Minors

Political Science

Political Science Minor

Political Science and International Relations 

The minor in Political Science requires 18 semester hours.

Required Courses (6 hours)

 

  • PS 1005 - Introduction to American Politics

    3 credit hours

    Constitutional principles, functions, and administration of American federal government; Congress, the presidency, and the Supreme Court. A General Education Social/Behavioral Sciences course.

  • PS 1010 - Introduction to Global Politics

    3 credit hours

    Meets part of the General Education Social/Behavioral Sciences requirement. Comparative theories and institutions of government. Law, constitutions, power, political socialization, ideologies, and the media.

Electives (12 hours)

  • Political Science electives 12 credit hours

Public Policy and Management 

Public Policy and Management Minor

Political Science and International Relations 

The minor in Public Policy and Management requires 18 semester hours.

Required Courses (9 hours)

  • PS 1005 - Introduction to American Politics

    3 credit hours

    Constitutional principles, functions, and administration of American federal government; Congress, the presidency, and the Supreme Court. A General Education Social/Behavioral Sciences course.

  • PS 3160 - American Public Policy

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: PS 1005 or permission of instructor. Examines the public policy-making process in the United States, the stages of policy development and the problems inherent in policymaking. At least one substantive policy area examined in depth; examples: health care, environmental, welfare, agricultural, poverty, or budgetary policies.

  • PS 3250 - Public Management  3 credit hours  

    PS 3250 - Public Management

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: PS 1005 or permission of instructor. Fundamentals of public management--organization theory, leadership, policy making, planning, budgeting, personnel, administrative law, bureaucratic behavior.

Electives (9 hours)

  • PS 2020 - State and Local Government

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: PS 1005 or permission of instructor. Politics and administration at the state and local level. Legislative, judicial, and administrative structures and processes; major issues and problems.

  • PS 3150 - Humanitarian Aid and Crisis

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: PS 1010 or permission of instructor. Examines the politics of humanitarianism in domestic and society. Considers state-centered humanitarianism as well as the efforts of NGOs and IOs. Participants will lead a peer education program sponsored by the American Red Cross.

  • PS 3170 - Civil Rights Policy and Politics

    3 credit hours

    Assesses the institutional impact--past and present--of the civil rights movement on American political institutions (the presidency, Congress, the courts, the executive cabinets, the administrative regulatory agencies, and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights). Events and topics include the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the 1991 Civil Rights Act, voter dilution, felony disenfranchisement and sentencing disparities, campaign finance reform, affirmative action, disability rights, gender discrimination, and majority-minority congressional districts.

  • PS 3318 - Liberalism and Conservatism

    3 credit hours

    Examines the two major ideologies in contemporary American politics. Designed to illustrate how liberalism and conservatism provide the ideological context in which American politics conducted. Focuses on how public policy, law, political culture, and public discourse shaped by liberal and conservative ideas provide the theoretical foundation and the philosophical assumptions for political action.

  • PS 3350 - Interest Groups and Social Change

    3 credit hours

    Examines role of interest groups in American politics and the policymaking process, including the role of lobbyists, money, and politics, and case studies of several specific interest groups.

  • PS 3360 - Law and Policy  3 credit hours  

    PS 3360 - Law and Policy

    3 credit hours

    Addresses the relationship between courts, policy, and society through the lens of different actors and state institutions. Utilizes legal, policy, and sociolegal scholarship that touches on issues such as bureaucracy, criminal justice, education, environmental regulation, injury litigation, and more. 

  • PS 3400 - Municipal Policy and Politics

    3 credit hours

    Powers, functions, and politics of municipal governments from the standpoint of city management. Attention is given to problems related to the execution of municipal policy. Offered infrequently.

  • PS 3430 - Comparative Public Policy

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: PS 1010 or permission of instructor. Explores the politics of policymaking. Examines the factors influencing public policies and why countries have different policies, how domestic factors shape these policies, and how international factors influence these policies. Looks at the role of institutions, interests, and ideas in policymaking.

  • PS 3440 - Public Budgeting  3 credit hours  

    PS 3440 - Public Budgeting

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: PS 1005 or permission of instructor. Analysis of the legal and social nature of government budgets emphasizing the procedures and administrative methods of fiscal control. Budget documents at state and local levels. Offered infrequently.

  • PS 3450 - The Politics of Social Welfare Policy

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: PS 1010 or permission of instructor. Overview of the structure and functions of welfare states in the rich, industrialized democracies (primarily European); covers key arguments and debates about the emergence and contemporary fate of these welfare states. Emphasizes drawing ideas from the experiences of other countries to inform policy solutions to problems we confront in the US.

  • PS 3600 - U.S. Environmental Policy

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: PS 1005. Comprehensive introduction to U.S. environmental policy. Explores federal environmental policy, focusing on the legislation of the 1960s and 1970s, critiques of command and control regulation, the effects of conservatism on environmental policymaking, and the turns to state-level governance, market-based solutions, and collaborative governance. 

  • PS 3610 - Environmental Justice

    3 credit hours

    Focuses on environmental harms unequally distributed across both U.S. and global populations--low income communities, communities of color, and women suffer disproportionately from environmental harms. Explores a range of conceptual approaches to environmental justice and case studies, including Hurricane Katrina.

  • PS 4120 - Tennessee Government

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: PS 1005 or permission of instructor. Structure, functions, and processes of Tennessee's governmental and political institutions. Policy issues studied.

