Arizona State University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Department of Political Science

Secondary Education — B.A.E.

This degree is offered through the Initial Teacher Certification (ITC) program in the College of Education. Students pursuing a major in Secondary Education with an academic specialization in political science have an advisor in the College of Education and an advisor within the Department of Political Science.

See College of Education in General Catalog, for information on admission eligibility requirements, admission deadlines, field experiences, and student teaching. For more information, or to schedule an appointment with an advisor, call the Office of Student Services in the College of Education at 480/965-5555.

Academic Specialization ITC Admission Requirements

At least four required courses in the academic specialization must be completed with a grade of “C” (2.00) or higher before applying to the ITC professional program.

Political Science

The major teaching field consists of 41–42 semester hours and six hours in teaching methods. A minimum grade of “C” (2.00) is required in all academic specialization courses. Required major courses are as follows:

  • POS 101 Political Ideologies SB 3
  • POS 110 Government and Politics SB 3
    or POS 310 American National Government SB (3)
  • POS 150 Comparative Government SB, G 3
    or POS 160 Global Politics SB, G (3)
  • POS 311 Arizona Constitution and Government 2
    or POS 417 The Arizona Political System SB (3)
  • POS 417 The Arizona Political System 3
  • Electives1 15
  • Related area1 12
  • Total semester hours 41–42
  • 1Six hours must be in the upper division.
  • 2Choose in consultation with a department advisor.

Students are required to complete two methods courses, one of which is SED 480 Methods of Teaching Social Studies. For the second methods course, students select from the following:

  • GCU 414 Teaching Geography Standards 3
  • GCU 494 ST: Geography in the K–12 Classroom 3
  • HST 480 Methods of Teaching History: Classroom Resources 3
  • HST 481 Methods of Teaching History: Community Resources 3

The minor teaching field consists of 24 semester hours in political science courses.
The following six courses are required:

  • HST 480 Methods of Teaching History: Classroom Resources 3
  • POS 101 Political Ideologies SB 3
  • POS 110 Government and Politics SB 3
    or POS 310 American National Government SB (3)
  • POS 150 Comparative Government SB, G 3
    or POS 160 Global Politics SB, G (3)
  • POS 301 Empirical Political Inquiry SB 3
  • POS 417 The Arizona Political System SB 3
  • Total semester hours 18

Courses may be substituted for POS 417 and 480 with departmental approval.
Students who pursue this academic specialization in political science must have a minimum GPA of 2.00 for all courses that count toward the academic specialization. Upper-division courses that count toward the academic specialization must have a grade of “C” (2.00) or higher; no more than one “D” (1.00) grade in a lower-division course may be counted in the minor.

Social Studies

This degree is offered through the Initial Teacher Certification program in the College of Education. Students pursuing a major in Secondary Education have an advisor in the College of Education and an advisor within the department of their academic specialization area. See College of Education in General Catalog, for information on admission eligibility requirements, admission deadlines, field experiences, and student teaching. For more information, or to schedule an appointment with an advisor, call the Office of Student Services in the College of Education at 480/965-5555.