Political Science Courses

Find course information and syllabi for courses offered through Saint Louis University's Department of Political Science.

Course Syllabi

Undergraduate Classes

Graduate Classes

Undergraduate Rules for Picking Classes

Take at least one class in each subfield before you explore more classes in a single subfield. SLU’s Department of Political Science’s four main subfields are American politics, comparative politics, international relations and political thought.

Classes in American politics have a "1," "2," or "3" as the second digit from the left of the course number: e.g., 1100, 2100, 2200, 3300.

Comparative politics classes have a "5" as the second digit from the left of the course number: e.g.,1510, 2530, 3570.

Classes in international relations have a "6" as the second digit from the left of the course number: e.g., 1600, 2610, 3610, 4620.

Political thought classes have a "7" as the second digit from the left of the course number: e.g., 1700, 3710, 3720, 4750.

Classes with designations of 2930, 3930, 4930 or 5930 are "special topics" numbers. Ask your department mentor to find out which subfield these courses belong to. Courses with an "8" as the second digit from the left may fulfill more than one subfield, though only one will count for the major distribution requirements. Again, you'll need to ask your department mentor.

1000 and 2000-level classes are appropriate for beginning political science students. For most people, it is better not to take 3000-level or higher courses until after you have taken two or three 1000- and 2000-level courses.

Take two or three introductory classes in a variety of subfields before taking methods. Try to take methods in your sophomore year. If that doesn't work out, you should take methods in the first semester of your junior year.

If you take four or five upper-level political science classes in one semester, prepare for a lot of reading. You could also try to rearrange your schedule.

Before taking a 4000-level seminar, you must take a methods course and another course within the same subfield as the seminar. Ideally, you would take the introductory course in the subfield and one or two others related to the seminar topic.

Internships do not count as seminars.

If you choose to do an honors thesis, you must first take a methods class and a few classes relevant to the area you want to research. You may not start an honors thesis on a topic in which you have little background.