  • PS 4150 - Global Issues in Human Trafficking

    3 credit hours

    (Same as GS 4000). Human trafficking examined globally in regards to issues of recruiting, transporting/transferring, and harboring/receiving persons through force for the purpose of exploitation. Laws and preventative measures also examined. Students research trafficking issues in global contexts and engage in Experiential Learning activities by volunteering in service projects with registered and certified local non-profit organizations, whose missions are to combat human trafficking locally and globally.

  • PS 4240 - American Foreign Policy

    3 credit hours

    Foreign policies in the nuclear age from Kennan and Containment to the present with particular emphasis on contemporary problems and policies.

  • PS 4260 - Women and Public Policy

    3 credit hours

    Explores the relationships between women and contemporary public policy in in the Global North and Global South. Topics include how public policy is made and women's political roles in the making of public policy, as well as women's administrative roles in the implementation of public policy. Focuses on theories of representation, whether women have identifiable policy interests, the diversity of women's policy interests, how those interests expressed, and whether women's policy interests differ from men's (e.g., the gender gap in voting and public opinion).

  • PS 4275 - NGOs and Non-Profits

    3 credit hours

    (Same as GS 4275.) Key topics and issues surrounding the political environment and competing pressures that international non-governmental organizations and domestic non-profits confront. Formal readings paired with discussions from practitioners in the field and hands-on professional exercises.

  • PS 4300 - Policymaking in the European Union

    3 credit hours

    Adopts a public policy perspective on the process of planning and implementation of the EU policies and focuses on how EU policies work in practice on the ground, mechanisms of policy-making and implementation, and effects on national public policymaking systems, public administrations and bureaucracies, and on citizens.

  • PS 4550 - Climate Change Policy and Politics

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: PS 1005. Covers climate policy at the international, national, state, and city scales; public opinion on climate change; relationship between partisanship and climate change; climate justice; geoengineering; and climate activism. 

  • PS 4590 - Administrative Law  3 credit hours  

    PS 4590 - Administrative Law

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: PS 1005, PS 3250, or permission of instructor. Procedural aspects, substantive issues, judicial review of the type of law concerned with the powers and procedures of government agencies and the rights of citizens affected by them.

  • PS 4630 - Public Human Resources Management

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: PS 3250 or permission of instructor. Human resources administration in government agencies. Patterns of position classification, compensation, recruitment, selection, training, performance appraisal, promotion, discipline, separation, collective bargaining.

  • PS 4820 - Topics in American Politics  3 credit hours  
    ****  dotslash:** title:** 
    ** 

    PS 4820 - Topics in American Politics

    3 credit hours

    Special topic in the area of American politics. May be repeated for credit when subject matter varies.  

  • PS 4830 - Topics in Public Policy and Management

    3 credit hours

    Special topics in the area of public policy and management. May be repeated for credit when subject matter varies.  

  • PS 4850 - Topics in Comparative Politics  3 credit hours  
    ****  dotslash:** title:** 
    ** 

    PS 4850 - Topics in Comparative Politics

    3 credit hours

    Advanced study in the area of comparative politics. May be repeated for credit when subject matter varies.

  • PS 4860 - Topics in International Relations  3 credit hours  
    ****  dotslash:** title:** 
    ** 

    PS 4860 - Topics in International Relations

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisites: PS 1010 and PS 3210. Advanced study in the area of international relations. May be repeated for credit when subject matter varies.

  • PS 4950 - Community-Based Research Practicum  1 to 6 credit hours  
    ****  dotslash:** title:** 
    ** 

    PS 4950 - Community-Based Research Practicum

    1 to 6 credit hours

    Supervised planning and carrying out applied social research project defined in partnership with a local civic group, nonprofit agency, or public department. Students may work individually or in groups or up to six. A final report is presented to the community partner at the end of the course. Projects must be approved prior to enrollment by the department's student research committee.  

  • PS 4970 - Undergraduate Research  1 to 6 credit hours  
    ****  dotslash:** title:** 
    ** 

    PS 4970 - Undergraduate Research

    1 to 6 credit hours

    Students pursue their own topics and fields of concentration under the supervision of a political science faculty member. Working with the faculty member, the student will design and conduct independent research, with the final paper presented at a conference or a public forum on campus.  

**Where topic is appropriate, seek departmental advisor approval

 

Students may complete up to 6 credit hours from the following internship courses:

  • PS 4270 - Non-profit and NGO Internship

    1 to 12 credit hours

    Prerequisites: Sophomore standing, PS 1005, and a 2.50 minimum GPA. Students work for a political campaign, a non-profit or NGO, or an interest group as a volunteer under the joint administration of the organization and the department. Only six hours may count toward a political science major and three hours toward a political science minor. Arrangement for this course must be made in advance.

  • PS 4290 - Public Service Internship  1 to 12 credit hours  

    PS 4290 - Public Service Internship

    1 to 12 credit hours

    Prerequisites: Junior standing and 2.50 minimum GPA. Student assigned to a public service agency as an employee under the joint administration of the agency and the department. May be repeated for up to 12 hours of credit, but only six hours of internship credit may count toward a Political Science major or minor. Arrangement for this course must be made in advance.

  • PS 4360 - Legislative Internship  3 to 12 credit hours  

    PS 4360 - Legislative Internship

    3 to 12 credit hours

    A cooperative program with the State of Tennessee that provides for student service with the legislature on a full-time basis during the spring semester. Students selected on a competitive basis. Only six hours may count toward a Political Science major or minor.

Paralegal Studies

Paralegal Studies Minor

Department of Political Science and International Relations
615-898-2708 
 

The Paralegal Studies minor is designed for those who do not plan to attend law school but who would like to work as legal assistants in law offices, governmental agencies, or other law-related organizations. Such assistants typically do legal research and handle routine legal matters under the supervision of attorneys. There is no limit on the number of hours a student may take in a single discipline. Students interested in this minor should contact an advisor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations as early in their careers at MTSU as possible.

