Political Science
Taylor Hall
541-552-6123
Paul Pavlich, Chair
The political science major at Southern Oregon University is
designed to educate citizens for active participation in a democratic
society. The courses in the department are geared toward American
government and public administration and policy within the context of the
liberal arts. Students find political science useful preparation for
graduate study and careers in law, teaching, business, and governmental
service at local, state, or federal levels. Students majoring in the
discipline are encouraged to: 1) enroll in internships and practicum
studies with student government, government agencies, and law offices; 2)
participate in the department's Center for Social Research; and 3) begin
their training as career professionals and public managers.
Degrees
BA or BS in Political Science
Minors
Political Science
Public Adminstration
Requirements for Major
Students pursuing a major in political science must meet the
following requirements:
- Fulfill baccalaureate degree requirements as stated
beginning on page 21.
- Choose an option area: American Government or Public
Administration and Public Policy. Both options require the following
courses:
| America and Globalization (PS 110) and Business,
Government, and Society (PS 111/BA 110), or Power and Politics
(PS 201) and Authority and Law (PS 202) | 8 |
| Research Methods (PS 398) | 4 |
| Senior Seminar (PS 498) | 4 |
American Government Option
- American Politics (PS 313) 4
- Twenty four credits from the following
list:
| Politics and Film (PS 260) | 4 |
| Politics of Mass Media (PS 310) | 4 |
| Public Opinion/Survey Research (PS
311) | 4 |
| Women and Politics (PS 318) | 4 |
| Political Campaigns (PS 324) | 4 |
| Law, Science and Environment (PS 340) | 4 |
| Government Relations and Public Policy (PS
417) | 4 |
| Policy Analysis (PS 432) | 4 |
| Administrative Law (PS 435) | 4 |
| Health Care Policy (PS 436) | 4 |
| Environmental Law and Policy (PS 441) | 4 |
Public Administration and Public Policy
Option
- Complete Public Management and the Environment (PS 330)
and Public Policy (PS 331) 8
- Complete 20 credits from the following:
| Public Opinion/Survey Research (PS
311) | 4 |
| Business/Government and Nonprofits (PS 321/BA
320) | 4 |
| Law Science and the Environment (PS
340) | 4 |
| Principles of Finance (PS 385/BA 385) | 4 |
| Government Relations and Public Policy (PS
417) | 4 |
| Nonprofit Management (PS 430A) | 2 |
| Nonprofit Management (PS 430B) | 2 |
| Public Administration (PS 431) | 4 |
| Policy Analysis (PS 432) | 4 |
| Principles of Human Resource Management (PS 434/BA
481) | 4 |
| Administrative Law (PS 435) | 4 |
| Health Care Policy (PS 436) | 4 |
| Project Development and Management (PS
437) | 4 |
| Environmental Law and Policy (PS 441) | 4 |
- Maintain a minimum 2.5 GPA in upper division political
science courses.
Minors
Political Science
(24 credits minimum)
| America and Globalization (PS 110), Power and Politics
(PS 201), or Authority and Law (PS 202) | 4 |
| Research Methods (PS 398) | 4 |
| At least 16 additional credits with 12 credits at the
upper division level | 16 |
Public Administration
(24 credits minimum)
| Public Management and the Environment (PS
330) | 4 |
| Public Policy (PS 331) | 4 |
| Government Relations and Public Policy (PS
417) | 4 |
| Public Administration (PS 431) | 4 |
Two of the following:
| Public Opinion and Survey Research (PS
311) | 4 |
| Business Government and Non Profits (PS 321/BA
320) | 4 |
| Principles of Finance (PS 385/BA 385) | 4 |
| Nonprofit Management (PS 430A/430B) | 4 |
| Policy Analysis (PS 432) | 4 |
| Principles of Human Resource Management (PS 434/BA
481) | 4 |
| Administrative Law (PS 435) | 4 |
| Health Care Policy (PS 436) | 4 |
| Project Development and Management (PS
437) | 4 |
Political Science Courses
See Course Prerequisites PolicyLower Division Courses
| PS 110 America and Globalization |
| 4 credits |
| Introduces the nature of politics and markets, paying special attention to the politics of the United States in an interdependent world of nation states. Also explores other actors, such as the United Nations, Amnesty International, multinational corporations, and terrorist groups. Addresses the question of how an international community can respond to pressing global problems, such as environmental degradation, the need for peacekeepers, and rapid technological change. Approved for General Education (Explorations). |
| PS 111 Business, Government, and Society |
| 4 credits |
| Surveys the interrelationships among business, government, and society and how they affect individuals and managers. Explores how societal conditions are continually altered by historical forces reshaping the economic, cultural, political, technological, and ecological terrain on which individuals and managers operate as well as the force of the stakeholders, who are increasingly challenging traditional ideas about organizational ethics and social responsibility. Approved for General Education (Explorations). (Cross-listed with BA 110.) |
