A minor in Political Science is a great complement to other majors across the University. These programs are offered in conjunction with other academic colleges at Penn State. Their range illustrates the relevance of politics to nearly all aspects of our society.
Political Science
The Political Science Minor gives students an opportunity to enhance their study of any field with an understanding of political, legal and regulatory processes in the United States and/or internationally. Since nearly all human activities are influenced by politics, knowing something about specific institutions and understanding the dynamic between organizational structures and human behavior can give students greater insight into the factors shaping their major field and extend their employment prospects. The political science minor is a particularly good complement to majors with relevance to public policy, as well as to majors that prepare students to work in multiple regulatory environments and in fields that rely on public funding.
**Please note: Students pursuing International Politics major and Political Science BA, may not pursue the Political Science Minor.**
Politics and Public Policy
The minor in Politics and Public Policy enables students in any major to develop a robust understanding of the political and governmental processes through which public policies are formulated and implemented. Students learn various frameworks for designing and evaluating governmental policies, along with tools to analyze the impact and effectiveness of those policies. The knowledge and skills cultivated by the minor are important to any citizen interested in how government can and does respond to collective problems, as well as to future leaders who strive to influence the policymaking process. The minor is particularly useful to students who are interested in applying the expertise they are developing in their major field of study to public debate, decisions, and administration, and to those aspiring to careers at the intersection of industry and government regulation.
Global Security
The Global Security minor provides students with the theoretical frameworks and practical skills to understand the technical, legal, ethical and regulatory dimensions of security. Students are introduced to various methods to identify and respond to security threats and the strengths and weaknesses of the different approaches. The program also emphasizes the social, historical, and cultural factors that underlie both conflicts between states and conflicts between state and nonstate actors. The minor is a collaboration between the College of the Liberal Arts and the College of Information Sciences and Technology.
**Please note: Students pursuing International Politics-National Security option, may not pursue the Global Security Minor.**
Business and the Liberal Arts
The Business and Liberal Arts minor combines business courses with a selection of courses in the Liberal Arts that emphasize various perspectives on business, as well as entrepreneurship and ethics. All students take a Business and the Liberal Arts course co-taught by faculty and alumni and a course on leadership. Students have considerable flexibility in selecting other courses to fulfill the requirements for the minor, thus the program is easy to customize to students’ interest in particular regions, disciplines and aspects of business.
Legal Studies
Laws affect every person, everywhere, every day. Laws structure the rights and responsibilities of citizens, the conduct of business, and the powers and obligations of governments. The minor in legal studies introduces students to a variety of perspectives on the law, its operation, and its effects in different contexts. This minor is an excellent complement to the major field of study for students who are interested in the broad ways that law touches citizens’ everyday lives as well as for students with more focused interests in the legal environment and consequences of their primary area of study. The program will be particularly valuable to students outside of the liberal arts who are interested in law. The array of courses from which students can choose to complete the minor makes the program compatible with a wide range of majors, including engineering, business, criminal justice, communication, environmental/resource management and sustainability, information technology, and intellectual property.