Political Science-Teacher Education Program (Grades 9-12), B.A.

Major Requirements

Credit Hours: 36+

In addition to completing the requirements for this major, students must also complete the degree requirements specified in the Academic Regulations  section of this catalog.

Courses within this major may also satisfy general education requirements. Please consult the Liberal Arts and Sciences General Education Requirements  for more information.

Political Science Teacher Education Program (Grades 9-12)

Students interested in teacher licensure in social studies must complete the political science major, the additional coursework required for social studies certification and the Secondary Education Cognate, B.S.  major requirements.  See the School of Education   section of this catalog for a listing of the requirements for the additional certification coursework and the secondary education cognate major. Students should apply for acceptance to this program no later than the second semester of their sophomore year. Requirements for this include admission to and successful completion of the approved teacher education program. Students must successfully complete all requirements for licensure in secondary education.

When declaring teacher licensure in social studies through the Program of Study Management System (POSM), students must first select “Declare or Add a Major” and then “Secondary Education Cognate” from the major list. Once this selection is made, a second menu box will appear with a list of the associated majors. Select the political science major and follow the on-screen instructions.

• You should apply for admission (this is NOT declaring your major) to the Teacher Education Program the semester you are enrolled in EDFS 201 Foundations of Education (3) . Requirements for admission:
  • Minimum overall GPA of 2.750 and 60 earned credit hours.
  • Passing scores on Praxis Core: Academic Skills for Educators designated by the South Carolina Department of Education OR qualifying SAT or ACT scores. Scores must be sent to the College of Charleston (Code R5113) and the SCDE (Code R8108).
  • Completing the application process during EDFS 201 .
  • If a student has transfer credit for a course that is equivalent to EDFS 201 , they must meet with the Teacher Education department chair and complete 1 hour of work.
  • A grade of C or better in EDFS 201 Foundations of Education (3) . 
• Your admission process must be completed before taking EDFS 460 .
• You must complete a major in the content area and the cognate major (see Secondary Education Cognate, B.S. ) to be forwarded to the State Department of Education for certification.
• Minimum major GPA of 2.500.

Required Courses

• Complete one of the following:

• POLI 101 American Government (3)
• POLI 111 Race, Equity and American Politics (3)

•  

• Complete one of the following:

• POLI 103 World Politics (3)
• POLI 104 World Regional Geography (3)
• GEOG 101 World Regional Geography (3)

•  

• Complete the following:

• POLI 150 Introduction to Political Thought (3)
• POLI 205 Doing Research in Politics (3)

•  

• Complete one of the following:

• POLI 405 Capstone Seminar (3)
• PPLW 400 Seminar in Politics, Philosophy, and Law (3)

Complete a minimum of 3 credit hours in each of the three subfields of political science

Complete 12 additional credit hours to complete the major

Choose from any of the above subfield courses or the following:

• DCSP 395 DC Internship (6)
• GEOG 101 World Regional Geography (3)
• GEOG 206 Doing Research in Politics: Introduction to Qualitative Research (3)
• POLI 102 Contemporary Political Issues (3)
• POLI 103 World Politics (3)
• POLI 104 World Regional Geography (3)
• POLI 119 Special Topics in Politics (3)
• POLI 203 Criminal Justice (3)
• POLI 206 Doing Research in Politics: Introduction to Qualitative Research (3)
• POLI 400 Tutorial (3)
• POLI 401 Reading and Independent Study in Political Science (1-3)
• POLI 402 Field Internship (3)
• POLI 423 Housing Policy (3)
• POLI 450 Nonprofit Leadership & Governance (3)
• POLI 499A Bachelor’s Essay (3)
• POLI 499B Bachelor’s Essay (3)

Additional Coursework beyond the Content Major (Political Science, B.A.) for Social Studies Certification:

• ANTH 101 Introduction to Anthropology (3)
• ECON 200 Principles of Microeconomics (3)
• HIST 103 World History to 1500 (3)
• HIST 104 World History since 1500 (3)
• HIST 201 United States to 1865 (3)
• HIST 202 United States since 1865 (3)
• SOCY 101 Introduction to Sociology (3)

•  

• Complete one of the following:

• GEOG 101 World Regional Geography (3)
• POLI 104 World Regional Geography (3)

•  

• Complete one of the following:

• POLI 101 American Government (3)
• POLI 111 Race, Equity and American Politics (3)

Notes:

• At least 15 credit hours at the 300-level or above is required of this major
• Credit cannot be applied for both HONS 165  and POLI 111  towards the program requirements.
• Credit cannot be applied for both POLI 101  and POLI 111  towards the program requirements. 
• No more than 6 credit hours from POLI 119  may be applied towards the program requirements.
• No more than 6 credit hours from POLI 261  may be applied towards the program requirements.
• No more than 6 credit hours from POLI 261 , POLI 267 , and POLI 268  may be applied to the major.
• No more than 6 credit hours from POLI 292  may be applied towards the program requirements.
• No more than 9 credit hours from POLI 319  may be applied towards the program requirements.
• No more than 9 credit hours from POLI 339  may be applied towards the program requirements.
• No more than 9 credit hours from POLI 359  may be applied towards the program requirements.
• No more than 6 credit hours from POLI 361  may be applied towards the program requirements.
• No more than 9 credit hours from POLI 379  may be applied towards the program requirements.
• No more than 9 credit hours from POLI 399  may be applied towards the program requirements.
• No more than 6 credit hours from POLI 400  may be applied towards the program requirements.
• No more than 6 credit hours from POLI 401  may be applied towards the program requirements.
• No more than 6 credit hours from POLI 402  may be applied towards the program requirements.

Coursework Meeting Major Requirements Excluded from the Major GPA Calculation

The following courses are excluded: ANTH 101 , ECON 200 , HIST 103 , HIST 104 , HIST 201 , HIST 202 , HONS 167 , HONS 200 , SOCY 101