Loyola Marymount University Bulletin 2011-2012 > Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts > Political Science

Political Science

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Faculty

Chairperson: Richard Fox

Professors: Michael A. Genovese, Evan Gerstmann, Fernando J. Guerra

Associate Professors: Lance H. Blakesley, Jodi Susan Finkel, Richard Fox, John Parrish, Janie S. Steckenrider, Cassandra Veney

Assistant Professors: Fariel Cherif, Andrew Dilts, Gene Park, Jennifer Ramos

Objectives

The Department challenges and encourages students to:

be perceptive observers of political life in all its variety and richness;
seek a systematic understanding of the causes and consequences of political institutions, policies, and behavior;
develop a moral and ethical perspective that allows them to critically evaluate actions, institutions, and policies; and
prepare themselves for a life of active citizenship and involvement in creating a more just and humane world.

The Department challenges and encourages its faculty to:

master the art of teaching,
contribute to their profession as active scholars and researchers, and
promote an atmosphere of care and concern for each student inside and outside the classroom.

Both faculty and students share a responsibility for creating a lively and diverse community of scholars marked by civility, mutual respect, and support.

Political Science Student Learning Outcomes

The Political Science Department strives to help all majors:

Broaden and deepen their knowledge of political institutions and of the forces that drive political movements, public policy, and public law.
Be able to use the major analytic and theoretical frameworks in several subfields of political science in order to effectively describe, explain, and predict political phenomena.
Be able to structure and evaluate normative political arguments.
Be able to effectively use evidence to analyze empirical political statements.
Develop a greater appreciation of the values and factual assumptions that underlie one’s own political ideology.
Value active and engaged citizenship.

Changes in the Political Science Curriculum

The Political Science curriculum underwent dramatic changes prior to the Fall 2010 entering class. Effective immediately, in our new curriculum, all lower division courses are 3 semester hour classes, and most upper division courses are 4 semester hour classes. In addition, Political Science’s new curriculum has consolidated its subfields into four categories. While upper division requirements in the major and minor have changed, the total number of required semester hours to complete the major and minor has remained the same.

For upper division requirements, students now take a total of six upper division courses for the major and three upper division courses for the minor.

Students entering Loyola Marymount University prior to Fall 2010 will also be included in the new curriculum. If current political science students have questions about how this change affects their program of study, contact an advisor in the Political Science Department.

Major Requirements

36 semester hours

Lower Division Requirements: 4 courses (12 semester hours)
1. Students must take two of the following three courses: POLS 135, 155, and 165. In addition, students must take POLS 210 and 220.
2. An average grade of C (2.0) must be obtained in these courses.
Upper Division Requirements: 6 courses (24 semester hours), including:
1. At least one 500-level seminar; and
2. An average grade of C (2.0) must be obtained in courses included in the major.
Additional Requirements
1. Students must take at least one course in each of the four subfields in Political Science: Political Thought, American Politics, Comparative Politics, and International and World Politics. These courses can be completed at the upper or lower division level.
2. Students must take at least four 4 semester hour courses to complete the major.

Minor Requirements

18 semester hours

Lower Division Requirements: 2 courses (6 semester hours)
Students can take any two of the following lower division courses: POLS 135, 155, 165, 210, and 220.
Upper Division Requirements: 12 semester hours
At least two 4 semester hour upper division courses must be taken to complete the upper division minor requirements. The remaining four semester hours may be completed by taking any of the offered upper division courses.
Of the 12 upper division semester hours, at least two courses must fall within two of the four subfields in Political Science: Political Thought, American Politics, Comparative Politics, and International and World Politics.

An average grade of C (2.0) must be obtained in the courses included in the minor.

Specific programs should be planned individually with the advice of a faculty advisor.

Honors in Political Science

Students who attain a GPA of 3.6 or higher, both overall and in the major, are automatically eligible to enroll in the Honors Seminar (POLS 581) in the Fall of their senior year and write an Honors Thesis (POLS 591) in the Spring of the senior year. Other students may be invited to pursue Honors by the faculty. The Honors Seminar is a prerequisite for the Honors Thesis. Students who attain a grade of A- or higher for the Honors Thesis will graduate with Honors in Political Science. Both the Honors Seminar and Honors Thesis count toward the 24 semester hours of upper division course work required of majors.