Course descriptionSpecial 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.
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