Department of Political Science, College of Social and Applied Human Sciences

The Department of Political Science offers courses in the following areas: Political Thought; Canadian Politics; Public Policy, Governance, and Law; Comparative Politics; and International Relations and Global Studies. The Department of Political Science also participates in several interdisciplinary programs, including Criminal Justice and Public Policy, International Development Studies, Environmental Governance, and European Studies.

Area of Concentration (General Program)

A minimum of 5.00 credits is required, including:

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
POLS*1150	Understanding Politics	0.50
POLS*2300	Canadian Government and Politics	0.50
PHIL*2280	Key Concepts in Political Philosophy	0.50
or POLS*2000	Political Theory
Select 0.50 credits from the following:
IDEV*2000	The Development Landscape: Actors and Institutions	0.50
POLS*2100	Comparative Politics	0.50
POLS*2200	International Relations	0.50
Select 0.50 credits from the following:
POLS*2150	Gender and Politics	0.50
POLS*2230	Public Policy	0.50
POLS*2250	Public Administration and Governance	0.50
POLS*2350	Law from a Political Science Perspective	0.50
2.50 additional credits, at least 1.50 of which must be at the 3000 level or above.		2.50

Major (Honours Program)

A minimum of 9.00 credits is required, including:

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
POLS*1150	Understanding Politics	0.50
POLS*2300	Canadian Government and Politics	0.50
POLS*2650	Political Inquiry and Research Methods	0.50
POLS*3650	Quantitative Methods of Data Analysis	0.50
PHIL*2280	Key Concepts in Political Philosophy	0.50
or POLS*2000	Political Theory
Select 0.50 credits from the following:
IDEV*2000	The Development Landscape: Actors and Institutions	0.50
POLS*2100	Comparative Politics	0.50
POLS*2200	International Relations	0.50
Select 0.50 credits from the following:
POLS*2150	Gender and Politics	0.50
POLS*2230	Public Policy	0.50
POLS*2250	Public Administration and Governance	0.50
POLS*2350	Law from a Political Science Perspective	0.50
At least 0.50 credits at the 3000 level in three of the five fields in the department		1.50
1.50 credits at the 4000 level 1,2		1.50
2.50 additional credits from courses in Political Science. 2		2.50

¹

Must include one course from the 1.00 credit-weighted research and writing intensive seminar courses or the two courses which comprise the POLS*4970 Honours Political Science Research I/POLS*4980 Honours Political Science Research II Honours Thesis sequence.

²

A maximum of 2.00 credits at the 4000 level may be counted towards a major in Political Science.

4000 level courses that fulfill the writing and research intensive course requirement:

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
POLS*4020	Global Law and Courts	1.00
POLS*4050	Advanced Topics in Law and Politics	1.00
POLS*4070	Courts and Parliament	1.00
POLS*4090	Seminar in Digital Politics	1.00
POLS*4100	Women, Justice and Public Policy	1.00
POLS*4110	Criminal Justice Policy and Law	1.00
POLS*4140	Conceptions of Canada	1.00
POLS*4160	Multi-Level Governance in Canada	1.00
POLS*4170	Global Environmental Politics	1.00
POLS*4200	International Political Economy	1.00
POLS*4250	Topics in Public Management	1.00
POLS*4260	Topics in Public Policy	1.00
POLS*4300	Human Rights, Ethics, and Development	1.00
POLS*4340	Nationalism, State-building and Identity	1.00
POLS*4710	Topics in Comparative Politics	1.00
POLS*4720	Topics in International Relations	1.00
POLS*4730	International Relations of the Middle East	1.00
POLS*4740	Advanced Topics in Rights and Liberties	1.00
POLS*4900	Special Topics Seminar in Political Science	1.00

Students interested in pursuing graduate or professional studies related to Political Science are encouraged to consider taking the POLS*4970 Honours Political Science Research I/POLS*4980 Honours Political Science Research II Honours Thesis sequence. Interested students must obtain instructor consent in order to register for this option.

Minor (Honours Program)

A minimum of 5.00 credits is required, including:

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
POLS*1150	Understanding Politics	0.50
POLS*2300	Canadian Government and Politics	0.50
POLS*2650	Political Inquiry and Research Methods	0.50
PHIL*2280	Key Concepts in Political Philosophy	0.50
or POLS*2000	Political Theory
Select 0.50 credits from the following:
IDEV*2000	The Development Landscape: Actors and Institutions	0.50
POLS*2100	Comparative Politics	0.50
POLS*2200	International Relations	0.50
Select 0.50 credits from the following:
POLS*2150	Gender and Politics	0.50
POLS*2230	Public Policy	0.50
POLS*2250	Public Administration and Governance	0.50
POLS*2350	Law from a Political Science Perspective	0.50
1.00 credits from Political Science at 3000-level or above
1.00 additional credits from courses in Political Science

Choices for fulfillment of prerequisites for 4000 level courses (see course descriptions for corresponding requirements).

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Political Thought
POLS*3230	Modern Political Thought	0.50
POLS*3710	Gender, Sexuality and Law	0.50
Canadian Politics
HIST*3160	Canada: Political & Policy History	0.50
POLS*3050	Canadian Campaigns and Elections	0.50
POLS*3130	Law, Politics and Judicial Process	0.50
POLS*3140	Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms	0.50
POLS*3210	The Constitution and Canadian Federalism	0.50
POLS*3270	Local Government in Ontario	0.50
POLS*3340	Indigenous Politics in Canada	0.50
POLS*3470	Business-Government Relations in Canada	0.50
Public Policy, Governance and Law
POLS*3130	Law, Politics and Judicial Process	0.50
POLS*3140	Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms	0.50
POLS*3210	The Constitution and Canadian Federalism	0.50
POLS*3250	Public Policy: Challenges and Prospects	0.50
POLS*3300	Governing Criminal Justice	0.50
POLS*3350	Comparative Law and Courts	0.50
POLS*3370	Environmental Politics and Governance	0.50
POLS*3440	Corruption, Scandal and Political Ethics	0.50
POLS*3470	Business-Government Relations in Canada	0.50
POLS*3670	Comparative Public Policy	0.50
POLS*3710	Gender, Sexuality and Law	0.50
Comparative Politics
POLS*3000	Politics of Africa	0.50
POLS*3060	Politics of the Middle East and North Africa	0.50
POLS*3080	Politics of Latin America	0.50
POLS*3160	Global Gender Justice	0.50
POLS*3320	Politics of Aid and Development	0.50
POLS*3350	Comparative Law and Courts	0.50
POLS*3410	U.S. Politics and Government	0.50
POLS*3440	Corruption, Scandal and Political Ethics	0.50
POLS*3450	European Governments and Politics	0.50
POLS*3670	Comparative Public Policy	0.50
POLS*3890	Government and Politics of India	0.50
POLS*3920	Politics of China	0.50
International Relations and Global Studies
POLS*3020	International Law and Organizations	0.50
POLS*3160	Global Gender Justice	0.50
POLS*3320	Politics of Aid and Development	0.50
POLS*3490	Conflict and Conflict Resolution	0.50
POLS*3790	International Political Economy	0.50

The Department of Political Science offers an academic advising service for students in Political Science.

Students are encouraged to consult with the faculty advisor for either of these programs about course selection, substitution of courses offered by other departments, or other matters.