Special Opportunities: Every summer, we offer the Davidson in Washington Program where students take a seminar course and work in an internship. We encourage our majors to study abroad, and up to four off-campus courses may be transferred back as credit for their major.
Major Requirements
Ten courses in political science, as follows:
- Students must take at least one course in each of the following sub-fields. Seminars do not count toward sub-field requirements. If a course is listed in more than one subfield, a student may choose which one to use for the major. The same course cannot count for two sub-fields.
- Political Theory–Political Science 102, 205, 208, 209, 300, 301, 302, 303, 304, 305;
- American Politics–Political Science 111, 210, 215, 311, 312, 314, 315, 316, 318, 319, 323, 325;
- Comparative Politics–Political Science 130, 230, 233, 240, 241, 325, 331, 332, 333, 334, 336;
- International Politics–Political Science 141, 240, 241, 337, 340, 345, 346, 347, 348, 349.
- Methodology–Political Science 221.
- A seminar numbered 450 to 489. Seminars may have specific prerequisites and usually require prior course work in that sub-field.
- A major paper. This paper will be written under the supervision of a Davidson College Political Science faculty member. An oral defense may be expected. This requirement can be met by the completion of an honors thesis or by the writing of a paper (at least 20 pages) done in the context of a seminar or an independent study. Not all seminars offer this option; check with the faculty member offering the course. A grade of C- or better must be earned on the paper to satisfy this requirement.
Note that Political Science 221 and a seminar must be taken at Davidson.
Political Science Courses
- POL 102 - Contemporary Political Ideologies
- POL 111 - American Politics
- POL 130 - Comparative Politics
- POL 141 - International Politics
- POL 205 - Family and Justice
- POL 208 - Classical Political Theory (= CLA 268)
- POL 209 - Medieval Political Theory
- POL 210 - Parties and Interest Groups
- POL 215 - The Politics of Feminism
- POL 221 - Methods and Statistics in Political Science
- POL 230 - West European Politics
- POL 233 - Politics of the Americas
- POL 234 - Politics of South Asia
- POL 240 - Politics of Africa
- POL 241 - Politics of the Middle East
- POL 294 - Davidson in Washington Independent Study
- POL 295 - Independent Study
- POL 300 - Modern Political Theory
- POL 301 - Contemporary Political Theory
- POL 302 - Special Topics in Classical Political Theory
- POL 303 - Special Topics in Contemporary Political Theory
- POL 304 - Foundations of Liberalism
- POL 305 - Education and Politics
- POL 311 - The Legislative Process
- POL 312 - The Presidency
- POL 314 - Public Policy
- POL 315 - Constitutional Law
- POL 316 - Civil Liberties
- POL 318 - Campaign Strategy
- POL 319 - Public Opinion
- POL 323 - Politics and the Media
- POL 324 - Philanthropy and the Non-Profit Sector
- POL 325 - Legislatures
- POL 326 - Politics and Film
- POL 331 - The Rise of New Democracies
- POL 332 - Chinese Politics
- POL 333 - The Politics of Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea
- POL 334 - Politics of Human Rights
- POL 336 - Russian/Post-Soviet States' Politics
- POL 337 - Politics of Development
- POL 340 - International Political Economy
- POL 345 - Evolution and Practice of U.S. Policy in the Americas
- POL 346 - American Foreign Policy
- POL 347 - International Organization
- POL 348 - Contemporary National Security
- POL 349 - The International Relations of the Asia Pacific
- POL 360 - The Latin American Political Novel
- POL 380-382 - Topics in International Relations
- POL 390 - Tutorial
- POL 393 - Symposium: Davidson in Washington
- POL 450-459 - Political Theory
- POL 460–469 - American Politics
- POL 470-479 - Comparative Politics
- POL 480-489 - International Politics
- POL 495 - Advanced Independent Study
- POL 498 - Honors Thesis
