Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with Pre-Law Option

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About

Planning on going to law school or working as a paralegal? The 82-credit Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with the Pre-Law Option will help prepare you for success.

In this program, you’ll study American government, political theory, political philosophy and develop the skills you’ll need in graduate school. After completing a set of required courses, you’ll choose from electives in the following subfields:

  • American Government & Politics
  • International Relations & Comparative Politics
  • Political Philosophy

Our graduates find jobs in the public sector, as well as domestic and international business firms.

Curriculum & Requirements

Why Pre-Law at Eastern?

Our degree programs will bring you face-to-face with the issues and concerns of living in a complex world where some measure of public action is necessary to make life livable.

No matter which degree option you choose, you’ll have the opportunity to get hands-on experience through an internship.

Our graduates enter the fields of law, public administration, teaching, political staff work and public relations.

EWU and Gonzaga Law 3+3 Pre-Law Degree Path

Learn about the opportunity to get your Law Degree in 6 years!

3+3 Pre-Law Path

What You'll Learn

The following information comes from the official EWU catalog, which outlines all degree requirements and serves as the guide to earning a degree. Courses are designed to provide a well-rounded and versatile degree, covering a wide range of subject areas.

Political Science with Pre-Law Option Major, Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Notes:

  • no substitutions for core courses;
  • two years of a single high school foreign language or one year of a single college-level foreign language is required.
Required Introductory Courses
POLI 100INTRODUCTION TO US POLITICS5
POLI 202INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL THEORY5
POLI 203INTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVE POLITICS5
POLI 204INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL POLITICS5
Disciplinary Core
POLI 300U.S. JUDICIAL PROCESS5
POLI 313ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL POLITICAL THOUGHT5
or POLI 314 MODERN WESTERN POLITICAL THOUGHT
POLI 320INTERNATIONAL SYSTEMS5
POLI 332THE U.S. PRESIDENCY5
POLI 335U.S. CONGRESS5
Required Senior Level Courses
POLI 490SENIOR CAPSTONE5
POLI 493PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT1-2
Elective Requirements
Choose two 300 level courses from two subfields10
Choose two 300 level courses from the American Government subfield 10
Choose two 400 level courses below POLI 495 from two subfields 10
Subfield Distribution Lists
American Government and Politics
U.S. JUDICIAL PROCESS
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
U.S. CIVIL RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES
JURISPRUDENCE
BASIC CONCEPTS OF CRIMINAL LAW
U.S. CONSTITUTIONAL SYSTEM
AMERICAN POLITICAL THOUGHT
FEDERALISM, STATE AND LOCAL POLITICS
THE U.S. PRESIDENCY
PUBLIC MANAGEMENT
U.S. CONGRESS
U.S. POLITICAL PARTIES AND ELECTIONS
STATE LEGISLATIVE POLITICS EXPERIENCE
MOCK TRIAL I
TOPICS IN AMERICAN POLITICS
MOCK TRIAL II
International Relations/Comparative Politics
INTERNATIONAL SYSTEMS
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
U.S. FOREIGN POLICY
COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL WATER POLICY
EUROPEAN POLITICS
POLITICS OF DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY
POLITICS OF THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
POLITICS OF SOUTH ASIA
TOPICS IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND COMPARATIVE POLITICS
Political Philosophy
JURISPRUDENCE
ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL POLITICAL THOUGHT
MODERN WESTERN POLITICAL THOUGHT
AMERICAN POLITICAL THOUGHT
MARX AND MARXISM
NATIONS, NATIONALISM AND PATRIOTISM
TOPICS IN POLITICAL THEORY
Total Credits82

The following plan of study is for a student with zero credits. Individual students may have different factors such as: credit through transfer work, Advanced Placement, Running Start, or any other type of college-level coursework that requires an individual plan.

Courses may be offered in different terms and not all courses are offered every term, checking the academic schedule is paramount in keeping an individual plan current. There may be some courses that have required prerequisites not listed in the plan, review the course descriptions for information. Students should connect with an advisor to ensure they are on track to graduate.

All Undergraduate students are required to meet the Undergraduate Degree Requirements.

This major requires the completion of the World Language requirement. Students pursuing a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree must complete two years of a single language in high school or one year of a single language in college.

