We’ve all heard the jokes about the worthless bachelor degrees that people get. Those that major in these areas go through a lot of abuse. Give them credit because they’re good sports for taking all the garbage we hand them. And probably there is no person more worthy of an applause than the kid who gets a bachelor degree in political science. Good heavens, what can you POSSIBLY do with one of those? Well, it may surprise you to find out that a bachelor degree in political science is one of the most popular degrees to get for one of the most popular and oldest professions. We’re talking about those good old ambulance chasing lawyers.
Say what you want about lawyers too, but these people make an awful lot of money. And guess what? They earn every penny of it. Anyone who has passed the bar will tell you that. It’s not easy. But for now we’re just talking about getting a bachelor degree in political science. Just what is involved? What courses do you have to take? What supporting courses?
Political science is one of those areas where you can go to five different colleges and end up getting five different curriculums. There really isn’t much of a standard when it comes to political science majors. Usually, your first year, you’ll take an introduction to political science. For those of you who are wondering just what that covers, just go to any college web site and look it up. The description you’ll get is something along the lines of “a broad range of topics”. Doesn’t tell you much, does it. The truth is, political science really does cover a very broad range of topics from local government to federal government to history. Most of the history part covers items that are most directly related to government policy. For example, a political science history course may cover race riots in the 60s and how they led to equal rights laws. What you won’t find is history such as, Columbus discovering America, though you could probably make an argument for how that relates to politics as well.
In addition to your political science courses, whatever that particular college may feel is relevant, you will also need to take a number of supporting courses. Because of the broad range of topics in political science itself, the supporting courses can be pretty much anything. Most colleges will have basic minimum requirements in each academic area, such as one math and science course, one English course, etc. Again, this is going to vary from college to college.
Usually in the last year of getting your bachelor degree in political science, you’ll have to write a major paper, similar to a thesis. This paper will usually focus on some form or politics, though again, most colleges are very flexible in this area.
If it sounds like political science is not a very well defined area of study, you’d be only partially correct. The focus, while broad, basically covers the issues of living in our world under our rules and laws, whatever they may be. This is why political science is the chosen field of study for those wanting to become lawyers.