   
• PSCI 4365 - Global Ecological Crises
• PSCI 4446 - Advanced Indigenous Peoples’ Politics
• PSCI 4505 - Political System of Russia and Its Neighbors
• PSCI 4535 - Labor and Working Class Politics
• PSCI 4555 - International Women’s Resistance
• PSCI 4605 - Politics and Governments of South Asia
• PSCI 4615 - Politics and Government of China
• PSCI 4807 - Political Violence
• PSCI 4808 - Strategies of Peacebuilding

•  

  Take one of the following 4000-level International Politics courses:

• PSCI 4126 - Introduction to International Political Economy
• PSCI 4156 - The Arab-Israeli Peace Process
• PSCI 4186 - East Asia in World Affairs
• PSCI 4206 - Social Movements, Democracy and Global Politics
   
• PSCI 4216 - International Politics: Human Rights
• PSCI 4236 - American Foreign Policy
   
• PSCI 4237 - American National Security
   
• PSCI 4266 - International Law
• PSCI 4274 - Conflict Resolution and Public Consent Building
• PSCI 4280 - The Politics of War Law
• PSCI 4286 - International Relations: War or Peace?
• PSCI 4326 - Advanced International Political Economy: Globalization
• PSCI 4726 - Seminar on U.S. and China Relations
• PSCI 4736 - The Middle East in World Affairs

•  

  Take one of the following courses:

• *  PSCI 3914 - The Urban Citizen
• *  PSCI 3939 - Internship
• *PSCI 4934 - CU at the Capitol  
• *  PSCI 4944 - CU in the City
• *  PSCI 4995 - Travel Study

•  

  *Exceptions to the course­work requirement of the Experiential Learning Requirement

  • In lieu of taking one of the preceding courses, students may complete a substantial experiential learning project in a different PSCI class. The course instructor must certify with a written submission to the departmental undergraduate advisor that the experiential learning project in that course fulfills the departmental experiential learning requirement.
  • Students with pre­existing significant political or civic engagement experience in the community (i.e., community and civic leadership work, or work with government agencies, on political campaigns, or in non-governmental organizations) or for whom the experiential­learning requirement poses a hardship may petition the chair to waive the requirement.

  Note: In either of these cases of exception to the Experiential Learning coursework requirement, 39 total credit hours in political science are still required for graduation.

•  

  Take the following capstone course:

  • PSCI 4960 - Capstone in Political Science

  Note: students can only enroll in the capstone course after they have completed at least 27 credit hours in the major.

   

  Take three Political Science elective courses.

   

  Study Abroad Course Credits: The Political Science Department offers several study abroad opportunities. Enrolling in one of these courses may fulfill many of the credit options listed above, depending on the nature of the study abroad course and the students’ work within that course. Students should speak with the faculty member leading a particular study abroad course and with the department undergraduate advisor (Lucy McGuffey) to determine how study abroad courses will fit into their curriculum planning.