Undergraduate Major Information

The University of New Orleans assures equal opportunity for all qualified persons without regard to race, religion, sex, national origin, age, handicap, marital status, or veteran’s status in admission to participation in, or employment in the programs and activities of the university. 

Introduction

The University of New Orleans, a publicly supported institution of higher education, is the comprehensive urban university of the Louisiana State University System. It is situated on a 300-acre site on the southern shore of Lake Pontchartrain. UNO opened in 1958 with 1,500 students. About 17,500 students are currently enrolled, including about 4,000 in graduate programs. The Department of Political Science offers a comprehensive program leading to a bachelor degree with optional concentrations in Pre-Law or Quantitative Research. The department is composed of 14 full-time faculty members. Information about each is provided later in this document. On-campus housing includes Bienville Hall Dormitory, Lafitte Village Apartments for married students, and Privateer Place Apartments, which features a swimming pool, Jacuzzi, and clubhouse. Additional student services include six tutoring services, an on-campus pharmacy and medical office, student legal counseling and a religious center. Students can also visit the new 87,000 square foot Recreation and Fitness Center complete with swimming pool, cardiovascular room, and indoor track. UNO has over 100 active student organizations and we are a Division I member of the NCAA.

Admissions

Admission to the University and to all of its programs and operations is open to all persons regardless of race, creed, color, sex, age, marital status, disability, veterans' status, or national origin who meet the admission requirements and qualifications of the University.

The University requires a non-refundable $20 application fee of all new applicants (students not previously enrolled at UNO), payable when the application is submitted to the Office of Admissions. Priority Dates for the receipt of an application are July 1 for the fall semester, November 15 for the spring semester, and May 1 for the summer session. International students should refer to International Students Section for admission deadlines. There is an additional non-refundable $30 late fee for all applications received after the listed priority dates.

Summer Session

Application forms for summer admission to the University should be submitted as early as possible so that a tentative statement concerning admissibility may be given. If records are not received at least 30 days prior to the beginning of the summer session, it may not be possible to notify students of their admissibility before their arrival on the campus.

To apply or for more information on admissions, please visit the Office of Admissions website at:

http://admissions.uno.edu/

Student Fees

Student fees for person enrolling into undergraduate study at UNO are currently $1542 per semester for Louisiana residents enrolled full-time (12 hours or more) and $5064 per semester for out of state students enrolled full time.

Financial Assistance

Students who wish to apply for financial aid may get more information on the Office of Financial Aid website:

http://finaid.uno.edu/.

Facilities & Special Programs

University Library
UNO’S Earl K. Long Library has a collection of scholarly and professional books and periodicals totaling one million volumes. Approximately one-third of the volumes are available on microfiche, with appropriate readers and reader printers for the various forms of micro text. All are available to students for study and research. The number of serial titles included in the library’s holdings is over 12,000, of which 5,300 are on current subscription. The library has current subscriptions of virtually every journal of interest to political scientists. It subscribes to JSTOR and Academic Universe, among many other services. Special collections are being developed on Western Europe, urban affairs, public administration, and several areas of American politics. The Department of Archives and Manuscripts is a vital research resource, primarily in the social sciences and humanities. The UNO library is a depository of U.S. Government, Louisiana Supreme Court, and European Union documents. http://library.uno.edu/

Computer Facilities
Computer facilities include the University’s Computer Research Center as well as the Social Science Computer Lab which has 20 networked workstations and a laser printer located next to the Department of Political Science. The Pentium4 computers in this lab are on a Windows 2000 Professional network equipped to handle a variety of computer applications, including SPSS/Windows, STATA, SAS, and Microsoft Office. The Lab also has Internet access via Netscape.

The University of New Orleans is a member of the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research. An extensive local archive of data is available for faculty and student use.

On-Campus Housing

Bienville Hall , the dormitory, is a fully air-conditioned, eight-story residence hall that accommodates men and women students. Dormitory rooms are doubles with each room part of a suite of two bedrooms and a connecting bath that accommodates four students.

Privateer Place houses students in two and four-bedroom, two-bath apartments as well as efficiency apartments. These new apartments are furnished and unfurnished units and include a pool and jacuzzi. For more information about housing at Privateer Place, call (504) 282-5670.

Lafitte Village consists of one and two-bedroom apartments that are available for rent to full-time married students. Each unit includes a combination living-dining area, modern kitchen with stove and refrigerator, and abundant storage space. There is an adequate play area for young children. All utilities, gardening and maintenance services are provided by the university as well as trash pickup. Adjacent parking facilities are available to occupants of each of these facilities.

