In the Government Department, we recommend that our three introductory courses (Introduction to American Government, Introduction to International Relations, and Introduction to Comparative Politics) be taken as soon as possible, often in the first year. Any two of the three are required for all majors, but a student may take all three introductory courses if they choose to. Introduction to American Government and Introduction to International Relations are offered in the fall, while Introduction to Comparative Politics is offered in the spring.
All 100 level courses (except Research Methods) are usually fine for first year students, but 200 level courses in our department should be avoided by first year students.
Since most of our classes have very heavy reading loads, students should be cautious about taking too many courses in our department in any given semester. We encourage our students to take PLS courses or gateway courses for minors or concentrations in the first year. Since we require one History course for our majors, those focusing in American Government should take an American History course while those focusing on International Relations or Comparative Politics should take a world history course.
Students or advisors with questions should feel free to contact Mark Miller, Chair of Government, or any of the other members of the department.
Our majors choose their own advisors, with an attempt to match the sub-field focus of the advisor with the sub-field focus of the student. Thus American Government majors should contact one of the Americanists. International Relations students should contact an International Relations faculty member, and Comparative Politics students should contact a Comparative Politics faculty member.