Concentrations Option
What acknowledgement on your BA transcript for concentrating in a specific Political Science subfield?
Political Science Honours, Major, and Co-op candidates can opt to pursue a concentration in either Canadian Government or Global Studies. If completed, will be designated on their transcript. This designation may provide students with an incentive to choose courses in their area of interest and may make their degree more appealing as they pursue career options or graduate studies. Where applicable the corresponding renumbered course can be used (e.g., the former POSC 2710 may be substituted for 2800).
Concentration in Canadian Government
When Political Science Honours, Major, or Co-op candidates select their courses they may opt to complete a minimum of eight POSC courses emphasizing public policy (second digit is “6”) and/or Canadian politics (second digit is “8”). Among these eight courses must be 2600 (Intro to Public Policy and Administration) and 2800 (Intro to Canadian Politics and Government), as well as at least two selections at the 4000-level. If these criteria are fulfilled then upon graduation “Concentration in Canadian Government” will be designated on the student’s transcript, and can then be listed on that student's resume.
Concentration in Global Studies
When Political Science Honours, Major, or Co-op candidates select their courses they may opt to complete a minimum of eight POSC courses emphasizing international politics (second digit is “2”) and/or comparative politics (second digit is “3”). Among these eight courses must be 2200 (Intro to International Politics) and 2300 (Intro to Comparative Politics), as well as at least two selections at the 4000-level. Up to two political theory courses (second digit is “1”) at the 3000 level or higher may be included. If these criteria are fulfilled then upon graduation “Concentration in Global Studies” will be designated on the student’s transcript, and can then be listed on that student's resume.
Not necessarily. Undergraduate students are advised to expressly state in writing that they are also applying for a concentration designation, and to communicate this to the Office of the Registrar (registrar@mun.ca) using their official @mun email account.
Of the three Co-op work term courses the only one that involves credit hours is POSC 460W and therefore that course may be deemed eligible towards the concentration. However, since this is not clearly noted in the university calendar it is possible that a student seeking to avail of this option will need to ask the Head of the Department of Political Science to send a letter of permission to the Office of the Registrar. If this applies to you, reach out to the Head of Department via email.
Yes. The following statement can be located in the Department's calendar entry: "If the Honours essay topic encompasses one of Canadian Government or Global Studies, then POSC 4010 and 4011 may be applied towards the applicable Political Science concentration, subject to permission of the Head of the Department." This means that when an Honours student is nearing completion of POSC 4011 that a letter of permission must be expressly requested from the Head of the Department of Political Science, who will assess which concentration applies to the student's essay topic, and who will need to send a letter of permission to the Office of the Registrar.