First Year
Fall QuarterCreditsWinter QuarterCreditsSpring QuarterCredits
ENGL 1015ENGL 2015MATH 1075
POLI 100 (Social Science BACR 1)5POLI 202 (Social Science BACR 2)5POLI 203 (Global Studies - graduation requirement)5
Humanities & Arts BACR 115Humanities & Arts BACR 215Natural Science BACR 115
 15 15 15
Second Year
Fall QuarterCreditsWinter QuarterCreditsSpring QuarterCredits
POLI 2045POLI 3005Political Science Elective - American Government35
Political Science Elective - 300-level25POLI 313 or 3145Diversity - graduation requirement15
Natural Science BACR 215Political Science Elective - 300-level25Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective5
 15 15 15
Third Year
Fall QuarterCreditsWinter QuarterCreditsSpring QuarterCredits
POLI 3355POLI 3325POLI 3205
Political Science Elective - American Government25Political Science Elective - 400-level45Political Science Elective - 400-level45
Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective5Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective5Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective5
 15 15 15
Fourth Year
Fall QuarterCreditsWinter QuarterCreditsSpring QuarterCredits
POLI 4932Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective5POLI 490 (Senior Capstone - graduation requirement)5
Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective5Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective5Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective5
Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective5Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective5Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective5
Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective3  
 15 15 15
Total Credits 180
1

University Graduation Requirements (UGR) and Breadth Area Course Requirements (BACR) courses may be less than 5 credits and additional credits may be required to reach the required 180 total credits needed to graduate.  Students should connect with an advisor to ensure they are on track to graduate.

2

Choose two 300 level courses from two subfields.

3

Choose two 300 level courses from the American Government subfield.

4

Choose two 400 level courses below POLI 495 from two subfields.

University Competencies and Proficiencies

English 
Quantitative and Symbolic Reasoning
Placement and Clearance 
Prior Learning/Sources of Credit AP, CLEP, IB

General Education Requirements (GER)

  • Minimum Credits—180 cumulative credit hours 
    • 60 upper-division credits (300 level or above)
    • 45 credits in residence (attendance) at Eastern, with at least 15 upper-division credits in major in residence at Eastern
  • Minimum Cumulative GPA ≥2.0

Breadth Area Core Requirements (BACR)

Humanities and Arts 
Natural Sciences 
Social Sciences

University Graduation Requirements (UGR)

Diversity Course List
World Language (for Bachelor of Arts)
Global Studies Course List
Minor or Certificate
Senior Capstone Course List

Application for Graduation (use EagleNET) must be made at least two terms in advance of the term you expect to graduate (undergraduate and post-baccalaureate).

Use the Catalog Archives to determine two important catalog years.
Requirements in Degree Works are based on these two catalog years:

  1. The catalog in effect at the student's first term of current matriculation is used to determine BACR (Breadth Area Credit Requirements) and UGR (Undergraduate Graduation Requirements).
  2. The catalog in effect at the time the student declares a major or minor is used to determine the program requirements.

Students who earn a BA in Political Science with Pre-Law from EWU should be able to:

  • analyze legal cases;
  • analyze the values that underlie different forms of governments;
  • appraise political issues;
  • communicate about politics clearly and professionally;
  • critique foundational issues embedded in political questions;
  • describe sources of law;
  • explain how socioeconomic diversity plays a role in political affairs.

Sample Courses

POLI 305. JURISPRUDENCE. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: POLI 100 and POLI 202.
This course examines the philosophical underpinnings of the idea of law by examining the evolution of legal thought from Natural Law thinkers through Postmodern conceptions of legal reasoning. It includes discussion about the concepts of rules and justice as well as the nature and possibility of legal reasoning.

Catalog Listing

POLI 370. MOCK TRIAL I. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: permission of instructor.
Mock Trial I exposes students to courtroom procedures in civil or criminal cases, studying a trial as one form of dispute resolution. Working in teams, students receive a fictional legal case and prepare and argue both sides of that case by applying rules of evidence in a simulated courtroom. Students play the roles of attorneys and witnesses as they prepare and present their case to a panel of judges. POLI 370 focuses on the basics of preparing and building a fictional legal case and introduces students to trial advocacy.

Catalog Listing

POLI 402. TOPICS IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND COMPARATIVE POLITICS. 5 Credits.

Notes: may be repeated for credit.
Pre-requisites: POLI 203 or POLI 204.
The topic of this course varies from quarter to quarter, depending on student and faculty interests. Topics in the past have included international law, international organizations (especially the European Union), problems of the international political system, comparative analysis of West European gender regimes, causes of political change and political stability, modernization and political development, causes and results of revolutions, the impact of social forces on the political system. The course may cover other topics as faculty and student interests change.

Catalog Listing

POLI 304. U.S. CIVIL RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: POLI 100.
This course examines the history and development of civil rights and liberties in the constitutional context of the United States. It emphasizes the problems of racial, religious, economic, political and sexual discrimination and their remedies under the law.

Catalog Listing