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Overview | Honours | Summary of Courses

Offered By:	ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences
Academic Contact:	Dr David West

Political Science is the study of human relationships that involve power, rule, or authority. It is about how societies govern themselves and how societies ought to be governed. It is about how nations relate to each other. It is about the political behaviour of individuals and groups that occurs in all societies. It is about those who have political power in society and those who do not.

Political Science is a broadly-based discipline offering courses that span a number of sub-fields. First-year courses provide an introduction to the study of politics while later-year courses allow students to take more specialised courses within (and across) four principal areas:

1. Political thought and political theory,
2. Australian government and public policy,
3. Comparative politics and comparative public policy, and
4. International politics.

Requirements

A major in Political Science usually consists of any two first-year courses in Political Science followed by later year courses in Political Science for a total of 42 units (see the summary of courses page).

There are no compulsory requirements in the major and students can take a broad range of advanced courses or, if they choose, specialise in one or two of the four principal areas identified above.

There are no prerequisites for entry into first-year courses, but those offered at later-year level normally require at least successful completion of two first-year courses in Political Science.

First Year Courses
The first year in Political Science usually consists of two of four available courses. (See courses under the heading First Year). A Political Science major usually starts with POLS1002 Introduction to Politics in the first semester followed by one of up to three courses offered in the second semester. However, it is possible for students to take two courses in the second semester and thus complete the first year of Political Science in one semester. Students who enter in mid-year may spread their first year in Political Science across two calendar years (by taking one course in the second semester and then POLS1002 Introduction to Politics in the first semester of the following year).

For information on Honours in Political Science click here.