For more information about on-campus housing, contact the UNO Student Housing Office at:

Student Housing Office
The University of New Orleans
2000 Lakeshore Drive
New Orleans LA 70148

(504) 280-6402 or 280-6585

http://housing.uno.edu/

Course Offerings

The following are descriptions of the courses and seminars offered by the department of Political Science at UNO as they appear in the University Catalog. Courses and Seminars are not necessarily offered every semester (All Political Science courses begin with the prefix POLI). A list of the courses being taught each semester can be found online at http://poli.uno.edu/CourseOfferings/.

1000 FUNDAMENTAL ISSUES OF POLITICS (3 Cr.)
Offered each semester. An introduction to the central questions at issue in politics with special emphasis on their significance for the American scene.

1010 CONTEMPORARY ISSUES OF POLITICS (3 Cr.)
Offered each semester. An introduction to the central questions at issue in politics with special emphasis on their significance for the American scene.

2151 THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT(3 Cr.)
An examination of the current issues and problems of national and international politics.

2156 GOVERNMENT OF LOUISIANA(3 Cr.)
A general survey of state and local government and politics in Louisiana.

2157 PUBLIC POLICY (3 Cr.)
A general survey of public policies in the United States and other political systems emphasizing their effect on domestic politics.

2158 ISSUES IN BLACK POLITICS (3 Cr.)
A survey of black political movements in the United States with emphasis on contemporary problems. Special attention will be given to black ideologies, styles of political participation, and leadership development.

2200 THE JUDICIAL PROCESS (3 Cr.)
A study of legal systems with emphasis upon the role of American courts and judges in administering justice and making law.

2450 CURRENT ISSUES IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE(3 Cr.)
A survey of the criminal justice system from arrest to appeal with emphasis on major problems and dilemmas, such as capital punishment, plea bargaining, search and seizure, legalization of drugs, and other contemporary issues. Special attention will be given to court decisions defining the rights of defendants and the practical realities of criminal law in Louisiana.

2500 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL THEORY (3 Cr.)
A survey of theories of the nature of government and the relationships between the individual and the political order, drawing upon contemporary and classical sources.

2600 INTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENT(3 Cr.)
Offered each semester. Prerequisite: 30 credit hours or consent of department.
A survey of the political institutions of the major democratic powers of Europe and of the former Soviet Union.

2700 INTRODUCTION TO WORLD POLITICS (3 Cr.)
A general survey of the basic principles of world politics with emphasis on the international relations of the United States.

2900 METHODS OF POLITICAL RESEARCH(3 Cr.)
Offered each semester. Prerequisite: Completion of 30 credit hours and POLI 2151, 2600 or 2700.
A survey of the principal methods of political research, including conceptualization and hypothesis testing. The course will introduce computing on personal computers and mainframes as a tool of contemporary political research; students will be familiarized with operating systems, text editing, and data analysis.

2993 SPECIAL TOPICS IN POLITICAL SCIENCE (3 Cr.)
Prerequisite: Consent of the department. Topic may vary from semester to semester. May be repeated once for credit.

3595 ACADEMIC YEAR ABROAD: SPECIAL TOPICS IN POLITICAL SCIENCE (3 CR.)
This course is only offered through UNO's Academic Year Abroad (AYA) in Innsbruck, Austria and can be repeated once for credit.

3605 POLITICAL SCIENCE AND PRACTICAL POLITICS (3Cr.)
The course includes classroom discussions on selected readings, visiting speakers experienced in practical politics, and a research project in the area of practical politics, involving interviewing, sampling, and other techniques of empirical research.

3680 POLITICS AND THE CINEMA (3 Cr.)
A critical examination of the relationships between cinema and politics, with attention to the role of cinema in the transmission of political information and ideas and the impact of the political decisions on the form and content of cinema (Effective Summer 2000).

3900 POLIMETRICS (3 Cr.)
Prerequisite: Political Science 2900 and Mathematics 1115 or 1125, and 1140. Introduction to the application and utility of scientific and mathematical methodology in the analysis of political phenomena. Special attention is given to the development of concepts, generalizations, and explanatory themes within political science as well as the use of various mathematical measurements of political phenomena and behavior (Change effective Summer 2000).

3998 INTERNSHIP IN POLITICAL SCIENCE (3 Cr.)
Prerequisite: consent of instructor and grade-point averages of 3.0 overall and 3.2 in political science. Each semester the department makes available a limited number of internships with the city of New Orleans and other governmental agencies in the metropolitan area as well as in Washington, D.C. Interships provide an opportunity to learn about government from the perspective of the participant. Interns usually work 8 hours a week during a Fall or Spring semester, at times mutually agreeable to the individual and the agency. In addition, students must attend discussion sections on campus. This course may be repeated once for credit for a total of six hours.

