COLLEGE of ARTS and SCIENCES
GOVERNMENT
Professor Nancy Baker, department head
Professors Baker, Harvey, Lapid, Taggart; Associate Professors Ackleson, Butler, Garcia, Prindeville, Winn; Assistant Professors Fuentes, Medina; College Associate Professor Seckler
(575) 646-4935; (575) 646-2052 (fax)
DEGREE: Bachelor of Arts
MAJOR: Government
SUPPLEMENTARY MAJOR: Law and Society
MINORS:
- Government
- American Government and Politics
- Comparative Politics
- International Relations
- Public Administration
- Political Theory
- Public Law
- Global Political Economy
- United States/Mexico Border Studies
- Contemporary Social Studies
The study of government (political science) blends the strengths of a liberal arts education in public affairs with a preparation for careers in federal, state, and local government, in law, in management and public administration, in public policy analysis and for general opportunities for college graduates.
The government major program calls for a thorough preparation in the study of government as described below with the opportunity for those interested in specific careers to concentrate in one of the subfields: American government and politics, public law, public administration and policy, comparative politics, political theory and international relations.
The department also offers a supplementary major in law and society, which is supportive of law-related careers.
A government minor program involving 18 credits of course work is also offered. A disciplinary field minor or a general minor may be selected. In addition, the department administers interdisciplinary minors in Global Political Economy and U.S.-Mexico Border Studies.
DEGREE: Bachelor of Arts
MAJOR: Government
Departmental Requirements
| GOVT 100G, American National Government (or HON 249G American Politics in a Changing World) | 3 |
| GOVT 110G, Introduction to Political Science (or HON 248G The Citizen and the State: Great Political Issues) | 3 |
One upper-division course in four of the six fields: public administration and policy (20/30 series), American government and politics (40/50 series), international relations (60 series, may include HON 304V), comparative politics (70 series, may include HON 307V), political theory (80 series, may include GOVT 380V), and public law (90 series). Additional credits in government to bring total credits in major to 33, including 20 upper-division. Majors will not be allowed to register in upper-division government courses until lower-level departmental requirements are completed.
Degree candidates must also complete GOVT 300 or 3 credits of course work in social science research methods. A list of approved courses is available in the department office.
Twelve hours of internship credit also are available. However, only three hours count toward the major. Internship guidelines are available in the department office.
SUPPLEMENTARY MAJOR: Law and Society
The Department of Government also coordinates a supplementary major in law and society that may be taken in addition to a regular major. The program is designed to provide a multidisciplinary preprofessional education for undergraduates who plan to attend law school or who contemplate careers in fields closely related to the legal profession, such as government, social work and law enforcement.
Departmental Requirements
The supplementary major consists of 24 credits chosen from the courses listed below. At least 18 credits must be earned in upper-division courses and 6 credits must be earned from listed courses outside the student’s primary major. Candidates for the Law and Society degree must declare their supplementary major prior to completing the last 9 credits of the program.