Interdisciplinary Minors

Interdisciplinary minors require the student to complete a minimum of 15 to 21 hours from a list of specific courses. Unless otherwise noted, a student may take no more than 6 hours of courses from a single department until he or she surpasses the required minimum number of hours necessary for completing the minor. Exceptions to this rule may be found within the discussions of several of the minors. In most cases, a student is also limited to just 3 hours of credit toward the minor in the same department or discipline in which he or she is taking a major. Students must fulfill all departmental prerequisites for any course within an interdisciplinary minor. In some cases, advisors may approve course substitutions within these program requirements.

Required Courses (6 hours)

  • PS 1005 - Introduction to American Politics

    3 credit hours

    Constitutional principles, functions, and administration of American federal government; Congress, the presidency, and the Supreme Court. A General Education Social/Behavioral Sciences course.

  • PS 2440 - Law and the Legal System

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: PS 1005 or permission of instructor. A general introduction to American law and the American legal system; focus on the case system.

Electives (12 hours)

  • BLAW 3400 - Legal Environment of Business

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: Junior standing. Legal rights and potential liabilities of business persons. Presentation of the dynamic nature of law in responding to the changing social, ethical, political, regulatory, and international environment. Includes the development and nature of the legal system; business crimes; the law of torts and product liability; constitutional limitations on regulatory powers; legislative, judicial, and administrative control of business activity through the laws of business organizations, securities regulations, antitrust laws, employment laws, labor and safety laws, and consumer protection.

  • BLAW 3430 - Commercial Law  3 credit hours  

    BLAW 3430 - Commercial Law

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisites: Junior standing; admission into the College of Business. Legal rights and potential liabilities of business persons. Includes basic law of contracts; UCC; sales; commercial paper; secured transactions and credit; bankruptcy; personal property and bailments; real property; and wills, trusts, and estates.

  • BLAW 4470 - Real Property Law for Commerce and Agriculture

    3 credit hours

    (Same as AGBS 3140 and FIN 4470.) Prerequisite: Junior standing; admission into the College of Business. Legal rights and limitations of ownership of property, estates, titles, methods of transferring titles, abstract of titles, mortgages, leases, easements, restrictions on the use of property, real estate development, application of contract law to real property, and the role of real estate in the administration of estates. Emphasis on specific application to agricultural businesses and farms.

  • CJA 3250 - Criminal Law  3 credit hours  

    CJA 3250 - Criminal Law

    3 credit hours

    Theories and principles of the body of substantive criminal law. Covers the elements of the range of criminal law offenses.

  • PLEG 3010 - Litigation  3 credit hours  

    PLEG 3010 - Litigation

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisites: PS 1005 or PS 2440. Legal procedures required for introducing and pursuing cases in the judicial system.

  • PLEG 3420 - Torts  3 credit hours  

    PLEG 3420 - Torts

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisites: PS 1005 or PS 2440. The law of injury to legally protected interests in personal safety, liberty, and property.

  • PLEG 4010 - Internship  3 credit hours  

    PLEG 4010 - Internship

    3 credit hours

    Supervised work in a law office or agency as a paralegal assistant.

  • RIM 3700 - Entertainment Intellectual Property I

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: RI majors - admission to candidacy and RIM 3600 with C or better; others RIM 3600. Introduction to the law of copyright, as well as the basic law of contracts, within a lecture setting combined with the interactivity of student in-class argument of appellate opinions rendered in both the areas of U.S. Copyright law and Contract law. Focuses solely on high-level intellectual property disputes related to the entertainment industry, whether regarding argument as to the rightful copyright ownership of parties within the entertainment industry, or as to a contract dispute, e.g. the breach of an entertainment agreement involving artistic content such as a recording or publishing agreement.

  • PS 3530 - Legal Writing and Research

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: PS 1005 or permission of instructor. A specialized composition course for the student planning to attend law school or paralegal school or to become a legal secretary. Practice in legal research, documentation, and a variety of legal problems.

  • PS 4040 - Pre-Law Internship  3 credit hours  

    PS 4040 - Pre-Law Internship

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisites: Senior standing, competitive selection, PS 2440, or by permission of instructor. Familiarizes pre-law students with general law office procedures and an active law environment.

  • PS 4590 - Administrative Law  3 credit hours  

    PS 4590 - Administrative Law

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: PS 1005, PS 3250, or permission of instructor. Procedural aspects, substantive issues, judicial review of the type of law concerned with the powers and procedures of government agencies and the rights of citizens affected by them.

Notes:

  • The PLEG classes require that students have 60 or more hours of coursework and a 2.5 GPA.
  • Some courses may have prerequisites.

 

International Relations

International Relations Minor

Political Science and International Relations  

The minor in International Relations requires 18 hours.

Required Courses (9 hours)

  • PS 1005 - Introduction to American Politics

    3 credit hours

    Constitutional principles, functions, and administration of American federal government; Congress, the presidency, and the Supreme Court. A General Education Social/Behavioral Sciences course.

  • PS 1010 - Introduction to Global Politics

    3 credit hours

    Meets part of the General Education Social/Behavioral Sciences requirement. Comparative theories and institutions of government. Law, constitutions, power, political socialization, ideologies, and the media.

  • PS 3210 - International Relations

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: PS 1010 or permission of instructor. The state system and national power, balance of power, balance of terror, game theory, psychological aspects of international conflict, decision making, diplomacy and negotiation, war, disarmament, and collective security.

