(Please note that when conferring University Graduate School degrees, minors, certificates, and sub-plans, the University Graduate School’s staff use those requirements contained only in the University Graduate School Bulletin.)

Degrees Offered

Graduate Certificate, Master of Arts for Teachers, Master of Arts

Graduate Certificate

The IU Online Graduate Certificate in Political Science provides graduate-level instruction to students interested in obtaining advanced skills and knowledge in this area.

As a student in the IU Online Graduate Certificate in Political Science, you study political philosophy, American politics, comparative politics, public opinion, and research methods. When you complete the program, you will be able to:

• Describe the subfields of political science, the central questions they address, and the methods they typically employ.
• Evaluate and critique empirical social science research through literature review and the application of tools and strategies of political analysis.
• Interpret, analyze, and trace the influence of major political thinkers and movements that have influenced the development of American democracy.
• Isolate and analyze factors that shape the political attitudes, beliefs, and preferences of individuals and groups and map their impacts on political behavior and decision making.
• Evaluate and analyze the major institutions of American national politics.
• Situate and analyze American political institutions, processes, and behaviors in a comparative perspective that accounts for regional and international differences.

Participating Campuses

IU Bloomington, IU East, IU Kokomo, IU Northwest, IU South Bend, and IU Southeast

Admissions

To be accepted to this program, you must have a bachelor's degree and a 3.0 GPA or above on a 4.0 scale.

Requirements

To earn the Graduate Certificate in Political Science, you must complete 18 credit hours.

Requirements are broken down as follows:

• Core courses (18 credit hours)

Courses

Core Courses

• POLS-P 570 Introduction to the Study of Politics I (3 credits)
• POLS-Y 567 Public Opinion: Approaches and Issues (3 credits)
• POLS-Y 580 Research Methods in Political Science (3 credits)
• POLS-Y 657 Comparative Politics (3 credits)
• POLS-Y 661 American Politics (3 credits)
• POLS-Y 675 Political Philosophy (3 credits) 

Master of Arts

The IU Online Master of Arts in Political Science offers instruction in the approaches and methods political scientists use to analyze and explain political institutions and behavior. 

As a student in this program, you read, interpret, and evaluate literature in the political science discipline. You study the role of political science within the social sciences, the various methods used to build a body of knowledge, and the application of this knowledge to the political environment around you. You trace the influence of major theories and themes in political thought, and you conduct empirical social science research. 

You may choose between a world politics track and an American politics track. 

Participating Campuses

IU Bloomington, IU East, IU Kokomo, IU Northwest, IU South Bend, and IU Southeast

Admissions

To be accepted to this program, you must have a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution and a 3.0 minimum undergraduate GPA.

Requirements

To earn the MA in Political Science, you must complete a total of 30 credit hours. Requirements are broken down as follows:

• Core courses (18 credit hours)
• Track courses (12 credit hours)

Students are required to complete one of the following 12-credit tracks:

• World politics
• American politics

Courses

Core Courses

• POLS-P 570 Introduction to the Study of Politics I (3 Credits)
• POLS-Y 580 OR POLS-Y 524 Research Methods in Political Science OR Research Methods (3 Credits)
• POLS-Y 575 Political Data Analysis (3 Credits)
• POLS-Y 529 National Institutions (3 Credits)
• POLS-Y 657 Comparative Politics (3 Credits)
• POLS-Y 600 Capstone (3 Credits)

Master of Arts for Teachers 

The IU Online Master of Arts for Teachers in Political Science combines coursework in education and political science to prepare you to be a dual-credit instructor at the high school and community college levels.

The educational component of the program teaches you how to apply the science and art of teaching to college-level instruction. Coursework covers instruction and curriculum, assessment, diversity and inclusive teaching, and research.

As a student in the political science component of the program, you study major political figures, philosophies, and movements throughout history in order to understand the political events of today. You complete coursework in subfields of political science (and the central questions they address) so that you can teach students to critically evaluate political institutions, analysis, and schools of thought. You also gain a crucial understanding of American political institutions and behaviors in comparison to political climates around the world.

Specific areas of focus include:

• Empirical theory and the scope of political science
• Political science research methods
• Political theory and political thought
• Political behavior, opinion, and identities
• Government and political institutions
• American politics in a comparative perspective

Participating Campuses

IU Bloomington, IU East, IU Kokomo, IU Northwest, IU South Bend, and IU Southeast

Admissions

To be accepted to this program, you must have a bachelor's degree. To apply, you must have completed two courses from the Graduate Certificate in Political Science with a minimum grade point average of 3.0.

Requirements

To earn the MAT in Political Science, you must complete 30 credit hours.

Requirements are broken down as follows:

• Core course (18 credit hours)
• Education component (12 credit hours)

Courses

Sample courses for the MAT in Political Science include the following:

• EDUC-H 520 Social Issues in Education (3 credits)
• EDUC-J 500 Instruction in the Context of Curriculum (3 credits)
• EDUC-Y 520 Strategies for Educational Inquiry (3 credits)
• POLS-P 570 Introduction to the Study of Politics I (3 credits)
• POLS-Y 567 Public Opinion: Approaches and Issues (3 credits)
• POLS-Y 580 Research Methods in Political Science (3 credits)
• POLS-Y 657 Comparative Politics (3 credits)
• POLS-Y 661 American Politics (3 credits)
• POLS-Y 675 Political Philosophy (3 credits)