4170 THE POLITICS OF PUBLIC POLICY (3 CR.)
An examination of the American public policy and policy theory, covering the major concepts, controversies, and states of policy making as well as policy content.  

4410 AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL LAW (3 CR.)
Prerequisite : POLI 2200 or consent of the department . A study of the law of the Constitution and the place of the Supreme Court in the American political system; critical examination of separation of powers, judicial review, federalism and federal powers.  

4420 THE AMERICAN CONSTITUTION AND CIVIL LIBERTIES (3 CR.)
Prerequisite : POLI 2200 or consent of the department.   An examination of the political relevance of major federal constitutional limitations, property rights, First Amendment freedoms, the rights of criminal defendants and ethnic minorities.  

4440 URBAN JUDICIAL PROCESS (3 CR.)
Prerequisite : POLI 2200 or consent of the department.   A study of judicial processes involved in metropolitan development and in the application of environmental controls to urban areas.

4530 AMERICAN POLITICAL THEORY (3 cr.)
A study of major American political ideas, including American conceptions of liberty, equality, and the role of government.  

4570 CONTEMPORARY POLITICAL THEORY (3 CR.)
Examines selected fundamental problems by exploring the works of important representative theorists.  

4600 POLITICAL PARTIES AND POLITICS (3 CR.)
A study of the political process in the United States with emphasis on political parties, pressure groups, and public opinion.

4601 VOTERS AND ELECTIONS (3 CR.)
A study of electoral behavior in the United States. Topics include determinations of the vote, election turnout, candidate images, issues and elections, economic conditions and voting, partisanship, and the media in elections.

4621 PUBLIC OPINION (3 CR.)
An analysis of contemporary public opinion and communication as aspects of the political process, with emphasis upon opinion formation, manipulation, and the mass media.  

4630 THE AMERICAN PRESIDENCY (3 CR.)
Examines the constitutional and political development of the institutions, the selection process, executive decision-making, and relations with those inside and outside of government in making public policy.  

4640 THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS (3 CR.)
A general study of the legislative process in Congress with special attention to the role of interest groups, constituency, and party in the formation of public policy.  

4650 SOUTHERN POLITICS (3 cr.)
This course focuses on politics in the South, especially since the mid-twentieth century, emphasizing the following themes: race and politics; the impact of the civil rights movement; the evolution of party competition; and the influence of industrialization and urbanization.  

4653 POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION (3 cr.)
A study of the processes and agents of political socialization. Although the mainstream American experience will be emphasized, socialization within subcultures in the United States and socialization to other systems will be included.

4670 WOMEN AND POLITICS (3 CR.)
A study of feminist political thought, and of women's political movements, political issues, and political behavior and attitudes in the United States and in other countries.  

4700 LATIN AMERICAN GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS (3 CR.)
An analysis and survey of the governmental and political processes of Latin America and their contributions to modern government.  

4705 U.S.-LATIN AMERICAN RELATIONS (3 CR.)
A study of U.S. relations with Latin American and Caribbean Basin with an emphasis on current bilateral and regional political issues.

4710 POLITICS OF THE DEVELOPING AREAS (3 CR.)
An analysis of issues relevant to politics in the developing nations with emphasis on the relationship of politics to rapid economic and social change and evaluation of policies intended to promote development.  

4730 AFRICAN POLITICS (3 CR.)
An overview of the political and economic challenges faced by African countries, the range of responses adopted, and the role of politics and the state in shaping both the choice of responses and their effectiveness.

4720 ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD (3 CR.)
A survey of interactions between development strategies and the environment.   Topics include the environmental ramifications of large developmental projects, different systems of property rights, decentralization, international debt, and foreign aid in the context of forests, rivers, rangeland, wildlife, and groundwater.   Examples are drawn from throughout the developing world.

4770 MODERN POLITICAL SYSTEMS (3 CR.)
A comparative analysis of selected institutional and functional problems of both modern authoritarian political systems.  

4780 COMPARATIVE DEMOCRATIZATION (3 CR.)
An exploration of the nature of democracy and the challenges of democratization, drawing on experiences with democratization in Southern   Europe, Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Africa.   Experiences with and prospects for further democratization in other regions also are considered.

4800 CONCEPTS AND PATTERNS OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICS (3 CR.)
A systematic study of interaction between nation states, including a survey of the principal theories concerning international society.

