Undergraduate Embedded Certificate in Political Science
The discipline of political science is within the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, and the minor is offered by the School of Public Policy. Undergraduate courses in political science are intended to broaden students’ perceptions of political processes and governmental institutions.
Certificate and minor programs in political science, administered by the School of Public Policy, are available for students who wish to concentrate coursework in this discipline.
For more information about the Certificate in Political Science and how to apply, click here.
Program of Study
The Certificate in Political Science requires POL 1101 (or equivalent) and twelve (12) semester credits in public policy of which at least nine (9) are 3000 or above, with a letter grade of C or better in each.
In all cases, students should have their program of study approved by the Political Science Minor/Certificate supervisor before enrolling in a course they intend to count toward the certificate. For a general guide of possible courses with which to develop a program, students should consult the catalog and recent Oscars.
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| POL 1101 | Government of the United States ((Or, equivalent)) | 3 |
| Select 12 hours from the following: 1 | 12 | |
| Comparative Political Philosophies and Ideologies | ||
| Political Philosophy | ||
| State and Local Government | ||
| Foundations of Public Policy | ||
| American Constitutional Issues | ||
| Judicial Process | ||
| Leading Social Organizations | ||
| Introduction to Social Policy | ||
| African American Politics | ||
| Survey Research Methods | ||
| Social Policy Issues | ||
| Women and Public Policy | ||
| Business and Government | ||
| Science, Technology, and Public Policy | ||
| Critical Issues in Science and Technology | ||
| Mass Communication Policy | ||
| 1 | Nine hours must be at least 3000/4000-level. |
Institute and School Guidelines
The minor/certificate degrees follow Institute and School guidelines that include the following:
- No more than 6 semester hours of Special Topics courses may be included in a minor/certificate program. No more than 3 semester hours of pre-approved political science internship credit may be applied to the Political Science minor or certificate.
- Courses required by name and number and/or used to satisfy Core Areas A through E in a student's major degree program may not be used in satisfying the course requirements for a minor/certificate. Important: if a student is using a course to fulfill the social science requirement in the student’s major, that course cannot be counted toward the Political Science minor/certificate. However, courses used in a minor/certificate also may be used to fulfill other elective requirements (free electives, technical electives, etc.) in the student's major degree program.
- A course may not be counted toward more than one minor and/or certificate.
- In some cases, students may be pre-approved to count one political science-related course taught in another school at Georgia Tech toward the Political Science minor/certificate.
- All courses counting toward the minor/certificate must be completed in residence at Georgia Tech, be taken on a letter-grade basis, and completed with an overall grade point average of at least 2.00.