Elective Courses (9 hours)

  • PS 3220 - Comparative Politics

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisites: PS 1010 or permission of instructor. Seminar covering the theoretical literature, methodological debates, and current issues in the field of comparative politics. Offers preparation for upper-division courses in comparative politics.

  • PS 3500 - International Law  3 credit hours  

    PS 3500 - International Law

    3 credit hours

    General principles of modern international law taught by the case study method in a seminar format encouraging debate and discussion. Issues concerning the development of international law and human rights will be studied.

  • PS 3780 - Study Abroad  3 to 6 credit hours  

    PS 3780 - Study Abroad

    3 to 6 credit hours

    Prerequisite: PS 1010 or permission of instructor. Supervised study in a foreign country; familiarizes students with foreign cultures and political systems. Three to six hour classes may be repeated once if country of destination varies. No more than 6 hours may count toward a political science major. Pass/Fail.

  • PS 3910 - International Organization

    3 credit hours

    Development and prospects of the United Nations Organization and its major approaches to peace--pacific settlement, collective security, international law, arms control, trusteeship, preventive diplomacy, international conferences, functionalism. Offered infrequently.

  • PS 4030 - Human Rights  3 credit hours  

    PS 4030 - Human Rights

    3 credit hours

    (Same as GS 4030.) Prerequisite: PS 1010 or permission of instructor. Fosters critical thinking about human rights by developing skills in weighing powerful but opposing arguments in complex moral situations. Familiarizes students with the role of both national and international organizations in global politics.

  • PS 4150 - Global Issues in Human Trafficking

    3 credit hours

    (Same as GS 4000). Human trafficking examined globally in regards to issues of recruiting, transporting/transferring, and harboring/receiving persons through force for the purpose of exploitation. Laws and preventative measures also examined. Students research trafficking issues in global contexts and engage in Experiential Learning activities by volunteering in service projects with registered and certified local non-profit organizations, whose missions are to combat human trafficking locally and globally.

  • PS 4180 - Contemporary African Politics

    3 credit hours

    Comparative study of selected African political systems with different colonial traditions in the process of rapid change; trends, issues and common themes in African politics. The ideology and politics of development, political system forms and processes, development efforts, and the challenges of state and nation-building.

  • PS 4190 - Contemporary Middle East Politics

    3 credit hours

    Comparative study of political institutions, political processes, political dynamics, and behavior in the Middle East and North Africa. Emphasizes historical, socio-cultural, and ideological forces that have shaped politics in the region, including Zionism, Islamism, Arab nationalism, colonialism, and the Palestinian Conflict.

  • PS 4200 - Directed Studies  3 credit hours  

    PS 4200 - Directed Studies

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Independent readings in a particular area under the supervision of a faculty member. May be repeated for credit when subject matter varies.

  • PS 4210 - International Conflict: Causes, Consequences, and Responses

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: PS 1010 or permission of instructor. Theoretical and empirical approaches to understanding the causes of interstate war, intrastate war, and transnational terrorism as well as the social consequences of and policy responses to international conflict.

  • PS 4220 - World Politics  3 credit hours  

    PS 4220 - World Politics

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: PS 1010 or permission of instructor. Experiencing contemporary international politics through the medium of simulation. Particular focus areas include the U.S., F.S.U., People's Republic of China, the Middle East, South Asia, and Southern Africa.

  • PS 4240 - American Foreign Policy

    3 credit hours

    Foreign policies in the nuclear age from Kennan and Containment to the present with particular emphasis on contemporary problems and policies.

  • PS 4260 - Women and Public Policy

    3 credit hours

    Explores the relationships between women and contemporary public policy in in the Global North and Global South. Topics include how public policy is made and women's political roles in the making of public policy, as well as women's administrative roles in the implementation of public policy. Focuses on theories of representation, whether women have identifiable policy interests, the diversity of women's policy interests, how those interests expressed, and whether women's policy interests differ from men's (e.g., the gender gap in voting and public opinion).

  • PS 4300 - Policymaking in the European Union

    3 credit hours

    Adopts a public policy perspective on the process of planning and implementation of the EU policies and focuses on how EU policies work in practice on the ground, mechanisms of policy-making and implementation, and effects on national public policymaking systems, public administrations and bureaucracies, and on citizens.

  • PS 4310 - Comparative Asian Government

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: PS 1010 or permission of instructor. Comparative analysis of the governmental forms and practices of China, Japan, India, and other governments in the region.

  • PS 4510 - International Political Economy

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: PS 1010 or permission of instructor. The relation between politics and economics in international affairs and its implications for global peace, security, ecology, and social welfare.

  • PS 4770 - Russian Politics  3 credit hours  

    PS 4770 - Russian Politics

    3 credit hours

    The formation and evolution of the Russian state from the pre-Communist to the Soviet (Communist) and post-Soviet stages of its development. Special attention given to the historical origins and the role of authoritarianism in the Russian political culture and to the ideological foundations, formation, evolution, and the reasons for decline of the Communist system.

  • PS 4900 - Latin American Politics

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: PS 1010 or permission of instructor. Emphasis on the comparative analysis of structures, functions, and aspects of Latin American political cultures and systems.

  • PS 4920 - Modern Political Theory

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: PS 1010, PS 1005, or PHIL 1030 or permission of instructor. Western political theory from the Renaissance to the twentieth century. Includes Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, J.S. Mill, Marx and Engels, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, facism, existentialism, Strauss, Arendt, and contemporary thought.

 

Political and Civic Engagement

Political and Civic Engagement Minor

Political Science and International Relations 

Open to students from any major, this 18-credit-hour minor provides students an active experiential program focused on effective and sustained community engagement. Students design a program that mixes experiences in the following areas: skills/practicum, internships/study abroad, and community-based research practicum.