4820 INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION (3 CR.)
An analysis of the origins, development, and future of international organization with primary reference to the United Nations.

4840 INTERNATIONAL REGIONALISM (3 CR.)
An analysis and comparison of selected international regional organizations, the relationship between world and regional organization, and economic and political integration.  

4850 THE POLITICS OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC RELATIONS (3 cr.)
An introduction to the field of international political economy focusing on four issues: the relationship between politics and markets, postwar developments in relations among advanced industrial societies, the relationship between advanced industrial and developing societies, and the impact of globalization on both developed and developing societies.

4860 PRINCIPLES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW (3 CR.)
A study of the development and theoretical foundations of international law; the problems of jurisdiction; treaty law; the law of peace, war, and neutrality; and the methods available for the settlement of international disputes.  

4870 AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY (3 CR.)
A study of the national interest as the guiding consideration in the development of American foreign policy from the beginning to the present. The importance of the constitutional framework, presidential and congressional leadership, pressure groups and public opinion, the changing world environment and the American response to it, particularly in recent years.  

4880 COMPARATIVE FOREIGN POLICY (3 CR.)
A comparative analysis of the determinants of foreign policy interactions between nation-states. The influence of governmental systems, legitimacy, size, levels of development, political culture, and leadership styles on foreign policy calculations and behavior.

4885 ISSUES IN CONFLICT AND DIPLOMACY (3 CR.)
An examination of the interaction of conflict with diplomacy. Conflict and diplomacy are studies analytically and operationally in terms of their limitations and possibilities in advancing and/or defending states' interests.

4890 ECONOMIC STATECRAFT (3 CR.)
This course examines uses of economic statecraft in both US foreign policy and international relations.  Topics include, but are not limited to, analyzing the choice of economic versus military or diplomatic coercion, achieving successful coercion without the use of military force, the moral limitations of economic sanctions, enhancing the credibility of a threat, and the importance of domestic institutions in targets and senders of sanctions.

4900 INTRODUCTION TO TECHNIQUES OF POLITICAL ANALYSIS (3 cr.)
A beginning course in the analysis of political data. Students will be introduced to computer-assisted statistical analysis and will perform original research.  

4910 POLITICAL POLLING (3 CR.)
The process of conducting survey research: research design conceptualization, operationalization, interview-schedule design, sampling theory, drawing the sample, inter-viewer recruitment and training, supervision, coding, data processing, elaboration, analysis, presentation of results.  

4990 SPECIAL TOPICS IN POLITICAL SCIENCE (3 CR.)
Topic may vary from semester to semester. Students may register for this course more than once to a maximum of nine hours. A student may not apply more than 12 hours of political science courses numbered 4990-4998 toward the hours required for the major in political science.

4991 SENIOR HONORS THESIS (3 CR.)
Prerequisite: Consent of department and director of the Honors Program. Design and execution of an honors thesis. This course must be repeated once in order to graduate with honors in political science. A student may not apply more than 12 hours of political science courses numbered 4990-4998 toward the hours required for the major in political science.

Curriculum
Downloadable checklists

Political Science Major:

* See General Course Requirements and Approved Electives in Liberal Arts Section of the University Catalog.

(1) Or satisfaction of the oral communications competency requirement through another course with significant oral component; must have approval of department chair.

Political Science Pre-Law Concentration:

*See General Course Requirements and Approved Electives in Liberal Arts Section of the University Catalog.

Political Science Quantitative Research Concentration:

* See General Course Requirements and Approved Electives in Liberals Arts Section of the University Catalog.

1. Or satisfaction of the oral communications competency requirements through another course with significant oral component; must have approval of department chair.
2. Note that some of these courses fulfill Social Science/Humanities electives.

Students concentrating in political science must complete 33 hours in their major, including courses 2151, 2600 or 2700 and 2900 (which also fulfills the computer literacy requirement) as well as three hours in economics (1203, 1204, or 2000 level or above), six hours in math above 1022, and six hours in History 2501 and 2502.

The nine hours in foreign language must be in the same language. Alternatively, students may opt to take 12 hours in two foreign languages (6 hours in each of two languages). If the 12-hour option is chosen, it reduces approved electives by 3 hours. Be sure that there is at least one Humanities course at or above the 2000 level among the electives.

Students also must demonstrate oral communication competence, either by passing Drama and Communications 2650 or 2660, or by satisfying the significant oral component of any course that includes such a component.

Students with 45 hours or more who have not completed Political Science 2900 are advised to take that course at the first opportunity.