| PS 199 Special Studies |
| Credits to be arranged |
| PS 201 Power and Politics |
| 4 credits |
| Explores the dynamics of power in the pursuit of political objectives. Analyzes social, political, economic, and cultural power. Distinguishes between power and force. Approved for General Education (Explorations). |
| PS 202 Authority and Law |
| 4 credits |
| Looks at the institutional structure of social, economic, cultural, and political authority. Examines the formal, legal underpinnings of legitimate authority. Approved for General Education (Explorations). |
| PS 260 Politics and Film |
| 4 credits |
| Explores the role of feature film as an expression of prevailing political culture. Offers a better understanding of how film serves simultaneously as a political archive and a potential agent of social propaganda or social change. |
Upper Division Courses
| PS 310 The Politics of Mass Media |
| 4 credits |
| Examines the impact of politics on the development of mass media and the influence of mass media on political development. Offers a critical analysis of historic and contemporary American mass media treatment of political actors and events in the U.S. and around the world. Topics include partisan, ideological, and corporate biases in the press; the political relevance of “entertainment” programming; the development of “investigative reporting”; and the emergence of Web-based political publications as challengers to the dominance of traditional electronic and print media. Prerequisite: Completion of all lower division General Education requirements. Approved for General Education (Synthesis). |
| PS 311 Public Opinion and Survey Research |
| 4 credits |
| Covers the techniques of opinion-gathering and measurement. Students explore the literature of survey research and conduct actual polls of their campus and community. Essential course for students seeking a career in politics, management, or business. |
| PS 313 American Politics |
| 4 credits |
| Reviews the institutions, founding principles, and workings of government in America. Topics include the founding and the Constitution, federalism, the presidency, Congress, the judiciary, civil liberties, political parties and pressure groups, elections, and the role of government in the economy. |
| PS 318 Women and Politics |
| 4 credits |
| Provides a framework for understanding the ways that women interact with the political system. Studies the reasons for using gender as an analytic category, womens participation in the political process, and the ways that governmental policies affect womens lives. |
| PS 321 Business, Government, and Nonprofits |
| 4 credits |
| Looks closely at the underlying principles, values, and prescribed role of the for-profit sector, the public sector, and the nonprofit sector primarily in American society. The sector the organization resides in affects how an organization acts, responds, creates relationships, and uses resources. Explores the coordination, cooperation, collaboration, and necessary relationships among the sectors. Prerequisite: Completion of all lower division General Education requirements. Approved for General Education (Synthesis). (Cross-listed with BA 320.) |
| PS 324 Political Campaigns |
| 4 credits |
| Investigates modern American elections and the complex processes that influence them. Topics include the U.S. Electoral College, the media, psychology of political oratory, campaign finance, grassroots organizing, and balloting reforms such as Oregons direct mail ballot and electronic voting. |
| PS 330 Public Management and the Environment |
| 4 credits |
| Explores the historical, conceptual, and normative foundations of public resource administration. Examines how U.S. Forest Service and BLM administrators deal with political superiors and various publics in implementing environmental policy, with a focus on public lands controversies in southern Oregon. |
| PS 331 Public Policy |
| 4 credits |
| Provides a basic understanding of the U.S. public policy process. Considers models of policy agenda setting, adoption, implementation and evaluation. Covers economic, energy, environmental, intergovernmental, social welfare, health, and civil rights policy. |
| PS 340 Law, Science, and the Environment |
| 4 credits |
| Examines the capability of the legal system to satisfactorily resolve environmental and other disputes that require decision-makers to reach conclusions based on scientific evidence. Tracks a lawsuit or administrative proceeding involving environmental issues from beginning to end, exploring the difficulties scientists, lawyers, and juries face when trying to make sense of one another. Prerequisite: Completion of all lower division General Education requirements. Approved for General Education (Synthesis). |
| PS 385 Principles of Finance |
| 4 credits |