Note: None of these courses can also be counted to meet the requirements for the major in Political Science.

Required Courses (6 hours)

Take two of the following:

  • PS 1005 - Introduction to American Politics  3 credit hours  
    (formerly PS 2010)(formerly PS 2010)  dotslash:(formerly PS 2010) title:(formerly PS 2010) 
    (formerly PS 2010) 

    PS 1005 - Introduction to American Politics

    3 credit hours

    Constitutional principles, functions, and administration of American federal government; Congress, the presidency, and the Supreme Court. A General Education Social/Behavioral Sciences course.

  • PS 3340 - Political Campaign Communication, Media, and Management

    3 credit hours

    An analysis of applied politics; how to plan and manage a modern political campaign. Readings, discussions, and hands-on projects; students will learn the strategies, tactics, and varied techniques of political campaigning.

  • PS 3550 - Democratic Participation and Civic Advocacy

    3 credit hours

    Focus on theories of democratic participation, the role and impact of participation in a democracy, and practical approaches to building and working through organizations advocating for candidates or particular policies or working with the government in crafting and implementing public policies.  

  • PS 4275 - NGOs and Non-Profits

    3 credit hours

    (Same as GS 4275.) Key topics and issues surrounding the political environment and competing pressures that international non-governmental organizations and domestic non-profits confront. Formal readings paired with discussions from practitioners in the field and hands-on professional exercises.

Electives (12 hours)

Choose 12 hours from the following courses. Please note that most courses may be repeated for credit. Also, several 3 hour internships with different experiences are more valuable than one or two 6 hour internships--discuss this with the department internship coordinator.

NOTE: A maximum of 6 hours for any one of these internships may be counted toward the minor (if the internship is for 9 or 12 hours, it may be possible to apply the additional hours to your major-discuss  this with your faculty advisor).

  • PS 2100 - Legal Courtroom Procedure

    1 credit hour

    For students interested in developing trial advocacy skills; practical course offering preparation for mock trial competition. May be repeated for up to four hours credit. Pass/Fail.

  • PS 2110 - Moot Court  1 credit hour  

    PS 2110 - Moot Court

    1 credit hour

    Students conduct research of legal controversies, prepare briefs, and argue cases before a mock judicial panel. May be repeated for up to four hours credit. Pass/Fail.

  • PS 2120 - Mediation Procedure

    1 credit hour

    Prerequisite: PS 1005 or permission of department chair. For students interested in developing skills as mediators and advocates in mediation settings. Practical application of theories, methods, and ethical components of mediation. Participation in intercollegiate mediation competition. May be repeated for up to four hours of credit. Pass/Fail.

  • PS 2130 - Model United Nations and Crisis Simulation

    1 credit hour

    For students interested in developing skills in negotiation and conflict resolution involving international issues. A practical application of negotiating skills, policy process, and understanding of international conflicts and problems through participation in intercollegiate MUN/crisis simulation competition. Course may be repeated for up to 4 hours of credit. Pass/Fail.

  • PS 3780 - Study Abroad  3 to 6 credit hours  

    PS 3780 - Study Abroad

    3 to 6 credit hours

    Prerequisite: PS 1010 or permission of instructor. Supervised study in a foreign country; familiarizes students with foreign cultures and political systems. Three to six hour classes may be repeated once if country of destination varies. No more than 6 hours may count toward a political science major. Pass/Fail.

  • PS 4040 - Pre-Law Internship  3 credit hours  

    PS 4040 - Pre-Law Internship

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisites: Senior standing, competitive selection, PS 2440, or by permission of instructor. Familiarizes pre-law students with general law office procedures and an active law environment.

  • PS 4150 - Global Issues in Human Trafficking

    3 credit hours

    (Same as GS 4000). Human trafficking examined globally in regards to issues of recruiting, transporting/transferring, and harboring/receiving persons through force for the purpose of exploitation. Laws and preventative measures also examined. Students research trafficking issues in global contexts and engage in Experiential Learning activities by volunteering in service projects with registered and certified local non-profit organizations, whose missions are to combat human trafficking locally and globally.

  • PS 4270 - Non-profit and NGO Internship

    1 to 12 credit hours

    Prerequisites: Sophomore standing, PS 1005, and a 2.50 minimum GPA. Students work for a political campaign, a non-profit or NGO, or an interest group as a volunteer under the joint administration of the organization and the department. Only six hours may count toward a political science major and three hours toward a political science minor. Arrangement for this course must be made in advance.

  • PS 4271 - Political Campaigns and Politics Internships

    3 to 12 credit hours

    Students work for a political campaign, a political party, a lobbying firm, or an interest group engaged in politics, or otherwise engage in political activism. Only six hours may count toward a political science major or a political science minor. Arrangements for this course must be made in advance.

  • PS 4280 - The Washington Experience

    12 credit hours

    A cooperative program with the Washington Center that provides for student service with a governmental office in Washington, D.C., on a full-time basis during the fall or spring semester. On-the-job training will be supplemented with lectures and other activities. Students selected on a competitive basis. Only six hours count toward a Political Science major or minor.

  • PS 4290 - Public Service Internship  1 to 12 credit hours  

    PS 4290 - Public Service Internship

    1 to 12 credit hours

    Prerequisites: Junior standing and 2.50 minimum GPA. Student assigned to a public service agency as an employee under the joint administration of the agency and the department. May be repeated for up to 12 hours of credit, but only six hours of internship credit may count toward a Political Science major or minor. Arrangement for this course must be made in advance.

