 DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND GEOGRAPHY MISSION STATEMENTS GEOGRAPHY – The geography program is part of the Department of Political Science and Geography. The geography program offers a variety of courses. Many students enroll in one of the two introductory courses, Cultural Geography and World Regional Geography, to help fulfill the social science component of the General Education Requirement. Students preparing for a career in teaching also find the Cultural Geography course useful in meeting state requirements for certification. Other geography courses are topical (Physical, Economic, Political) or regional and provide students with an understanding of how the regions of the world relate to, and interact with, each other. A geography minor and collateral are available at Francis Marion University. Graduates with majors and minors in geography work in many areas of government and private industry. Expanding areas of employment are in the fields of planning and geographic information systems. Many students also become teachers. POLITICAL SCIENCE – The political science program provides instruction so as to enable all students to complete as part of their general education requirement an introductory-level course in political science that includes material dealing with the United States Constitution and Federalist Papers. Students may earn a major, minor, or collateral in political science. The program offers its majors a broad understanding of political phenomena, including political institutions, political processes, political behavior, political thought patterns, and contemporary political issues. The course of study for the major prescribes a set of core courses in the discipline's traditional sub-fields of American government, comparative politics, international relations, political philosophy, and political methodology. Students elect the remainder of their primary work from a range of course offerings pertaining to foreign and/or domestic American government and politics. The flexibility of the curriculum permits students to pursue a program of courses tailored to their individual interests and career goals. Graduates with a major in political science receive the broad training and develop the general competence in the discipline required to equip them for successful careers in journalism, politics, the military, public service and quasi-public agencies, commerce and industry, teaching, and other occupations for which preparation in the field is desirable, or to undertake postgraduate professional study in political science, public administration, or related areas, such as law. |
