Program Requirements

The Honours Political Science program consists of 20.0 credits, of which no more than 7.0 may be at the junior level (100 level). The program must contain at least 10.0 in Political Science, including:

Required PO Courses:
PO101, PO102, PO217, PO218, PO237.

1.0 International Requirement credit from: PO220, PO221, PO231 and PO232.

1.0 Canadian credit from: PO210, PO245, PO263, and PO264.

0.5 Area Studies credit from: PO318, PO319, PO369 and PO370. (Some PO310 special topics courses may also fulfill this requirement)

0.5 300-level credit. (refer to Notes 1 and 3)

1.0 400-level PO Seminar credit (must be comprised of two different courses; refer to Notes 1, 2, and 3)

Degree Program Electives: Additional courses to reach a minimum 9.0 senior PO credits within the 20.0 credit degree. A maximum of 6.0 electives may be at the 100 level.

The Honours BA Political Science (Sussex LLB Stream) enables students who successfully complete its requirements to earn an Honours Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree from Laurier and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree from the University of Sussex, United Kingdom (UK) in six years.

The Honours BA in Political Science is only available at the Waterloo campus. It consists of 20.0 credits of which no more than 7.0 credits may be at the 100 level. Students are not permitted to combine two majors.

Due to the compacted nature of the Sussex Stream, students are required to pursue their degree in the following manner:

Additional Information

• Honours BA Political Science and LLB (Sussex) Stream
• Program Note
• Application to Sussex
• Progression Requirements

Honours BA Political Science and LLB (Sussex) Stream

Program Note

Students in the BA Political Science (Sussex Stream) may not declare the Legal Studies Option, or take the following Legal Studies courses: PO209, PO212, PO331, PO333, PO371, PO380, PO389. The law curriculum will be delivered at Sussex.

Application to Sussex

1. Students will apply to Sussex via the standard Sussex application procedures. Students will apply through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) for entry. Students will provide Sussex full application documents, including high school and university transcripts, references (Laurier students will submit references on a standardized reference form), and a personal statement, in line with normal admissions procedures. Sussex will consider applications according to its normal procedures. Students will be guaranteed an offer of a place if they meet the progression requirements described above and where students have achieved Sussex's standard English language entrance requirements, where appropriate.
2. Note: The University of Sussex reserves the right not to provide a guaranteed offer after consideration of any relevant unspent criminal convictions a student may have. Sussex recommends that if students have a conviction, Laurier contact the Admissions Office to discuss this before proceeding further.
3. Transfer Students into Year 2 (WLU only):
   In exceptional cases, first-year students outside of the Sussex BA/LLB Program may apply to transfer into the Program. Admission into the Program is at the sole discretion of the Sussex Admissions Committee. Normally, a student's application will not be accepted unless the following non-exhaustive conditions are met:
   
   • As of May 1 of the applicant's first year, the student has completed 5.0 credits, and;
   • The student's overall GPA is at least 8.00, and at least 7.00 for all courses within the student's major, and;
   • The program at WLU or at Sussex has space for more students, and;
   • The committee believes that the student will succeed in the program, according to any evidence it deems relevant.
   Inquiries about a transfer into the Honours BA/LLB program should be made through the Political Science Sussex Co-ordinator. Application for transfer into Year 2 of the Honours BA/LLB program should be made by May 1 by submitting a Program Transfer Request Form.

 Progression Requirements

1. Progression to Year 2 requires completion of five credits during Year 1 with a minimum cumulative GPA of 7.00 in all Political Science courses and a minimum cumulative GPA of 8.00 in all 5.0 credits. All credits taken during Year 1 will be included in the GPA requirements for progression into Year 2. These course and GPA requirements must be achieved by August 31.
2. To be recommended for application to the Sussex LLB program in year three, students must have maintained a minimum overall GPA of 8.0 (B) over all credits completed over their first three full terms (i.e, minimum 7.5 credits). These course and GPA requirements must be achieved by December 31 of the students' second year.
3. Refer to the University Regulations chapter for progression and course regulations and the earlier section regarding Regulations for All Honours Programs.

The requirements are the same as stated in the Honours Political Science except that a minimum of 7.0 credits in Political Science is required.

Degree Program Electives: An additional 13 credits toward the degree total of 20.0 credits. Electives must include a minimum of 0.5 credits in senior Political Science courses. Additional 100 level credits are permitted, but cannot exceed the maximum specified in the link above.

The Political Science Honours BA with Legal Studies 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.

A cumulative GPA of 7.00 in the courses specific to the Legal Studies Specialization is required to graduate.

• At least 1.5 of the required 2.5 credits in the Specialization must be completed at Wilfrid Laurier University.
• Completion of the Specialization requirements will result in a "Legal Studies Specialization" designation on the student transcript.

Required Courses (2.5 credits):

1. PO210
2. 2.0 credits from: PO209, PO212, PO331, PO333, PO350, PO371, PO381, PO382, PO383, PO389 (refer to Note 2 below).

 Additional Information

• Notes

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.
A cumulative GPA of 7.00 in the courses specific to the Public Policy Specialization is required to graduate.

• At least 1.5 of the required 2.5 credits in the Specialization must be completed at Wilfrid Laurier University.
• Completion of the specialization requirements will result in a "Public Policy Specialization" designation on the student transcript.

Required Courses (2.5 credits):

1. PO245, PO345
2. 1.5 credits from: PO316,PO325, PO334, PO344, PO347, PO373, PO382, PO405, PO420 and PO433

The Research Specialization is available to Year 4 Honours Political Science students only. To be eligible, students must have achieved a minimum grade of 8.00 (B) in each 300-level political science course they completed in Year 3 (a minimum of two such courses is required), and must have achieved a minimum average of 8.0 in all political science courses taken in Year 3.

The requirements for the Honours Political Science with Research Specialization program are the same as stated in the Honours Political Science, except that students must take:
PO478*, PO479*, and 0.5 additional seminar credits at the 400 level, instead of 1.0 seminar credit at the 400 level.

Program Link:https://academic-calendar.wlu.ca/program.php?cal=1&d=1886&p=4027&s=896&y=77

The Minor in Public Policy offers students throughout the Laurier community the opportunity to acquire a valuable toolkit that will equip them to make direct and more meaningful connections between the knowledge they acquire within their home department and faculty and the world in which they 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 students for a competitive labour market upon graduation.

Students will be required to take require courses that introduce them to the public policy cycle and the tools of policy analysis, and then choose from a suite of courses which explore environmental, social, aboriginal, foreign and other policy issues, and develop writing skills for policy-making.

The Minor in Public Policy consists of a total of 3.0 credits, which includes:
PO245 and PO345 and
2.0 credits chosen from the following:
PO316, PO334, PO344, PO347, PO373, PO420 or PO433.

The Master of Applied Politics program incorporates research and professional elements. The program offers practical skills such as policy, electoral and media analysis, survey instrument design, and problem solving in domestic and international contexts, that are grounded in the theoretical foundations of the discipline. The program encourages the development of a range of skills related to policy-making, the public service, advocacy and the private sector.