Program Structure

Please follow the program structure outlined in the Academic Calendar from your FIRST academic year as a student at St. Thomas University. Find the Academic Calendars HERE. If you have any questions, please contact your academic advisor. 

 Major in Political Science

Students majoring in Political Science are required to complete a minimum of 36 credit hours in Political Science, including any 1000-level POLS course or LAPS 1003, and 6 credit hours in each of the four fields of Political Science offered at St. Thomas.

  1. For Canadian Government and Politics, the 6-credit requirement is satisfied by completing POLS 2103 and one other Canadian politics course at the 2000 or 3000 level.

  2. For Comparative Government and Politics, the 6-credit requirement is satisfied by completing POLS 2303 and 2313.

  3. For International Relations and Foreign Policy, the 6-credit requirement is satisfied by completing one or more of POLS 2613, 2623, 3313, 3503, 3513, 3523, 3533, 3603, 3613, and/or 4603.

  4. For Political Philosophy, the 6-credit requirement is satisfied by completing POLS 2803 and 2813.

Minor in Political Science

The Minor in Political Science requires any POLS course at the introductory level or LAPS 1003 and 15 additional credit hours from at least two different fields of Political Science.

Honours in Political Science

An Honours BA in Political Science consists of 54 credit hours in Political Science including a 1000-level POLS course or LAPS 1003, and:

  • POLS 2103 Canadian Constitutional Politics and one other Canadian politics course at the 2000 or 3000 level
  • POLS 2303 Comparative Politics of the Developed World
  • POLS 2313 Comparative Politics of the Developing Areas
  • POLS 2613 International Relations I
  • POLS 2623 International Relations II
  • POLS 2803 The Western Tradition of Political Philosophy I
  • POLS 2813 The Western Tradition of Political Philosophy II
  • POLS 3903 Introduction to Quantitative Research Methods in Political Science
  • POLS 3913 Honours Thesis Proposal
  • POLS 4903 Capstone Seminar – Problems in Political Inquiry
  • POLS 4923 Honours Thesis
  • The list of courses above totals 36 credit hours. Of the remaining 18 credits required for Honours, students must take 3 credit hours at the 4000 level; and for the other 15 credit hours, two courses must be at the 3000 or 4000 levels

Candidates are expected to maintain a grade point average of 3.0 in the Honours subject.

In calculating the grade point average for Honours, all courses in the Honours subject will be counted.

Students must achieve at least a B in each of Political Science 3913 and 4923.

Students who wish to take the Honours BA in Political Science are strongly encouraged to consult with the Chair of the Department before the end of their second year.

Students are expected to take Political Science 3913 during their third year.

Students must complete Political Science 3913 with a minimum grade of B before they may enroll in Political Science 4923, which they must also complete with a minimum grade of B.

Students in Political Science may count the following Great Books courses toward their Major or Honours programs: GRID 2006/2106, 2206, 2306, 3206, 3306, and 3506. However, each of these courses counts for only 3 credits in their Political Science programs.

Students who have taken POLS 1006 and GRID 2006/2106 will have satisfied the POLS 2803 and 2813 requirement for the Honours and Majors programs. Students must, however, satisfy the minimum credit requirements in those programs.