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COURSE CATALOGUE

POLITICAL SCIENCE

Political Science
417A Lehman Hall
212-854-8422; Fax 212-854-3024
www.barnard.edu/polisci/

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJOR

A total of ten courses are necessary to complete the Political Science major:

– Three lecture courses at the 1000-level or 3000-level from different subfields,
– Two colloquia,
– Two semesters of senior research seminar, and
– Three elective courses.

The Political Science discipline is divided into four subfields:
• American Government & Politics;
• Comparative Politics & Foreign Government,
• International Relations & Foreign Policy, and
• Political Theory.
Majors have a choice of specializing in one or two subfields, selecting a broader mix of courses, or designing interdisciplinary programs that enable them to double-major, or major and concentrate, in additional fields.

Lecture courses at both the 1000-level and 3000-level are designed not merely to introduce students to particular topics in political science, but also to familiarize students with the analytic approaches that political scientists use. After taking lecture courses in the relevant subfields, students are eligible to take the two required colloquium courses. The colloquia have limited enrollment to ensure a maximum class size of sixteen; they introduce students to methods of research, and provide opportunities to develop skills in discussion and analysis. The two-semester senior seminar requires students to complete a major research paper and further develop skills in framing a research question, using rigorous analytical methods, and developing primary research sources.

The two colloquia and the two-semester senior seminar sequence must be taken with faculty at Barnard College. Many of the lecture courses may also be taken with faculty at Columbia College, if these courses are listed in the Barnard Political Science course catalogue. Various study-abroad options and summer courses may also meet your specialized interests, but these require prior consultation with your major adviser, as well as prior approval by Professor Sheri Berman, the 2009-2012 Department Chair (a form is required) and subsequent approval by the Department Chair once you apply to transfer the credit to Barnard (approval form).

Please use the Progress Report to plan your program and track your courses for the major.

Students interested in the Sciences Po–Barnard five-year joint-degree program are encouraged to meet with the Dean for Study-Abroad Advising. For questions regarding the political science aspects of this BA/MA program, please see Professor Séverine Autesserre. The requirements are at the end of this page.

Please use the Progress Report to track your Barnard courses for the major.

Lecture Course Requirement

Three lecture courses, each from a different subfield (American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Relations, and Political Theory), are required of all majors and concentrators. Any lecture course at the 1000-level or 3000-level listed in the Barnard Course Catalogue fulfills this requirement. The subfields of all Barnard courses are listed in the Course Catalogue. Most Columbia Political Science Department lecture courses at the 1000-level and 3000-level are listed in the Barnard Course Catalogue and will also fulfill this requirement, but by the choice of the Columbia Department they are not listed by subfield. Students are therefore responsible for checking with their major advisors to verify the subfield into which Columbia courses fall.

Advanced Placement Credit:
A student granted Advanced Placement (AP) credit by the College in either American Politics or Comparative Politics with an exam score of 5 will have fulfilled the prerequisite for courses that require the prior completion of POLS BC1001 or V1501, respectively. If the student wants to take the introductory American Politics or Comparative Politics course, she may do so, but she will forfeit her corresponding AP credit.
AP credit does not count toward the number of courses required for the major or minor, i.e. the student still needs to complete the ten courses for the major or the five for the minor.

Course Equivalents:
POLS BC1001 Dynamics of American Politics equals POLS W1201 Introduction to American Politics.
POLS W1002 Introduction to Political Thought does not count for Barnard major or minor credit.

Colloquium Requirement (two one-semester courses).

The colloquium format involves weekly discussion of readings, and development of research skills through completion of a 25- to 30-page research paper, constituting the major piece of written work for the course. Admission is limited to sixteen students who are assigned by the department, not by individual instructors. Students must have completed one lecture course in the relevant subfield before enrolling in the colloquium (or must receive special permission from the instructor for that requirement to be waived). Two colloquia must be completed to fulfill the major requirement. Both colloquia must be taken with Barnard instructors, from the asterisked colloquium offerings listed in the Barnard catalogue. Columbia seminars do not fulfill this requirement.

