Undergraduate Advising

College of Arts and Sciences majors and minors

Contact our office at (269) 387-5680 for an advising appointment or stop by 3308 Friedmann Hall for your major or minor requirements. You will be assigned one of our faculty advisors.
Meet with a College of Arts and Sciences advisor for your general education and pre-professional requirements.

Secondary education majors and minors

Meet with a College of Education and Human Development advisor for your general education, pre-professional and professional education requirements. Meet with Dr. John Clark, political science professor and chair, for major/minor requirements.
Additional information on this concentration can be found in the WMU catalog.

Pre-law advising

Pre-law advising is offered through the College of Arts and Sciences advising office.

Political science students should review the pre-law information specifically designed for our majors.

International and comparative politics concentration

Contact Dr. Gunther Hega to schedule an advising appointment for international and comparative politics.

Political Science students should review the international and comparative politics concentration web page for more information.

American public policy concentration

Contact Dr. Kevin Corder to schedule an advising appointment for public policy.

Political Science students should review the public policy concentration web page for more information.

Public law concentration

Contact Dr. Lauren Foley or Dr. Mark Hurwitz to schedule an advising appointment for public law.
Additional information on this concentration can be found in the WMU catalog.

Standard political science concentration

There are three faculty members who can assist with the standard political science major: Dr. Jacinda Swanson, Dr. Peter Wielhouwer, and Dr. Y.K. Wang. Contact one to schedule an advising appointment.
Additional information on this concentration can be found in the WMU catalog.

Advising tips

Begin to establish a portfolio that demonstrates competency in your field.
Stop by the Department of Political Science in 3308 Friedmann Hall to be assigned an advisor.
Your department advisor will help you declare your major or minor. There are no requirements to enroll in the major or concentrations, but only coursework with a C or better counts toward degree requirements in the major. Start your major or minor slip in your freshman year or as soon as possible. The major or minor slips are not the same as the declaration form. Major and minor slips require a list of all the courses that will be used to complete the program requirements. These slips must then be signed by your faculty advisor and when completed, turned in to the College of Arts and Sciences advising office for your graduation audit. Political sciences minors are enrolled in more than 40 different programs and are primarily concentrated in history, Spanish, Arabic, sociology, criminal justice, communications, philosophy, global and international studies, psychology, business, French and English.

Things to discuss with your advisor:

Useful combinations of majors and minors involving political science.
Career skills you can develop as part of or external to your major.
Extracurricular activities that can enhance your learning experience.
How to put together a good portfolio of skills, knowledge and experience for the job market or application to law or graduate school.
Opportunities to incorporate study abroad in your field of study.
Students may apply for department honors and the Lee Honors College and be considered for department awards.

Courses

Courses new students should take in order:

Take six to seven hours of: PSCI 2000–National Government and PSCI–2400 Comparative Politics or PSCI–2500 International Relations.
Next, in any order, take 10 to 11 hours of: any political theory course (PSCI 3600-3630), any comparative politics course (PSCI 3400-3530 or 4400-4420), and any American politics elective (PSCI 3000-PSCI 3250). PSCI 3200 is recommended for students interested in law school.
Additional courses will depend on your concentration (American public policy, international and comparative politics, public law or standard major). See your faculty advisor to select nine to 12 hours of these courses.
Second semester of your junior year or during your senior year, take PSCI 3950–Quantitative Methods and PSCI 4940 (or other writing intensive course: 4050, 4210, 4240, 4500), along with any remaining required courses.

Courses to consider outside your major:

For the American public policy concentration, we recommend a minor or additional coursework in economics or accounting. Talk to your advisor about courses that might be appropriate for your major and minor combination.