To be eligible for acceptance into the degree program, the student must have earned at least a “C” grade in PO201.
Curriculum Requirements
The Core Curriculum (49-50 hours)
Please reference the Core Curriculum Requirements
Required core courses PO 201: American Constitution and PO 250: Justice and the Good Society serve as the student’s introduction to the Politics discipline.
Students in the Honors College can substitute PO 250 with HO 206, but they must take PO 201 which provides an introduction to American Government.
Students who choose EC 201: Introduction to Economics I to fulfill their Social Science core requirement, may also apply this course to fulfill the Economics requirement in the Politics major.
Students who choose PO 315: Research Methods in Politics to fulfill their Empirical Reasoning core requirement are also fulfilling a Politics major requirement.
Major Program Requirements 36 Hours
Students majoring in Politics are required to take and maintain a “C” average in the following courses:
| PO309 | Constitutional Law | 3 |
| Or | |
| PO310 | Civil Rights and Civil Liberties | 3 |
| PO315 | Research Methods in Politics | 3 |
| PO319 | Fundamentals of International Relations | 3 |
| PO331 | The American Congress | 3 |
| Or | |
| PO332 | The American Presidency | 3 |
| | |
| PO361 | The American Founding | 3 |
| Or | |
| PO362 | American Political Thought II | 3 |
| PO490W | Senior Thesis | 3 |
Upper-Level Requirements
5 additional Politics electives at 300 level or above 15 hours
Other Courses
One Economics Course; EC 201 or above.
Students in the Honors College may apply up to 3 of the following courses towards their Politics electives: HO 311, HO 312, HO 314, HO 316, HO 403, HO 407, and HO 410. Additionally, HO 404: Senior Thesis may substitute for PO 490W.
General Elective Courses (32-38 hours)
The last 18 credits taken to fulfill the requirements of the Politics major must be taken at Belmont Abbey College. Students transferring from accredited institutions may transfer a maximum of 9 credits at the 300-400 level.
An internship (PO 451-456) is not required for the major, but strongly recommended.
Students interested in International Relations are encouraged to take two semesters of a modern language; students interested in political theory are encouraged to take Greek or Latin.
Regular consultation with a faculty advisor is recommended. It is the student’s responsibility to see that all degree requirements for graduation are fulfilled.