If you plan on spending part or all of junior year abroad:

Plan to take a colloquium during the second semester of your sophomore year. This means applying for the colloquium during the first semester of your sophomore year. Indicate on your colloquium application that you plan to be abroad one or both semesters during junior year.

If you plan to be away for the entire junior year, plan on taking one colloquium in your sophomore year and one the first semester of senior year. You should e-mail or write both your academic major advisor and the department administrator by the middle of March of your year abroad, in order to apply for a colloquium in your senior year.

Senior Research Seminar Requirement (a two-semester sequence)

A two-semester course involving group and/or individual tutorials. Students use the course to complete the Senior Essay, a paper of 50 to 75 pages that involves research using primary sources. Students are required to have taken a colloquium in the subfield of the proposed topic (or must receive special permission from the instructor for that requirement to be waived).

What fulfills the Senior Research Seminar requirement:

Both semesters of senior seminar are to be taken at Barnard from offerings listed in the Barnard Course Catalogue under the subheading "Research Seminars."
The semesters may not be taken concurrently, but must be taken sequentially (preferably Fall – Spring).
The senior research seminar counts for two of the ten courses required for the major.
If you double-major, you complete the senior essays in both departments. You may also double-major with a single integrating essay option, or develop a combined major with a single essay, in which case you will have an essay advisor from each department.

What does not fulfill the Senior Research Seminar requirement:

Independent Study Options may involve registration in a Senior Seminar section, but such registration does not count as a semester of senior research seminar.

No summer school course offered at Columbia or elsewhere, no course receiving transfer credit toward the degree, and no Columbia College course listed as a colloquium or seminar may be used to satisfy this requirement.

If you plan on spending junior year abroad:

You should e-mail or write both your academic major adviser and the departmental administrator by the middle of March of your year abroad, in order to apply for a section of senior research seminar (application).

Major Electives Requirement (three additional courses)

What fulfills the additional Three-Course Electives requirement:

All courses offered at Barnard or Columbia in political science listed in the Barnard Course Catalogue, including introductory lecture courses and colloquia, satisfy elective course requirements. Courses listed in Columbia catalogues which are not listed in the Barnard catalogue require approval by Professor Sheri Berman, the 2009-2012 Barnard Department Chair, before counting toward the major or concentration.
The Independent Study Option POLS BC3799. Students who wish to do an independent study project (ISP) should first speak to a political science faculty member willing to sponsor it. Credit is given for an academic research paper written in conjunction with an internship, but no academic credit is given for an internship or job experience per sé. The student must then apply to the Committee on Programs and Academic Standing (CPAS), which must approve all Independent Study requests. Once the request is granted, the Registrar creates a section and assigns a call number, and the student is notified of the call number so she can enter the course on her program. (Each instructor has a separate section and call number. Each instructor is limited to sponsoring one independent study per semester.) Students will consult with the sponsoring instructor as to workload and points of credit for the independent study course. Independent study counts as a course for the purpose of the ten-course requirement, provided the project is approved for 3 or 4 points. A project taken for 1 or 2 points does not count as a course toward the major, the minor, or the concentration requirement.
With pre-approval, first from the individual Major Advisor and then from the Department Chair, a student may substitute a course in another department for one of the three elective courses. This course cannot be an introductory course and it must have significant political science content. Approval after the fact will not be granted.
Six of the ten courses for the major must be taken from courses listed in the political science section of the Barnard Course Catalogue. Within the four-course limit of courses taken elsewhere, the following caps traditionally apply: three transfer courses; two Reid Hall courses; two study-abroad courses; one summer session course. On rare occasions the Department Chair may grant an exception.

What does not fulfill the additional Three-Course Electives requirements:

The Independent Study Option POLS BC3799 does not satisfy the course requirement if the project is for 1 or 2 points.