  • PS 4360 - Legislative Internship  3 to 12 credit hours  

    PS 4360 - Legislative Internship

    3 to 12 credit hours

    A cooperative program with the State of Tennessee that provides for student service with the legislature on a full-time basis during the spring semester. Students selected on a competitive basis. Only six hours may count toward a Political Science major or minor.

  • PS 4950 - Community-Based Research Practicum

    1 to 6 credit hours

    Supervised planning and carrying out applied social research project defined in partnership with a local civic group, nonprofit agency, or public department. Students may work individually or in groups or up to six. A final report is presented to the community partner at the end of the course. Projects must be approved prior to enrollment by the department's student research committee.  

  • EXL 2030 - Civic Engagement Practicum

    1 credit hour

    Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Opportunity to take part in civic engagement projects with community partners. Pass/Fail. (May be repeated for a total of two credits.)

  • EXL 3020 - Leadership Studies Practicum

    1 to 3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Opportunity to enhance personal leadership development and understanding through campus- or community-based projects. Pass/Fail. (May be repeated for a total of up to six credits.)

  • EXL 3030 - Civic Engagement Practicum

    1 to 3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Opportunity to take part in civic engagement projects with community partners. Pass/Fail. (May be repeated for a total of up to six credits.)

  • EXL 4000 - Experiential Learning Seminar

    1 credit hour

    Prerequisites: Senior standing, EXL Scholars Program participant. Culminating experience for students in the EXL Scholars Program. Students will develop an e-portfolio of experiential and service-learning experiences and will participate in discussions of their EXL experiences.

 

Pre-Law

Political Science Pre-Law Minor

Political Science and International Relations 

The Political Science Pre-Law minor requires 21 hours and provides students with basic content knowledge and skills that are important for success in law school.

Required Courses (15 hours)

  • PS 1005 - Introduction to American Politics

    3 credit hours

    Constitutional principles, functions, and administration of American federal government; Congress, the presidency, and the Supreme Court. A General Education Social/Behavioral Sciences course.

  • PS 2440 - Law and the Legal System

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: PS 1005 or permission of instructor. A general introduction to American law and the American legal system; focus on the case system.

  • PS 3370 - American Constitutional Law I: Government Powers

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: PS 1005 or permission of instructor. Analysis of theories of judicial decision making as well as the establishment of judicial review itself, followed by case studies of major Supreme Court decisions in federalism. Issues covered include commerce, contracts, police, and war powers as well as restrictions placed on state governments after the ratification of the Civil War Amendments.

  • PS 3380 - American Constitutional Law II: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: PS 1005 or permission of instructor. The Supreme Court as a policy-making body in the governmental system. Focuses on case studies of major Supreme Court decisions dealing with civil liberties. Issues covered include racial and gender discrimination, freedom of speech and religion, as well as rights of the criminally accused and the right to privacy.

  • PS 3530 - Legal Writing and Research

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: PS 1005 or permission of instructor. A specialized composition course for the student planning to attend law school or paralegal school or to become a legal secretary. Practice in legal research, documentation, and a variety of legal problems.

Electives (6 hours)

  • BLAW 3400 - Legal Environment of Business

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: Junior standing. Legal rights and potential liabilities of business persons. Presentation of the dynamic nature of law in responding to the changing social, ethical, political, regulatory, and international environment. Includes the development and nature of the legal system; business crimes; the law of torts and product liability; constitutional limitations on regulatory powers; legislative, judicial, and administrative control of business activity through the laws of business organizations, securities regulations, antitrust laws, employment laws, labor and safety laws, and consumer protection.

  • BLAW 3460 - Insurance Law  3 credit hours  

    BLAW 3460 - Insurance Law

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: Junior standing and admission into the College of Business. Risks covered by the insurance contract, their selection and control; making, constructing, and enforcing the contract; negotiation and settlement of claims; misconduct of agents. Government regulation of the insurance industry. Emphasis on current principles, policies, procedures, and practices in insurance.

  • CJA 3250 - Criminal Law  3 credit hours  

    CJA 3250 - Criminal Law

    3 credit hours

    Theories and principles of the body of substantive criminal law. Covers the elements of the range of criminal law offenses.

  • PLEG 3010 - Litigation  3 credit hours  

    PLEG 3010 - Litigation

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisites: PS 1005 or PS 2440. Legal procedures required for introducing and pursuing cases in the judicial system.

  • PLEG 3410 - Family Law  3 credit hours  

    PLEG 3410 - Family Law

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisites: PS 1005 or PS 2440. The law of marriage, divorce, child custody and support, adoption, paternity, and related issues.

  • PLEG 3420 - Torts  3 credit hours  

    PLEG 3420 - Torts

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisites: PS 1005 or PS 2440. The law of injury to legally protected interests in personal safety, liberty, and property.

  • PS 3010 - Women's Rights in American Law

    3 credit hours

    Analysis of the legal treatment of women in the home, school, and workplace. Examines development of law, relationship of law to political movements, and current state of law and legal theory on women's rights and gender equality.

  • PS 3170 - Civil Rights Policy and Politics

    3 credit hours

    Assesses the institutional impact--past and present--of the civil rights movement on American political institutions (the presidency, Congress, the courts, the executive cabinets, the administrative regulatory agencies, and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights). Events and topics include the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the 1991 Civil Rights Act, voter dilution, felony disenfranchisement and sentencing disparities, campaign finance reform, affirmative action, disability rights, gender discrimination, and majority-minority congressional districts.

  • PS 3360 - Law and Policy  3 credit hours  

    PS 3360 - Law and Policy

    3 credit hours

    Addresses the relationship between courts, policy, and society through the lens of different actors and state institutions. Utilizes legal, policy, and sociolegal scholarship that touches on issues such as bureaucracy, criminal justice, education, environmental regulation, injury litigation, and more. 

