Program Requirements

Students admitted to Laurier before 2021-22 may choose the requirements listed in the 2021-22 Academic Calendar or those appearing in any prior academic year during the time in which they have been a student at the university.  Requirements for all Academic Calendars can be found here.

Students admitted to the University in or after 2021-22 will follow the requirements listed in the 2021-22 Academic Calendar.  

Adding the Research Specialization to your Honours Political Science BA sends a strong SIGNAL to prospective employers and graduate school search committees that your degree is rigorous and research oriented. Moreover, research skills are an important transferable skill for jobs in government and in the private and non-governmental sectors.

The inclusion of 2.0 400-level credits in courses directly linked to research skills, in addition to a 0.5 credit 400-level class, differentiates your degree significantly. These classes are only open to high achievers in our department and are rewarding, as students in them are highly engaged and motivated.

Reference letters from instructors in PO478* and PO479* will emphasize the importance of  the Research Specialization.

Students must apply for direct entry to the Combined LLB (Sussex) and Honours BA in Political Science program and meet competitive entrance requirements. After admission to the program, they are also guaranteed admission to the University of Sussex Law School provided they continue to meet progression requirements every term they are at Laurier. Students will spend the first two years at Laurier, the next three years at Sussex obtaining their LLB credentials, and a final year back at Laurier for completion of their BA requirements.

A partnership agreement between the two universities permits the transfer of five (5.0) senior credits from the University of Sussex towards the Laurier degree. Courses prescribed by the National Committee on Accreditation of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada will be offered at Laurier in Year 6 and will fulfil Canadian regulations for the practice of law anywhere in Canada (after writing additional bar exams or articling). These Year 6 courses are also used to fulfil some of the remaining program requirements towards the Honours Bachelor of Arts in Political Science degree.

Notes

Note that students in the BA Political Science (Sussex Stream) may not declare the Legal Studies Option, or take any of the Legal Studies courses, with the exception PO210 Introduction to Law. The law curriculum will be delivered at Sussex.

The BA in Political Science program has the same requirements as the Honours BA in Political Science, with two exceptions: 

• The Political Science GPA must be between 5.00 and 6.99, and an Overall GPA of no less than 5.00.
• Students may, if they meet all other requirements for an Honours BA in Political Science, substitute 2.0 credits at the 300 level for the Honours BA requirement (1.0 credit at the 300 level and 1.0 credit at the 400 level).

The Minor in Political Science consists of:

• PO101
• PO102
• 2.0 senior Political Science credits

The Minor in Public Policy offers you the opportunity to acquire a valuable toolkit that will equip you to make direct and more meaningful connections between the knowledge you acquire within your home department and faculty and the world in which you will live and work. This minor, with its emphasis on developing hands-on analytical and communication skills and applying them to ongoing policy issues, helps prepare you for a competitive labour market upon graduation.

The required courses for Minor in Public Policy introduce you to the public policy cycle and the tools of policy analysis.  A suite of courses explores environmental, social, Indigenous, foreign and other policy issues and aim to develop skills for writing policy-making. 

Honours Political Science students with a minimum overall GPA of 7.0 at the end of Year 1, 2 or 3 are eligible to apply for the Legal Studies Specialization.

The Political Science Honours BA with Public Policy Specialization consists of 2.5 credits. Honours Political Science students with a minimum overall GPA of 7.0 at the end of Years 1, 2 or 3 are eligible to apply.

Our one-year Master of Applied Politics program offers a variety of options to fulfil program requirements. You may choose a coursework only option, consisting of eight half-credit courses, or you may choose to undertake a Major Research Project (PO695*), in addition to six half-credit courses.

There are four options to complete the Major Research Project:

• journal article option
• master’s research paper
• public opinion project
• policy analysis project

Admission to the Major Research Project will require the support of a faculty supervisor and the graduate coordinator. You will apply for the Master Research Project at the end of your first semester of graduate studies.

Course Requirements

All students must complete the two core courses:

• PO601: The Craft of Political Science
• PO602: Applied Political Analysis

Other course requirements:

• Students wishing to complete the policy analysis project must take PO604: Understanding and Applying Public Policy Analysis.
• Students wishing to complete the public opinion project must take PO633: Public Opinion and Survey Design.

With the approval of the graduate coordinator and the dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, you may choose some of your electives from those courses offered by other master's programs at Laurier, or by another university.