Political Science

Political Science Requirements

Students who matriculate in Fall 2020 or beyond will adopt the following requirements.  Student who matriculated prior to Fall 2020 will adopt the old requirements.

Required for the Major in Political Science: All regular fall and spring term political science courses fall into one of five categories: (1) American Politics, (2) Comparative Politics, (3) International Relations and Foreign Policy, (4) Methods, and (5) Political Theory. A major must take ten regular political science courses, including:

     (1)  At least one American Politics course
     (2)  At least one Comparative Politics course
     (3)  At least one International Relations and Foreign Policy course
     (4)  At least one Methods course
     (5)  PSCI 0101: Introduction to Political Philosophy

We recommend that students start with 100-level courses, whenever possible. No more than one of the ten PSCI major credits may be obtained through a winter term course. At least seven of the ten courses must be taken at Middlebury College in Vermont.

Senior Program: One of the ten required courses must be a PSCI or PSCI cross-listed 0400-level senior seminar offered by a member of the Middlebury faculty in Vermont. Work done in programs abroad, at other North American colleges and universities, or in the Washington Semester program will not count as the equivalent of a Middlebury seminar. IGST seminars co-taught by PSCI faculty cannot substitute for 0400-level PSCI seminars but will count as an elective towards the 10 required courses in PSCI.
.
Departmental Honors: Students who elect to seek departmental honors write a thesis in their senior year. Honors candidates should initiate the process by contacting their prospective faculty advisor during their junior year (including students who are abroad during their junior year) ot award PSCI 0500 credit for political experience such as congressional internships. No more than one of the ten...