College-granted AP credit for American Politics or Comparative Politics does not count as major course credit. (See Advanced Placement Credit, above.)

Courses taken at other colleges, in summer sessions, or abroad, which are not equivalent in rigor and workload to Barnard courses, as determined by Professor Sheri Berman, the 2009-2012 Department Chair, in consultation with other faculty of the department, will not count toward the major or minor requirements.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE COMBINED MAJOR

A student doing a combined major in Human Rights and Political Science must complete the full requirements for the Political Science major in addition to Human Rights courses.

A student doing a combined major in Jewish Studies and Political Science must complete the full requirements for the Political Science major in addition to Jewish Studies courses.

A student doing a combined major in Women's Studies and Political Science must complete, in addition to Women's Studies courses, a minimum of seven political science courses of at least three points each, including two lecture courses and two colloquia. These seven courses must be selected in consultation with Professor Sheri Berman, the 2009-2012 Political Science Department Chair, at the time of major declaration. The two-semester senior research seminar (for the senior essay) may be written in either department. The student must consult both essay sponsors on a regular basis throughout the two-semester senior research seminar. Both departments must agree on the senior essay grade and the departmental honors nomination.

Any other combined major (for example, Art History-Political Science), or a special major, requires a petition to the Committee on Programs and Academic Standing (CPAS) and the approval of the Chairs of the sponsoring departments. (For Political Science, obtain the approval of Professor Sheri Berman, the 2009-2012 Department Chair.) The student will be required to take a minimum of seven political science courses of at least three points each, including two lecture courses and two colloquia, to be selected in consultation with Professor Sheri Berman. Obtain forms and instructions from the Class Dean in the Dean of Studies Office. The student must consult both essay sponsors on a regular basis throughout the two-semester senior research seminar. Both departments must agree on the senior essay grade and the departmental honors nomination.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DOUBLE MAJOR WITH ONE INTEGRATING SENIOR ESSAY

The student is required to complete the coursework for each major with no overlapping courses, but will write only one integrating senior essay with an essay sponsor from each of the two departments. The student must consult both essay sponsors on a regular basis throughout the two-semester senior research seminar. Both departments must agree on the senior essay grade and the departmental honors nomination.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE SCIENCES PO – BARNARD BA/MA EXCHANGE PROGRAM

In order to complete the Sciences Po – Barnard five-year Bachelor/Master of Arts requirements, the Barnard political science major should:

Complete all her major requirements at Barnard, including the two required colloquia;

Fulfill her senior thesis requirement by choosing one of the following two options:

Option 1 (which the Department of Political Science encourages): When at Sciences Po, the student takes a personal tutorial for two semesters with a Sciences Po professor assigned according to the student’s interest. The tutorial must focus on advice on bibliographical search, research strategy, methodological issues, and writing on a given topic, in order to help the student write a research paper equivalent to a Barnard senior thesis in political science. The research paper should meet the following criteria:

It should be a minimum of 50 pages double-spaced;
It should be a coherent piece of analytical writing;
It should embody the answer to some question about the operation of certain aspects of political or governmental institutions or processes, broadly conceived;
It should be based on original research conducted by the student;
It should be theoretically informed. It should be a social science paper, and not a policy one;
The student should use primary and secondary sources.

Option 2: The student enrolls in the two-semester senior research seminar in the Political Science Department during her junior year at Barnard. The Department strongly urges any student considering this option to complete her two required colloquia during her sophomore year.

Please use the Progress Report to track your Barnard courses for the major.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MINOR

A total of five courses are necessary to complete a minor. Four of these courses must be taken from courses listed in the Political Science section of the Barnard Course Catalogue. Only one political science course taken in a summer session, study-abroad program, Reid Hall Program, or another undergraduate college may be used to satisfy the five-course requirement for the minor, with the approval of Professor Sheri Berman, the 2009-2012 Department Chair.

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