| Presents the fundamentals of time-value-of-money and the application of net present value decision-making techniques. Topics may include the valuation of stocks and bonds, capital budgeting, the principles of risk and return, and the cost of capital and capital structure. (Cross-listed with BA 385.) |
| PS 398 Research Methods |
| 4 credits |
| Introduces the basic techniques of political science research and writing. Incorporates the Internet and government documents. Meets the computer literacy requirement for political science and international studies majors. (Cross-listed with IS 398.) |
| PS 399 Special Studies |
| Credits to be arranged |
| PS 401/501 Research |
| Credits to be arranged |
| PS 403/503 Thesis |
| Credits to be arranged |
| PS 405/505 Reading and Conference |
| Credits to be arranged |
| PS 407/507 Seminar |
| Credits to be arranged |
| PS 409/509 Practicum |
| Credits to be arranged |
| PS 417/517 Government Relations and Public Policy |
| 4 credits |
| Examines the ways business and nonprofit organizations influence U.S. politics and policy, including impacts on the legislative, executive, and judicial branches and the regulatory process. Covers techniques of campaign finance, lobbying, and shaping public opinion. Prerequisite: PS 313. |
| PS 430A/530A Nonprofit Organization Management |
| 2 credits each |
| The first of a two-part course offered over two terms. Surveys nonprofit managers primary areas of responsibility, including the history and philosophy of American nonprofit organizations, organizational change and development, learning organizations in nonprofit settings, and current issues in nonprofit management. Prerequisite: PS 321 or PS 336. (Cross-listed with MM 530A.) |
| PS PS 430B/530B Nonprofit Organization Management |
| 2 credits |
| The second of a two-part course offered over two terms. Provides a minimum of 12 hours of fieldwork, including interviews with nonprofit leadership, board assessments, and participation in management and governance meetings. Students augment their fieldwork with lecture and discussion sessions, reading and journal assignments, and presentations. Prerequisites: PS 321 or PS 336; PS 430A. (Cross-listed with MM 530B.) |
| PS 431/531 Public Administration |
| 4 credits |
| Focuses on federal, state, and local administrative practices, principles of organization, policy formulation, and decision making in public organizations. Explores the impact of bureaucracy on state and local government politics. Examines traditional organizational processes, including leadership styles, communications, policy formulation, power, authority, community and political linkages. |
| PS 432/532 Policy Analysis |
| 4 credits |
| Examines methods for identifying and structuring public policy problems and issues, formulating and analyzing alternative responses, recommending policy actions, and designing and evaluating implementation plans. Prerequisites: PS 331 and PS 398. |
| PS 434/534 Principles of Human Resource Management |
| 4 credits |
| Examines the personnel function and its relationship to the objectives of the organization. Analyzes personnel issues in selection, appraisal, and development of the work force. Surveys traditional administrative functions and trends in personnel management, including compensation and benefits, affirmative action, and grievance handling. (Cross-listed with BA 481/BA 581.) |
| PS 435/535 Administrative Law |
| 4 credits |
| Explores the law of public agencies, such as the scope of an agencys authority, decision making, tort claims, and freedom of information and open meeting requirements. |
| PS 436/536 Health Care Policy |
| 4 credits |
| Examines the development of the policies of the health care delivery system in the United States. Studies the impact of policy on the delivery system. Prerequisite: PS 331. |
| PS 437/537 Project Development and Management |
| 4 credits |
| Offers a detailed look at the characteristics of nonprofit projects and a hands-on team simulation of the project planning and management process. |
| PS 441/541 Environmental Law and Policy |
| 4 credits |
| Examines the major techniques and strategies used by policymakers and regulators to protect and enhance the environment. Pays special attention to the economic, social, and political barriers that prevent effective regulation of the environment. |
| PS 469/569 Topics in Political Theory |
| 4 credits |
| Examines selected concepts, themes, ideologies, and theorists in the study of politics. Offers the following and other topics as needed: Modern Political Theory, Political Ideologies, Critical Theory, Equality and Freedom, and American Political Thought. Repeat credit is allowed for distinct topics. Prerequisites determined by topic. |
| PS 498 Senior Seminar |
| 4 credits |
| Enables students to apply the concepts, principles, and theories of political science to a practical simulation of political action. |
Political Science
