The Major (36 hours)
For the purposes of defining undergraduate requirements for the Political Science, Pre-Law Concentration, the department has two required courses, employs four Pre-Law categories, and allows students to complete elective hours within the major with the following courses in each:
Note:
Students must complete POLS 1120 and POLS 4101.
Students with a Pre-Law concentration must complete POLS 1030 and POLS 3405. These students must also complete 6 hours in each of the following categories – Pre-Law Concentration Core, Law in the U.S., International Law, and Legal Thought. As well, students must complete 6 Pre-Law elective hours. No more than 3 lower division credit hours may be used to satisfy any of the concentration specific subfield requirements.
No more than 9 total hours of internship (POLS 4230, POLS 4231), mock trial (POLS 4709), study abroad (POLS 4399), and independent study (POLS 4702) combined may be counted toward the 36 hours required for a major in Political Science. Of these 9 hours, no more than three hours of Administrative Internship (POLS 4231), and no more than six total hours in any combination of POLS 4709, POLS 4399, and POLS 4702 may be counted toward the major.
At least 15 hours in political science must be earned in residence at the University of Memphis.
NOTE: Students who have successfully completed an equivalent social statistics course or social methods course prior to declaring a Political Science major are exempted from the requirement to take POLS 4101 and must substitute another upper-division course in Political Science.
NOTE: The College of Arts and Sciences offers additional Pre-Law advising as well as a minor in Legal Thought – Liberal Arts. These efforts from the College are designed to help prepare students for the LSAT and law school. Students with the Pre-Law concentration are encouraged to add the Legal Thought – Liberal Arts minor to their degree program and speak with a Pre-Law advisor. We also encourage students to consider a second major or minor in a field related to the area of law they wish to practice. These departments include, but are not limited to, Business, Criminal Justice, Economics, History, International & Global Studies, Music Business / Industry, Philosophy, and World Languages.
Honors Program
The department offers an honors program to qualified majors who choose to pursue a more sophisticated knowledge of the discipline, a more rigorous level of analysis, and a deeper understanding of politics. Students who have completed 55 hours of course work (with at least 9 hours in Political Science), have an inclusive grade point average of at least 3.0 and a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.25 in the major, or who can present equivalent qualifications, are invited to apply for admission to the program.
The program requires 18 hours of honors course work, 12 or more of which must be upper-division Political Science courses, and minimum final grade point averages of 3.00 overall, 3.25 in Political Science, and 3.25 in honors coursework. Honors students also have the option of completing a Senior Thesis in Political Science (POLS 4999 ). Those students who complete the program and the regular college requirements will be recognized at the commencement ceremony by having their degrees conferred “With Honors in Political Science.” Moreover, the student’s diploma and the record at the University of Memphis will reflect this distinction. Details of the program are available in the Political Science Office.
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