Political Science: Public Policy, BS

Requirements for Students Matriculating in or before Academic Year 2022-2023. Learn more about University Academic Regulation 3.1.

Minimum Overall Grade Point Average: 2.00
Total Hours: 120

General Education Requirements
English Composition
See Academic Regulation 3.5
ENGL 1113Composition I3
or ENGL 1313 Critical Analysis and Writing I
Select one of the following:3
Composition II
Critical Analysis and Writing II
Technical Writing
American History & Government
HIST 1103Survey of American History3
or HIST 1483 American History to 1865 (H)
or HIST 1493 American History Since 1865 (DH)
POLS 1113American Government3
Analytical & Quantitative Thought (A)
MATH or STAT course designated (A)3
Humanities (H)
Courses designated (H)6
Natural Sciences (N)
Must include one Laboratory Science (L) course
Courses designated (N)6
Social & Behavioral Sciences (S)
SPCH 2713Introduction to Speech Communication (S)3
or SPCH 3733 Elements of Persuasion (S)
Additional General Education
Courses designated (A), (H), (N), or (S)10
Hours Subtotal40
Diversity (D) & International Dimension (I)
May be completed in any part of the degree plan
Select at least one Diversity (D) course
Select at least one International Dimension (I) course
College/Departmental Requirements
First Year Seminar1
(Transfer students with 15 hours exempt)
Arts & Humanities
See note 2.a.3
Natural & Mathematical Sciences
See note 2.b.9
Foreign Language
See note 3.
0-6 hours
Upper-Division General Education
Select 6 hours outside major department. See note 2.c.
Hours Subtotal13
Major Requirements
Minimum GPA 2.50 with a minimum grade of "C" in each course.
POLS 2013Introduction to International Relations (S)3
or POLS 2113 Introduction to Comparative Politics (IS)
POLS 2213Fundamentals of Political Science3
POLS 3103Introduction to Political Inquiry3
POLS 3493Public Policy3
POLS 4903Senior Capstone Seminar3
Any upper division POLS course3
Select 12 hours from the following (3 must be POLS):12
Case Studies in Agricultural Trade and Development
Issues in Agricultural Policy
Environmental Economics and Resource Development
American Agricultural Policy
American Indian Sovereignty (D)
The Death Penalty in America (S)
Introduction to Microeconomics (S)
Introduction to Macroeconomics
Public Finance
Economics of the Environment
Energy Economics: Traditional and Renewable Energy Markets
Urban and Regional Economics
Global Sustainability (N)
Business, Government and Society
Natural Resource Administration and Policy
Topics in Public Policy & Administration
Social Justice Politics (D)
Public Opinion and Polling
Lobbying: the Art of Influence and Manipulation
State and Local Government
Terrorism & Counterterrorism
American Foreign Policy
Global Political Economy
Environmental Law And Policy
Natural Resources and Environmental Policy
Oklahoma Politics (S)
Drugs and Drug Policy in the United States
Policing and Society (S)
Environmental Inequality (S)
Upper-division courses to complete the required 39 may be POLS or any other 3000- or 4000-level courses9
Hours Subtotal39
Electives
Select 28 hours
May need to include 6 hours of a foreign language (see note 3)
May need to include 6 hours upper-division general education outside major department (see note 2.c.), and 1 additional upper-division hour
Hours Subtotal28
Total Hours120

College of Arts and Sciences Requirements

  1. General Education Requirements
    No more than two courses (or eight hours) from the major department may be used to meet General Education and College and Departmental Requirements. The General Education required English Composition, required U.S. History, required American Government, one required MATH or STAT course, and required foreign language for B.A. degrees do not count against the two-course maximum.
  2. A&S College/Departmental Requirements
    1. Arts and Humanities are defined as any course carrying an (H) designation or courses from AMST, ART, DANC, ENGL (except ENGL 3323 Technical Writing) HIST, MUSI, PHIL (except PHIL 1313 Logic and Critical Thinking (A), PHIL 3003 Symbolic Logic (A) and PHIL 4003 Mathematical Logic and Computability), REL, TH, and foreign languages.
    2. Natural and Mathematical Sciences are defined as any course from the following prefixes: ASTR, BIOC, BIOL, CHEM, CS (except CS 4883 Social Issues in Computing), GEOL, MATH, MICR, PBIO, PHYS, and STAT; or courses from other departments that carry an (A) or (N) general education designation.
    3. The required six hours of upper-division General Education may not include courses from the student’s major department. This requirement may be satisfied by courses also used to satisfy any part of a student’s degree program (i.e., in General Education, College Departmental Requirements, Major Requirements or Electives).
    4. Non-Western Studies Requirement for B.A. and B.F.A.; One 3-hour course in Non-Western Studies (N.W.). This requirement may be satisfied by courses also used to satisfy any part of a student's degree program (i.e., in General Education, College Departmental Requirements, Major Requirements or Electives).
    5. The College of Arts & Sciences requires a minimum 2.0 GPA in all major requirements and a minimum 2.0 GPA in all major-prefix courses applied to the degree.
  3. Foreign Language Proficiency
    1. The foreign language requirement for the B.A. may be satisfied by 9 hours college credit in the same language, which must include 3 hours at the 2000-level, or equivalent proficiency (e.g., passing an advanced standing examination; TOEFL exam; presenting a high school transcript which demonstrates the high school was primarily conducted in a language other than English; etc.). Computer Science courses may not be used to satisfy this requirement. Currently Arabic and Mvskoke are not offered at the 2000-level at OSU.
    2. The foreign language requirement for the B.S., B.M. and B.F.A. may be satisfied by presenting a high school transcript which demonstrates two years of study of a single foreign language (passing grades at second-year level of study). It may also be satisfied by 6 hours college credit in the same language, which must include language courses 1713 and 1813, or equivalent proficiency (e.g., passing an advanced standing examination; TOEFL exam; presenting a high school transcript which demonstrates the high school was primarily conducted in a language other than English; etc.). Computer Science courses may not be used to satisfy this requirement.
    3. In addition to a. and b., students pursuing teacher certification must meet novice-high foreign language proficiency by presenting a high school transcript which demonstrates two years of study of a single foreign language with no grade below B. Or, students may complete 3 hours college credit in a single language with no grade below C (or pass an advanced standing examination, College Level Examination Program (CLEP) exam, or Oral Proficiency Interview developed by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, equivalent to 3 hours of college credit.) Or, students may meet the requirement by transfer of documentation of meeting the foreign language competency from one of the teacher education programs in the State of Oklahoma approved by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.
  4. Exclusions
    1. Courses used to satisfy the General Education English Composition, U.S. History, American Government, and Mathematics or Statistics requirements will not count toward the 54-hour maximum allowed from one department.
    2. Courses with ATHL or LEIS prefixes and leisure activity courses may not be used for degree credit.

Additional State/OSU Requirements

  • At least: 60 hours at a four-year institution; 30 hours completed at OSU; 15 of the final 30 or 50% of the upper-division hours in the major field completed at OSU.
  • Limit of: one-half of major course requirements as transfer work; one-fourth of hours earned by correspondence; 8 transfer correspondence hours.
  • Students will be held responsible for degree requirements in effect at the time of matriculation and any changes that are made, so long as these changes do not result in semester credit hours being added or do not delay graduation.
  • Degrees that follow this plan must be completed by the end of Summer 2028.