Planning a Major or Minor in Government

Political science is a highly diverse field united around a core interest.  Political scientists study power, and especially power used for public purposes:  how it is created, organized, distributed, justified, used, resisted, and sometimes destroyed.  They study power both normatively and empirically.  They study it in different settings:  within states, among states, and in spaces that states do not (or no longer) control.  They consider past as well as contemporary patterns.  They use a wide array of approaches and methods to gain leverage on the even wider array of questions they pose.

The field of Government, or Political Science, is divided into four "subfields." These are American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Relations, and Political Theory/Public Law.

For the class of 2008 and later, the major and minor in Government require you to choose courses according to some intellectual plan of study.  You may do this by answering the following questions: Why do you want to study politics?  What particular topic or puzzle drew you to the Department?  Perhaps you are interested in the impact of domestic politics on foreign policy (or the reverse); maybe you want to know everything there is to know about politics in the United States (or China or Chile or Germany or Nigeria or Egypt). 

On Major and Minor Plan of Study Forms below we will ask you to articulate your interests and come up with an appropriate academic plan.  In all likelihood, you will find that your interests span the traditional subfields of American political science: American politics, comparative politics, international relations, and political theory. 

• Major Plan of Study Form (class of 2008 and later)
• Minor Plan of Study Form (class of 2008 and later)

Questions about major or minor requirements can be directed to the Department Administrator, Christine Gex at: Christine.Gex@dartmouth.edu

Special Provisions

• The prerequisite to the Government major is one course in statistics and the methods of social science: Government 10 or its equivalent (Economics 10, Math 10, Math and Social Sciences 15 or 45, Psychology 10, Sociology 10, or Social Science 10).
• Under College policy, Government 7 (First-Year Seminar) may not be counted toward the major or minor.
• Transfer Credit information
• Transfer students will normally be expected to complete at least five of the ten courses required for the major (or at least four of the seven courses required for the minor) on campus, or in courses taught by members of the Department.
• Unlike other Departments whose higher course numbers indicate advanced level, Government courses numbered 11-79 are all of intermediate level. Higher numbers simply indicate different subfields.
• No course may count toward both the Major and a Minor.
• Major GPA is figured on all Government courses taken (not including the prerequisite).
• Effective January 1, 2004, No Government courses may be taken under the NRO.

The Modified Major

As a consequence of the introduction to the Minor, the Department of Government has discontinued the Modified Major. This includes both modified Majors in which Government was the primary component (e.g., Government Modified with History) and those in which it was the secondary component (e.g., History Modified with Government). Students who seek to modify a major in another department with courses in Government may do so by using the option of a Modified major without indication of the secondary department (e.g., History Modified).