The Political Science program at UA Little Rock offers courses for students interested in understanding government and politics at the international, national, state, and local level. The mission of the program is to provide students with both a substantive knowledge of politics and the skills necessary to make use of that knowledge effectively, not only as private citizens participating in a democracy, but also in a wide range of careers.
Our courses also strive to instill in students a number of important skills, including critical thinking, analysis, writing, and the practical application of ideas to real world situations. The combination of substantive knowledge and practical skills provided a solid background to help our students excel as leaders in a variety of fields, including politics, government service, law, teaching, and business.
The Bachelor of Arts in Political Science requires 120 minimum total hours, including 45 hours of upper-level courses (3000-4000 level), and 30 hours in residence. Students must have a GPA of at least 2.0 to graduate.
Field Experience Requirement
Coursework taken to satisfy this requirement may also be used to satisfy a subfield or elective requirement for the major. Students must complete one of the following:
- POLS 3338 – Cooperative Education in Political Science I & II
- POLS 3339 – Cooperative Education in Political Science I & II
- POLS 3348 – Internship I
- POLS 4348 – Internship II
- Any POLS course with a service learning component
- Any travel course or study abroad program
- A paid or volunteer position of at least 15 weeks with a government agency, elected official, campaign, interest group, or other politically-oriented organization. (Students taking this option will not receive course credit, but will have the requirement waived.) In order to use this option to satisfy the requirement, students must provide evidence of the position and submit a paper describing the work that they did to the internship coordinator for approval.
- Students in the online-only program who cannot complete one of the above will be given the option to take a second course in the Normative and Empirical Analysis subfield, instead.
Political Science with Education Licensure, B.A.
- Political Science, B.A.
- Political Science, International Studies Concentration, B.A.
- Political Science, Law Concentration, B.A.
Students completing the BA in Political Science will be able to:
- describe key political science theories and concepts;
- apply political science theories and concepts to analyze real world political events, issues, and phenomena;
- demonstrate the ability to think critically; and
- demonstrate effective communication skills.
