Major/Minor and other Departmental Requirements

Government Major:

St. Lawrence University policy requires students to declare their major by second semester of sophomore year but students who want to declare in the fall may do so by having a government professor sign their declaration form as well as a form changing their adviser to a government professor.

Government 103, Government 105, Government 290, one course in Political Theory, one course in International Politics, four other courses

A major may elect no more than four out of his or her first nine courses in any given subfield of the discipline (U.S. government, comparative politics, international relations, political theory). Government 103, 105, 290, one Theory course, and one International Relations course must be taken in residence on the St. Lawrence campus. Student may not receive AP credit in lieu of the GOVT 103 (American politics) requirement for the major. Students may, however, receive AP credit for one of the elective courses to count for their major.

The above requirements can only be satisfied through regularly scheduled government courses. Government 290 should be taken in the sophomore or junior year.

Students must also complete a departmental writing intensive course, from among the introductory courses (103, 105, 108 or 206). This should be taken prior to enrolling in 290, the research seminar, which is also a writing-intensive course. A writing intensive course includes, at a minimum, a revision of at least 4 pages of student writing and not less than 12 pages of assigned writing in addition to revisions. In total a minimum of 20 pages of written work.

Students may count one internship or one independent study among the first nine courses for the major. No fewer than seven government courses must be taken on campus. The academic work of transfers in political science is evaluated upon entry into the department for determination of credit. In no case may a transfer student majoring in government take fewer that five government courses on campus.

Government Minor:

Government minors must complete two lower-division courses in government (103, 105, 108, 206), a research seminar (290), and two upper-division courses in government (300- or 400-level). The department will credit one upper-division government course taken in a St. Lawrence-sponsored off-campus program; otherwise, all other courses must be taken on campus. Internships in government will not count as courses towards the minor.

Requirements for Departmental Honors:

Departmental honors are awarded at graduation to majors who have achieved a minimum grade point average of 3.5 in government courses and who have also received an "honors" designation on the senior thesis. (See Honors in the Curriculum chapter of the Catalog).

Requirement for Senior Theses:

The senior thesis in government offers the qualified student an opportunity for more intensive work in the field. Minimum criteria for admission to the program are a 3.5 in Government courses, a satisfactory overall academic record, completion of Government 290 with a grade of 3.0 or better, and the presentation of an acceptable research proposal. Interested students are required to submit a research proposal to the department by the end of the spring semester of the junior year.

Certification for Teaching Social Studies:

A student may qualify for the New York State provisional certificate to teach social studies at the secondary level by completing the requirements for a major in the Government Department and the professional semester in the Department of Education. Students pursuing certification are also encouraged to take a breadth of courses in the other social sciences.