  • PS 3490 - Alternative Dispute Resolution

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: PS 1005 or permission of the department chair. Theory, methods, and ethical components of alternative dispute resolution (ADR); emphasis on various forms of mediation, but including other ADR formats such as arbitration, negotiation, and summary jury trial.

  • PS 3500 - International Law  3 credit hours  

    PS 3500 - International Law

    3 credit hours

    General principles of modern international law taught by the case study method in a seminar format encouraging debate and discussion. Issues concerning the development of international law and human rights will be studied.

  • PS 4040 - Pre-Law Internship  3 credit hours  

    PS 4040 - Pre-Law Internship

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisites: Senior standing, competitive selection, PS 2440, or by permission of instructor. Familiarizes pre-law students with general law office procedures and an active law environment.

  • PS 4590 - Administrative Law  3 credit hours  

    PS 4590 - Administrative Law

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: PS 1005, PS 3250, or permission of instructor. Procedural aspects, substantive issues, judicial review of the type of law concerned with the powers and procedures of government agencies and the rights of citizens affected by them.

  • PS 4700 - American Political Thought

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: PS 1005, PS 1010, PHIL 1030, or permission of instructor. Major thinkers and movements in American political thought from colonial times to the twentieth century with special emphasis on the thoughts of the framers of the American Constitution and their contemporaries.

  • RIM 3700 - Entertainment Intellectual Property I

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: RI majors - admission to candidacy and RIM 3600 with C or better; others RIM 3600. Introduction to the law of copyright, as well as the basic law of contracts, within a lecture setting combined with the interactivity of student in-class argument of appellate opinions rendered in both the areas of U.S. Copyright law and Contract law. Focuses solely on high-level intellectual property disputes related to the entertainment industry, whether regarding argument as to the rightful copyright ownership of parties within the entertainment industry, or as to a contract dispute, e.g. the breach of an entertainment agreement involving artistic content such as a recording or publishing agreement.

  • RS 4130 - Religion and Law  3 credit hours  

    RS 4130 - Religion and Law

    3 credit hours

    Explores the complex and contested relationship between religion and the law by examining how debates over the proper relationship of religion and government as well as the limits of religious freedom have developed and changed over time.

Notes:

  • It is recommended that students take PS 1005 as one of their General Education Social/Behavioral Sciences requirements.
  • Students may takePS 2100, PS 2110, and PS 2120 as one 3 credit-hour elective. These are repeatable courses, and any combination that adds to 3 credit hours will count.
  • Students may petition their academic advisors to substitute unlisted courses

Political and Social Thought

Political and Social Thought Minor

Political Science and International Relations

The Political and Social Thought minor requires 18 hours and is designed for students who are interested in supplementing the political science, international relations, or other major with courses that are more theoretical and that emphasize critical thinking, analytical, and writing skills.

Required Courses (9 hours)

  • PS 1015 - Introduction to Political Theory

    3 credit hours

    Study and analysis of significant political thinkers and political ideas. Covers the three historical periods of political thought: Ancient, Medieval, and Modern. Representative thinkers and ideas from each period used to illustrate important insights differentiated in a variety of historical circumstances. Among the major theorists covered are Plato, Aristotle, Buddha, Cicero, Augustine, Aquinas, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Rousseau, Burke, Mill, Marx, Voegelin, and Rawls.

 

Choose two:

  • PS 4230 - Classical Political Theory

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: PS 1005, PS 1010, or PHIL 1030. Western political theory from the ancient Greeks through the medieval Christians. Includes Sophocles, Aristophanes, Plato, Aristotle, stoicism, skepticism, Lucretius, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Thomas More.

  • PS 4700 - American Political Thought

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: PS 1005, PS 1010, PHIL 1030, or permission of instructor. Major thinkers and movements in American political thought from colonial times to the twentieth century with special emphasis on the thoughts of the framers of the American Constitution and their contemporaries.

  • PS 4920 - Modern Political Theory

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: PS 1010, PS 1005, or PHIL 1030 or permission of instructor. Western political theory from the Renaissance to the twentieth century. Includes Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, J.S. Mill, Marx and Engels, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, facism, existentialism, Strauss, Arendt, and contemporary thought.

  • PS 4930 - Introduction to Contemporary Political Philosophy

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: PS 1005, PS 1010, or PHIL 1030 or permission of instructor. Aims to foster critical thinking about contemporary political philosophy by introducing students to four main approaches: Aristotelianism, Utilitarianism, Contractarian Liberalism, and Marxism. Familiarizes students with certain philosophical arguments about important issues in both national and global politics such as multiculturism, justice, democracy, and freedom.

Electives (9 hours)

  • HIST 4650 - Religious Experience in America

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisites: Six hours of HIST 2010, HIST 2020, HIST 2030, HIST 2040, or HIST 2050. Explores the nature of religion as experienced in American history focusing on the questions "How has religion affected America?" and "How has America affected religion?" Emphasis on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and on the contact of and exchanges among traditions such as Protestant/Catholic Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Eastern religions, and Animism.

  • HIST 4740 - American Cultural and Intellectual History

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisites: Six hours of HIST 2010, HIST 2020, HIST 2030, HIST 2040, or HIST 2050. Explores the major issues in American cultural and intellectual history through an examination of American literature, philosophy, social sciences, fine arts, and popular culture.

  • HIST 4750 - African American Social and Intellectual History

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisites: Six hours of HIST 2010, HIST 2020, HIST 2030, HIST 2040, or HIST 2050. The changing ideology of race and the socioeconomic status of African Americans in the American experience; contributions to the culture and institutions of the United States.

