Degree Requirements

All students are required to complete overall degree requirements in addition to their major.  Please see Degree Completion Requirements for full details for students entering in the 2024-2025 catalog year. 

Those students who started at Hiram prior to the 2024-2025 academic year will follow the Degree Requirements outlined in your catalog of record.

Major Requirements

The major in political science requires a total of nine political science courses plus a capstone experience. Classes must include: POLS 10900 AMERICAN GOVERNMENT:CA,ES and one course from each of the four departmental subfields:

  • American politics,
  • Comparative politics,
  • International relations, and
  • Political philosophy
Required Course
POLS 10900AMERICAN GOVERNMENT:CA,ES4
Department Subfields
Select one course from each of the following subfields:12-16
American Politics
POLITICS OF JOURNALISM:CA
POL PARTIES/INTEREST GROUPS:CA
THE AMERICAN PRESIDENCY
PUBLIC POLICY MAKING
THE AMERICAN FOUNDING:IM,CA
COURT/CONSTITUTION GOV:IM,ES
THE U.S. CONGRESS
Comparative Politics
POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY:CA
POLITICS OF HUMAN RIGHTS:ES
COMPARATIVE POLITICS: CA,EW
POLITICS DEVELOPG AREAS:CA,EW
COMPARATIVE ELECTIONS
POLITICAL VIOLENCE:CA
INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM:CA
LOGIC & SCOPE POLIT INQUIRY:MM
International Relations
INTERNATIONAL LAW
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION:ES
INTERNATIONAL POLITICS:CA
INT'L RELATIONS S. ASIA:CA,EW
THE TRANSATLANTIC RELATION:EW
TOWARDS A GLOBAL STATE
THE ART OF WAR:ES
POLITICAL PHIL DANGEROUS WORLD
Political Philosophy
ANARCHY:IM
MODERN POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
CLASSICAL POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
POLITICAL PHIL DANGEROUS WORLD
TPC POLS PHIL:
Independent Capstone
Select one of the following:1-4
SENIOR SEMINAR
INDEPENDENT RESEARCH
Internship
Additional 4 Courses to meet 9 class requirement13-16
Total Hours30-40

Independent Capstone

Political science majors must complete a program capstone in consultation with their academic advisor. The capstone course must be taken after a student achieves senior status. A formal programmatic, campus-wide, or public oral presentation of the project is part of this requirement. This requirement differs for program honors candidates, as is explained in the following paragraph.

Honors

Candidates for program honors must achieve a general grade-point average and a program grade-point average whose sum equals at least 6.8. During their senior year, honors candidates will register for POLS 48200 ADVANCED INDEPENDENT RESEARCH. Completion of this course will involve a paper of substantial length and quality, to be closely supervised by an advisor. This paper will be reviewed and must be accepted by all program faculty. The completion of the project will satisfy the capstone requirement.

Pathway

Plan of Study Grid
First Year
Fall 12 WeekHours
UCS 10101 FIRST-YEAR ENDURING QUESTIONS 4
POLS XXXXXPolitical Science Elective 4
Hiram Core Requirement 4
 Hours12
Fall 3 Week
POLS XXXXXPolitical Science Elective 3
 Hours3
Spring 12 Week
UCS 20201 ADDRESSING URGENT QUESTIONS 4
POLS XXXXXPolitical Science Elective 4
Hiram Core Requirement 4
 Hours12
Spring 3 Week
POLS XXXXXPolitical Science Elective 3-4
 Hours3-4
Second Year
Fall 12 Week
POLS XXXXXPolitical Science Elective 4
Hiram Core Requirement 4
Elective Course 4
 Hours12
Fall 3 Week
Elective Course 3
 Hours3
Spring 12 Week
POLS XXXXXPolitical Science Elective 4
Elective, Second Major, Minor Course 4
Elective, Second Major, Minor Course 4
 Hours12
Spring 3 Week
POLS XXXXXPolitical Science Elective 3-4
 Hours3-4
Third Year
Fall 12 Week
UCS 30301 URGENT CHALLENGE SEMINAR:TT 4
POLS XXXXXPolitical Science Elective 4
Hiram Core Requirement 4
 Hours12
Fall 3 Week
Elective, Second Major, Minor Course 3-4
 Hours3-4
Spring 12 Week
POLS XXXXXPolitical Science Elective 4
Hiram Core Requirement 4
Elective, Second Major, Minor Course 4
 Hours12
Spring 3 Week
Political Science Elective or Elective, Second Major, Minor Course 3-4
 Hours3-4
Fourth Year
Fall 12 Week
POLS XXXXXPolitical Science Elective 4
Hiram Core Requirement 4
Elective, Second Major, Minor Course 4
 Hours12
Fall 3 Week
Political Science Elective or Elective, Second Major, Minor Course 3-4
 Hours3-4
Spring 12 Week
POLS 48XXXPolitical Science Capstone 4
Elective, Second Major, Minor Course 4
Elective, Second Major, Minor Course 4
 Hours12
Spring 3 Week
Elective, Second Major, Minor Course 3-4
 Hours3-4
 Total Hours120-126