Three Types of POSC Courses

The Department of Political Science will continue offering two types of courses: 100-level introductory courses and 300-level seminars. Beginning in the spring 2024 semester, the department will add 200-level seminars. All three types of courses will continue to be open to all undergraduate students and, for the most part, do not have prerequisites:

100-level Courses

We have three 100-level introductory courses, taught by department faculty and normally capped at 35 students. All three are required for the Political Science major. Yet for majors and non-majors alike, they are terrific introductions to our discipline’s main subfields, and we encourage undergraduates to take these courses even if they did well in high school AP classes and received CWRU credit.

  • POSC 109: The U.S. Political System
  • POSC 160: Introduction to Comparative Politics
  • POSC 172: Introduction to International Relations

200-level Seminars

Beginning in spring 2024, we will be introducing 200-level courses. Capped at 18, these writing-intensive courses, open to all undergraduates, will fulfill the Communication Intensive requirement under the new UGER and SAGES University Seminars under the old GER. Political Science majors and minors may take up to two 200-level seminars.

The following courses meet the Communication Intensive Skill requirement under the new UGER and will thus also count as a SAGES University Seminar:

  • POSC 201: Politics: Participation and Power
  • POSC 210: Political Losers
  • POSC 215: The Arctic in the System of States, Science and Markets
  • POSC 219: Politics and Money
  • POSC 229: Writers and Government
  • POSC 231: Conflict Resolution: Essential Communication
  • POSC 258: Political Strategy

300-level Seminars

Most of our 300-level courses are capped at 25 students and are open to majors and non-majors and do not have prerequisites.  As of the fall 2023 semester, several 300-level will fulfill the Disciplinary Communication requirement under the UGER. These seminars, capped at 20, are interchangeable with SAGES Department Seminars under the old GER. POSC 396 is the required independent study for POSC majors writing a Capstone Project under the supervision of a faculty member. This course fulfills the capstone requirement under both the old GER and the new UGER.

The following courses meet the Disciplinary Communication Skill/SAGES Department Seminar requirement in the new UGER/old GER:

  • POSC 341: U.S. Political Parties and Elections
  • POSC 345: The Politics of Guns in the U.S.
  • POSC 347: Economic Inequality and Power in the U.S.
  • POSC 349: Political Science Research Methods
  • POSC 370M: Theories of Political Economy
  • POSC 373: Politics of the European Union
  • POSC 375: The International Politics of Technology
  • POSC 377: Politics of Russia
  • POSC 378: International Relations Theory
  • POSC 380A: State and War in Africa and the Middle East
  • POSC 385: Doing Government Work: Public Administration in the U.S.
  • POSC 387: Environmental Justice

The Unified General Education Requirements (UGER)

Here is a list of all POSC courses that meet requirements under the new UGER:

  • POSC 160: Introduction to Comparative Politics
    • Perspectives: Understanding Global Perspectives, Human Diversity and Commonality
  • POSC 172: Introduction to International Relations
    • Perspectives: Understanding Global Perspectives, Human Diversity and Commonality
  • POSC 201: Politics: Participation and Power
    • Skill: Communication Intensive
    • Perspective: Moral and Ethical Reasoning
  • POSC 210: Political Losers
    • Skill: Communication Intensive
  • POSC 215: The Arctic in the System of States, Science and Markets
    • Skill: Communication Intensive
    • Perspective: Understanding Global Perspectives
  • POSC 219: Politics and Money
    • Skill: Communication Intensive
  • POSC 229: Writers and Government
    • Skill: Communication Intensive
  • POSC 231: Conflict Resolution: Essential Communication
    • Skill: Communication Intensive
  • POSC 258: Political Strategy
    • Skill: Communication Intensive
  • POSC 341: U.S. Political Parties and Elections
    • Skill: Disciplinary Communication
  • POSC 345: The Politics of Guns in the U.S.
    • Skill: Disciplinary Communication
    • Perspective: Human Diversity and Commonality
  • POSC 347: Economic Inequality and Power in the U.S.
    • Skill: Disciplinary Communication
    • Perspective: Moral and Ethical Reasoning
  • POSC 349: Political Science Research Methods
    • Skill: Disciplinary Communication
    • Perspective: Moral and Ethical Reasoning
  • POSC 357: Economic, Environmental, and Health Challenges: The Impact of Democracy
    • Perspectives: Understanding Global Perspectives, Local and Global Engagement
  • POSC 370M: Theories of Political Economy
    • Skill: Disciplinary Communication
  • POSC 373: Politics of the European Union
    • Skill: Disciplinary Communication
    • Perspective: Understanding Global Perspectives
  • POSC 375: The International Politics of Technology
    • Skill: Disciplinary Communication
    • Perspective: Understanding Global Perspectives
  • POSC 377: Politics of Russia
    • Skill: Disciplinary Communication
    • Perspectives: Understanding Global Perspectives, Human Diversity and Commonality
  • POSC 378: International Relations Theory
    • Skill: Disciplinary Communication
  • POSC 380A: State and War in Africa and the Middle East
    • Skill: Disciplinary Communication
  • POSC 385: Doing Government Work: Public Administration in the U.S.
    • Skill: Disciplinary Communication
  • POSC 387: Environmental Justice
    • Skill: Disciplinary Communication
    • Perspectives: Moral and Ethical Reasoning, Understanding Global Perspectives
  • POSC 388: Global Politics of the Climate Crisis
    • Perspective: Understanding Global Perspectives
  • POSC 396: Senior Project Capstone
    • Skill: Capstone Project
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