To complete the Political Science major, students must successfully complete 13 courses (41 credit hours*) designated for the major as described here:

● Two 200-level introductory courses chosen from among:
 ◦ POLI 210 – Introduction to American Politics
 ◦ POLI 211 – Introduction to International Relations
 ◦ POLI 212 – Introduction to Comparative Politics

● Two 300-level research methods courses, specifically:
 ◦ SOSC 302 – Social Science Statistics(SOSC 302 requires an accompanying lab. We recommend POLI 102)
 ◦ POLI 395 – Applied Research Methods in Political Science

● Two 400-level research seminars taught by different instructors. The two research methods courses are prerequisites for these seminars.

● Four 300-level POLI courses (in addition to the research methods courses)

● Three Elective POLI courses (at any level except POLI 110, 111, and 112)

* Note: Most courses are 3 credit hours each. SOSC 302 and POLI 395 are 4 credit hours each. If a course is not 3 credit hours, then the requirements for "courses" need to be translated into "credit hours." You may need more than the specified number of "courses" in a category above to meet the requirements.

Restrictions

The Rice University General Announcements (GA) provides more details on these major requirements. Please note: if discrepancies exist between the summary on the department website and the GA, the GA rules apply.

● POLI 305/306 – Directed Readings I/II count only toward the 3 elective POLI courses.
● POLI 3xx courses count only toward the 3 elective POLI courses and no more than 2 POLI 3xx courses are eligible.
● Students may only count 4 transfer courses toward the political science major.
● Exceptions to the major requirements and restrictions will be rare. Any exception must be in writing and signed by the Major Advisor.