BA_POLS - Political Science (B.A.)

Political Science Major (B.A.) 1

General Literacy - We define this learning outcome as the ability to correctly interpret the meaning of text, select appropriate texts for support, and appropriately cite sources.

Political Science Major (B.A.) 2

Written Communication - We define this outcome as the ability to clearly express meaning to an audience through the written word.

Political Science Major (B.A.) 3

Oral Communication - We define this outcome as the ability to clearly express meaning to an audience through the spoken word.

Political Science Major (B.A.) 4

Awareness of Diversity Students - are aware of diversity when they are able to fairly and charitably articulate more than one opinion, value, and/or attitude on a given subject as well the reasons offered by those who hold these opinions, values, and/or attitudes.

Political Science Major (B.A.) 5

Quantitative Literacy/Numeracy Students - should be able to interpret simple charts, graphs, statistics and tables of social science research results.

Political Science Major (B.A.) 6

Critical Thinking We follow Pascarella and Terenzini (2005) and define critical thinking (CT) as “an individual’s capability to do some or all of the following: identify central issues and assumptions in an argument, recognize important relationships, make correct references from the data, deduce conclusions from information or data provided, interpret whether conclusions are warranted based on given data, evaluate evidence of authority, make self-corrections, and solve problems” (156).

Political Science Major (B.A.) 7

Ethical Reasoning - The purpose of this learning outcome is to assess whether or not a student is aware of the various ethical questions put into play by a topic and whether they can uncover what it is that is at stake (ethically) in a debate. (This learning does not assess whether students are able to apply ethical principles or whether they behave ethically. )

Political Science Major (B.A.) 8

Knowledge of American Political Institutions Graduates from our program should understand the functioning of American political institutions. We understand knowledge of American political institutions broadly. It includes knowledge of constitutional principles and American political institutions, understanding how different political institutions interact with each other, and knowledge of political psychology, behavior, and opinion.

Political Science Major (B.A.) 9

Knowledge of the International Political System Graduates from our program should be familiar with security studies, international political economy, international organizations, international law, and the principal theories of international relations.

Political Science Major (B.A.) 10

Varieties of Institutional Forms In addition to American government and international relations, our graduates should also be familiar with the domestic political institutions of other countries, different types of market-state relationships, and the dynamics of political change.

Political Science Major (B.A.) 11

History and Development of Political Ideas Graduates should demonstrate familiarity with the history of ideas and the main traditions in contemporary and ancient political thought.