  • PHIL 3150 - Ethics  3 credit hours  

    PHIL 3150 - Ethics

    3 credit hours

    Examines major ethical theories, the moral nature of human beings, and the meaning of good and right and applies ethical theories to resolving moral problems in personal and professional lives.  

  • PHIL 3160 - Philosophy of Happiness

    3 credit hours

    Examines the concept of human happiness and its application in everyday living as discussed since antiquity by philosophers, psychologists, writers, spiritual leaders, and contributors to popular culture.

  • PHIL 3200 - Asian Thought  3 credit hours  

    PHIL 3200 - Asian Thought

    3 credit hours

    The origins, development, essence, and implications of leading philosophical-religious traditions originating in Asia.

  • PHIL 3340 - Environmental Ethics

    3 credit hours

    Examines the relation of humans to the rest of nature, clarifying the relevant ethical issues and exploring from various perspectives their application to present and future ecological concerns.

  • PHIL 3500 - Philosophy, Race, and Society

    3 credit hours

    Examines sociopolitical and existential concerns of African Americans, especially in respect to issues of justice, equality, and the very meaning of life in a world of anti-black racism, against the backdrop of "enlightenment" philosophical discourse on race and personhood.

  • PHIL 3690 - Social Philosophy

    3 credit hours

    The main problems of social philosophy are surveyed: the distinctive nature of social reality and the nature of social knowledge and how they relate to value theory.

  • PHIL 4450 - Marx and Marxism  3 credit hours  

    PHIL 4450 - Marx and Marxism

    3 credit hours

    An examination of the development of Marxist philosophy up to and including the present.

  • PS 3010 - Women's Rights in American Law

    3 credit hours

    Analysis of the legal treatment of women in the home, school, and workplace. Examines development of law, relationship of law to political movements, and current state of law and legal theory on women's rights and gender equality.

  • PS 3100 - Politics and Film  3 credit hours  

    PS 3100 - Politics and Film

    3 credit hours

    Analysis of political ideas as expressed in motion pictures. Topics include leadership, political biographies, campaigns and elections, ideology, and war.

  • PS 3110 - Politics and Literature

    3 credit hours

    A study and analysis of the intersection of politics and literature. Uses imaginative fiction to analyze central aspects of political theory, (e.g., human nature, community, power, constitutionalism, justice, equality, liberty).

  • PS 3170 - Civil Rights Policy and Politics

    3 credit hours

    Assesses the institutional impact--past and present--of the civil rights movement on American political institutions (the presidency, Congress, the courts, the executive cabinets, the administrative regulatory agencies, and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights). Events and topics include the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the 1991 Civil Rights Act, voter dilution, felony disenfranchisement and sentencing disparities, campaign finance reform, affirmative action, disability rights, gender discrimination, and majority-minority congressional districts.

  • PS 3318 - Liberalism and Conservatism

    3 credit hours

    Examines the two major ideologies in contemporary American politics. Designed to illustrate how liberalism and conservatism provide the ideological context in which American politics conducted. Focuses on how public policy, law, political culture, and public discourse shaped by liberal and conservative ideas provide the theoretical foundation and the philosophical assumptions for political action.

  • PS 3425 - African American Political Thought

    3 credit hours

    Survey of a variety of primarily black thinkers who examine important topics related to race, equality, slavery, black nationalism, integration, affirmative action, and racial harmony. Thinkers include Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, William Du Bois, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and President Obama.

  • PS 4150 - Global Issues in Human Trafficking

    3 credit hours

    (Same as GS 4000). Human trafficking examined globally in regards to issues of recruiting, transporting/transferring, and harboring/receiving persons through force for the purpose of exploitation. Laws and preventative measures also examined. Students research trafficking issues in global contexts and engage in Experiential Learning activities by volunteering in service projects with registered and certified local non-profit organizations, whose missions are to combat human trafficking locally and globally.

  • PS 4870 - Topics in Political Theory

    3 credit hours

    Advanced study in the area of political theory. May be repeated for credit when subject matter varies.  

  • RS 4030 - Contemporary Issues in Indigenous Religions

    3 credit hours

    Examines and analyzes contemporary issues in the religious lives of Native American, First Nations, Aboriginal, and other indigenous groups from a religious studies perspective.

  • RS 4120 - Cults and New Religious Movements

    3 credit hours

    Investigates how new religious movements emerge, develop, and interact with American society and surveys "cult controversies" in the United States, asking why some new religious movements gain cultural legitimacy while others do not.

  • RS 4130 - Religion and Law  3 credit hours  

    RS 4130 - Religion and Law

    3 credit hours

    Explores the complex and contested relationship between religion and the law by examining how debates over the proper relationship of religion and government as well as the limits of religious freedom have developed and changed over time.

  • WGST 4500 - Feminist Theory  3 credit hours  

    WGST 4500 - Feminist Theory

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisites: WGST 2100 and junior standing or permission of instructor. Major voices, texts, and ideas in the field of feminist theory from the early seventeenth century through the present within the contexts of a variety of critical discourses and emergent critical fields. Intended as a capstone for the minor. Required for all Women's and Gender Studies minors.

 

Follow Us!

Facebook Icon Twitter Icon Instagram Icon



For Student Handbooks, the Virtual Mentoring Program, and Scholarships/Awards click on STUDENT RESOURCES in the navigation

For information on Careers, Research and Internship opportunities, Study Abroad, Law Schools, and Graduate Schools click on STUDENT RESOURCES and then STUDENT SERVICES PORTAL