At least 18 hours in political science must be chosen from courses numbered over 3000. At least one course must be chosen in U.S. politics: 4170, 4210, 4310, 4600, 4601, 4621, 4630, 4640, 4650, 4653. At least two upper-level courses must be chosen from the fields of comparative politics (course numbers beginning with ‘47’) and/or international relations (course numbers beginning with ‘48’).

Students shall select 12 additional hours in humanities and social sciences (other than political science) at or above the 3000 level and 22 additional hours in any field.

Minor in Political Science
Students must complete 18 credit hours in political science, including Political Science 2151, 2600, and 2700. The remaining nine hours are to be chosen from political science courses above the 3000 level. A 2.0 average must be achieved in these courses in order to earn the minor.

Minor in Political Science with Pre-Law Concentration
Students must complete 18 credit hours in political science. Political science 2151 and 2200 are required. The remaining 12 hours are to be chosen from Political Science 2450, 4101, 4410, 4420, 4440, 4640, and 4860. A 2.0 average must be achieved in these courses in order to earn the minor.

Honors in Political Science
Students majoring in political science and wishing to graduate with honors must meet the following requirements: A cumulative grade point average of at least 3.5 in political science courses, an overall grade point average of at least 3.25, and completion of a senior honors thesis which includes six hours of credit for Political Science 4991. Students must arrange for a faculty member in the department to direct the thesis, and the thesis is to be defended orally before a committee composed of the thesis director, another member of the department, and a representative of the honors program.

Why a Career in Political Science?
(American Political Science Association Brochure0 Excerpt)

Political Science is both a classical discipline and one of the most recently developed social sciences. The origins of the study of politics reach back to the beginnings of human society. Inquiries about the nature of governments, their leaders and publics, what shapes public policies, and international interactions among nations have always been important.

Aristotle characterized politics as the “queen of sciences,” and he classified governments according to their various structures, the power of their leaders, and the involvement of their people. Throughout history, philosophers have addressed the same issues. Machiavelli was an astute student of political power. St Thomas Aquinas analyzed the origins and legitimacy of political order. Among the many other political theorists are Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, John Stuart Mill, Karl Marx, and Simone de Beauvoir.

Political theory and practice were joined in the crafting of the United States Constitution in Philadelphia in 1787. The authors of the constitution, particularly James Madison, were political theoreticians of the first magnitude. They endeavored to mold political theories into a constitutional design for political institutions responsive to a country with diverse populations and regions. Constitutional amendments and interpretations as well as social, economic and political events contribute to the evolution of American government.

Much of contemporary political science encompasses a wide range of topics and methods of inquiry. In the twentieth century, the evolution and growth of political science scholarship was taken place primarily in the United States. It is also important to recognize the contributions to political theory and analysis made by European scholars who left Europe in the 1930’s, 1940s, and 1950s, such as Hannah Arendt and Paul Lazersfeld. At the end of the twentieth century, the study of political science is conducted throughout the world.

In the past century, political science scholarship, although continuing to embrace philosophy, law, and history, has expanded to scientific inquiry and analytical theory about political behavior and political decisions. Data collections—for example, to examine questions based upon the theories of cognate social sciences such as psychology and sociology—and hypothesis testing, as well as economic and mathematical modeling and policy analysis are significant approaches to the study of politics and governments, domestic and international. Political science continues to include new phenomena with greater accuracy. Political science today seeks constantly to become more rigorous in its standards of inquiry and proof. It is also a far more diverse discipline than in the past with a growing number of women and minorities, both majoring in political science and teaching it.

What do Political Scientists Study?
Political science is a broad discipline in both content and methods. Political science includes philosophical, historical, and analytical studies of governments, politics, and policies. Political scientists may focus on political behavior, decision making, processes, organizations, and public politics. Inquiry in political science addresses the domestic and international politics of the United States and all other countries and regions. Political scientists study the political values, attachments, and activities of people, individually and in groups. Political science examines both what preferences people share and how they differ according to their personal attributes and positions in the economy and society. Political science also studies how people regard and trust each other as well as their leaders and governments. Consequently, political science has many facets and offers opportunities for many different concentrations. Some topics of interest are listed below:

The American Political Science Association (APSA) publishes a book that provides information on possible career paths in political science. Copies may be purchased at the APSA website: http://www.apsanet.org/pubs/careers.cfm

Additional Information
Should you have any additional questions or concerns regarding your career choice, feel free to contact our Coordinator of Undergraduate Studies, Dr. Christine L. Day, by phone at 504-280-6997 or email clday@uno.edu.

The University of New Orleans reserves the right to change fees without prior notice.