Students pursuing a Bachelor of Arts (BA) with Honors in the Arts and Sciences may major or minor in political science. Departmental expectations for these students are as follows.
Honors Major in Political Science:
- An undergraduate Honors major in political science is a coherent program of courses amounting to a minimum of 33 hours of course work in 2000-level Honors courses and other political science courses numbered 3000 and above.
- At least 12 credits must be in political science Honors courses at the 3000-level or higher.
- At least 24 of the 33 credits of course work must be numbered at the 3000-level or higher. These 24 credits do not include course work taken in other departments that are approved as part of the political science major program. (B) A minimum of 21 credit hours must be taken at The Ohio State University; this limits to twelve hours course work transferred from other universities; taken in other cities or countries through study at a foreign or domestic institutions; or other Ohio-State sponsored, off-campus programs; and it ensures that more than half of a student's major is taken from Ohio State instructors. At least 15 of these 21 credit hours must be numbered at the 3000-level or higher.
- Major programs must include at least one course from each of the four traditional subfields in Political Science: American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Relations, and Political Theory.
- Major programs must include a four-course focus in a field, chosen from American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Relations, or Political Theory. An individualized focus may be created in consultation with an adviser or faculty member.
- A grade of "C-" or better is necessary in order for a course to count as part of a major program. A student must earn a cumulative point-hour ratio of 2.0 or higher in all courses included on the major.
- A maximum combined total of six credit hours in the major can be included from the following categories: independent study; internships; and undergraduate research courses.
- As many as six credit hours of the 33 required for the major program may be courses with subject matter related to political science in other departments. There is no official list of acceptable courses; students should request prior approval from an adviser in the department before scheduling such courses as part of their major programs.
- In order to graduate with honors, a student's cumulative point-hour ratio must be at the minimum set by the Honors Office (currently 3.4); the student's major point-hour ratio must be a 3.5.
Honors Minor in Political Science:
Fifteen (15) or more credit hours in political science courses 2000-level and above. Of these, at least nine hours must be courses at the 3000-level or above. Honors minor programs must include 1) at least nine (9) hours of graded credit in political science courses at the 3000 level or higher, 2) at least one course in each of two different fields and 3) at least six (6) credit-hours in upper division political science honors courses or seminars. Honors minor programs may include five (5) credit-hours in another department, with approval of an honors adviser. GPA: 3.4 overall, and 3.5 in political science.
With or without an Honors Contract, students may also elect to do an Independent Honors Research project leading to the BA with Distinction in Political Science. Departmental expectations for these students are available under the Research Opportunities section.