Political Science Major (BA)

The department seeks to instill in its students a variety of skills and levels of knowledge that will serve them regardless of the profession they ultimately choose. Students seeking the Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Political Science take courses in several different subfields, including American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Relations, Political Theory, Public Law, and Public Policy. The department also provides majors with opportunities for internships, for credit, in the legal profession, political campaigns, legislative offices, and public administration.

Please see the web page of the Department of Political Science at www.unlv.edu/politicalscience for information about programs, faculty, and facilities.  Degree worksheets and 4/5 year plan for the major are available at www.unlv.edu/degree/ba-political-science.

Learning Outcomes

1. Use critical reasoning skills for problem solving.
2. Write persuasively so as to articulate, support, and defend an argument.
3. Apply the research process in the social sciences so as to differentiate between normative and empirical perspectives, comprehend the difference between deterministic and probabilistic outcomes, and assess the strengths and weaknesses of the major analytical approaches used in applied research (e.g., quantitative, qualitative, formal).
4. Consume and understand sophisticated information communicated through the media and scholarly writing.
5. Fulfill the obligations and expectations of citizenship in a democratic society.
6. Explain how political outcomes are shaped by the of the interplay between preferences and institutions.
7. Describe the multiple motivations and constraints that underlie and shape political behavior.
8. Explain how outcomes in the political and social world are affected by the multiple causal factors.
9. Describe how multiculturalism shapes international political exchanges and outcomes.