Undergraduate students who Major in Political Science receive a comprehensive background in Canadian politics, the history and theory of political ideas, comparative institutions, policymaking, civic organizing, and research design.

Our Major is ideal for those seeking a broad understanding of the study of politics and government, as a basis for pursuing careers or further education fields such as law, public administration, the public service, international development, and community work, among others. Successful Majors can expect to graduate with a solid skills in writing, reading, data analysis, theory, and communication, as well as an informed understanding of political processes and problems at the local, national, and global levels. 

The Major strikes a perfect balance for many students in terms of coursework. It gives students more training in Political Science than a Minor would. But it doesn't require the kind of extra training and academic specialization that our Honours program requires. High-performing Majors still have the option of switching to Honours in their third year, if there is a specific political topic or subfield they'd like to concentrate on. And because our Major can be paired with a Minor (or double Major) from another department, there is freedom to explore other discplines. The only restriction is that Majors in Political Science cannot Minor in Law and Public Policy, because coursework in these programs overlaps so substantially. 

The Political Science Department also offers students the option to pursue a Joint Major. This involves completing the requirements for a Major in Political Science and completing the requirements for a Major in another subject, excluding Law and Public Policy. You would no longer have a Minor, and would take fewer electives. You can declare a Joint Major in the exact same way as you would a Major.

Have a look at our year-by-year overview for Honours and Majors to decide which option is right for you. Successful Majors are also encouraged to consider applying to our  Master of Arts (MA) program to level up their BA degree. 

Declaring 

Every March, the Department of Political Science holds a declaration celebration with our students and faculty to welcome our newest members. If you don't want to wait, you can find all the information that you need to complete the declaration of a Major or Joint Major in Political Science over at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Really, it’s as easy as completing this form and submitting it via email to the Office of the University Registrar (registrar@mun.ca) using your official @mun email account.

Program Requirements

Students who wish to graduate with a Major in Political Science must complete 39 credit hours (or 13 courses) in Political Science over the four years of their BA degree. The curriculum follows a set sequence so that the knowledge and skills students acquire in their first- and second-year classes prepare them for more sophisticated material in their third- and fourth years. This sequence also allows our faculty to prepare lectures, assignments, and other course materials appropriate to each student’s learning stage.

Beginning in September 2024, all 3000 and 4000 level Political Science courses have a general 45 credit hour pre-requisite, requiring students to have completed at least 45 credits of university level classes (in any subject) before enrolling in our upper-level offerings. This is to encourage students to appropriately sequence their studies.

Declared Political Science Majors will begin their first year of studies by taking POSC 1000 (“Introduction to Politics and Government”), which is required, along with an optional class, POSC 1001 (“Critical Reading and Writing: Politics and Governance”), which helps students gain the writing and research skills to do university level work. As a bonus, POSC 1001 also counts towards the general “CRW” requirement for the BA degree.

In their second year, Majors will take POSC 2100 (“Introduction to Political Theory”), which is required. Majors are also required to take one of either POSC 2300 (“Comparative Politics”) or POSC 2800 (“Canadian Politics and Government”). Together, these classes are meant to deepen the concepts and ideas learned in first year, while also introducing the five Political Science subfields. Many Majors opt to also explore POSC 2200 (“Global Politics”) and POSC 2600 (“Public Policy and Administration”) to get a more well-rounded sense of the discipline. Taking at least three 2000 level Political Science courses is strongly encouraged and has the benefit of also fulfilling an additional subfield breadth requirement.

The third year is where Majors may begin to select more specialized courses according to their interests in different subfields. All Majors must complete POSC 3010 (“Empirical Methods in Political Science”) to acquire basic skills in quantitative and qualitative research and analysis. Fourth year classes typically assume some familiarity with research methods, and push Majors to test ideas and theories using empirical evidence. Majors are required to take 15 credit hours (5 courses) at the 3000 and 4000 levels, of which at least 6 credit hours (2 courses) must be at the 4000 level.

Declared Honours, Majors, Minors, are given priority registration for all 3000 and 4000 level Political Science classes to ensure that they can complete their programs on time. What this means, in practice, is that declared students will be permitted to enroll earlier than non-declared students for all upper-year Political Science classes, so that they are sure to get a seat.

The only difference between the Major and Joint Major is that the Joint Major requires 3 fewer credit hours in the programs of each participating department. For Political Science, this means that Joint Majors are expected to complete 36 credit hours in total, including the required courses listed above. But Joint Majors end up taking one less Political Science class overall than a usual Major. Please note that it is not possible to do a Joint Major in Political Science and Law and Public Policy. 

To graduate with a Major or Joint Major in Political Science, a student must have an average of 60% or better in courses required for the Political Science program (excluding 1000-level courses). A student receiving 55% or less on any Political Science course at the 2000-level or higher is expected to seek advice from the Department at the start of the next semester to ensure that adequate progress is being maintained.