Core Courses (select three of the five options)
| 1. C J 205, Criminal Law I | 3 |
| 2. GOVT 395, Law and Society | 3 |
| 3. GOVT 391, Constitutional Law | 3 |
| 4. GOVT 394, Judicial Process | 3 |
| 5. One of the following three courses: C J 306, Criminal Procedural Law; GOVT 392, Civil Liberties; JOUR 493/HON 377, Mass Communications Law (same as GOVT 493 , COMM 493) | 3 |
Communication Skills (select one)
| COMM 351, Persuasion Theory and Practice | 3 |
| COMM 353, Advanced Public Speaking | 3 |
| ENGL 311G, Advanced Composition | 3 |
| PHIL 348, Writing Philosophy | 3 |
Critical Thinking Skills (select one)
| GOVT 384, Contemporary Political Theory | 3 |
| PHIL 211G, Informal Logic | 3 |
| PHIL 312, Formal Logic | 3 |
| PHIL 313, Inductive Logic and Probability | 3 |
Jurisprudence (select one)
| C J 307, Law of Evidence | 3 |
| C J 424, Forensic Law | 3 |
| GOVT 385, American Political Thought | 3 |
| PHIL 376, Philosophy of Law | 3 |
| PSY 330, Psychology and the Law | 3 |
| SOC 391, Crime and Society | 3 |
| SOC 485, Sociology of Law | 3 |
Legal Policy Issues (select two)
| BLAW 316, Legal Environment of Business | 3 |
| BLAW 385V/HON 385V, Consumers and the Law | 3 |
| C J 250, Courts and the Criminal Justice System | 3 |
| C J 332, Correctional Law | 3 |
| C J/GOVT/HIST/JOUR/SOC 399, New Mexico Law | 3 |
| GOVT 345, The Supreme Court | 3 |
| GOVT 390, Special Topics in Public Law | 3 |
| GOVT 396, International Law | 3 |
| GOVT 397, Law and Sex | 3 |
| HIST 407, Recent United States, 1960-Present | 3 |
| HLS 489, Ethics and Jurisprudence for Health Personnel | 3 |
| HON 335V, Legal Issues in Modern Society | 3 |
| HON 350V, Law, Culture, and Conflict | 3 |
| HON 352V, Crime, Justice, and Society | 3 |
| HRTM 304, Hospitality Law | 3 |
| PLAN 301, Legal Aspects of Planning | 3 |
| SOC 392, Juvenile Delinquency | 3 |
| SOC 475, Advanced Social Stratification | 3 |
Minors
The Department of Government offers a general Government minor and specialized sub field minors. In addition, the department offers two minors shared with the Department of Economics: Global Political Economy and U.S./Mexico Border Studies and a shared minor with History and other departments: Contemporary Social Studies. A student can not earn both a B.A. in Government and a general minor in Government. Students may not count S/U grades unless all grades in a particular course are S/U. All courses must be passed with grades of C or better.
MINOR: Government
| GOVT 100G, American National Government (or HON 249G) | 3 |
| GOVT 110G, Introduction to Political Science (or HON 248G) | 3 |
| Twelve additional credits, of which at least 9 are upper division, including 3 upper division courses from different subfields. The subfield series include courses in the 20/30 series (public administration and policy), 40/50 series (American government and politics), 60 series and HON 304V (international relations), 70 series and HON 307V (comparative politics), 80 series, including GOVT 380V (political theory), and 90 series (public law) | 12 |
SUBFIELD MINORS:
- American Government and Politics
- Comparative Politics
- International Relations
- Political Theory
- Public Administration and Policy Public Law
Students may not double count any upper division courses if they earn both a B.A. in Government and a Government subfield minor. Students may count a maximum of 3 credits in an independent studies course or an internship towards any of the above minors. Students may request permission to substitute courses between subfields, subject to approval of the Department of Government undergraduate committee.
| GOVT 100G, American National Government, or HON 249G, American Politics in a Changing World | 3 |
| GOVT 110G, Introduction to Political Science, or HON 248G, The Citizen and the State: Great Political Issues | 3 |
| Twelve additional credits, of which at least 9 are upper division, including 3 upper division courses from the same subfield. The subfield series include courses in the 20/30 series (public administration and policy), 40/50 series (American government and politics), 60 series and HON 304V (international relations), 70 series and HON 307V (comparative politics), 80 series, including GOVT 380V (political theory), and 90 series (public law) | 12 |
SHARED MINOR: Global Political Economy
- Core Courses (select one course from each option):
| 1. ECON 324V, Developing Nations; or ECON/IB 450V, International Economics | 3 |
| 2. GEOG 361V, Economic Geography; GEOG 362, Geography of International Development; SOC 489/GOVT 469, Globalization; or SOC 478/GOVT 477, Sociology of Development and the World System | 3 |
| 3. GOVT 360, International Relations; GOVT 362, International Political Economy; or GOVT 386, Political Economy | 3 |
| Electives: 9 credits from the following, at least 6 of which must be outside student’s major(s): ACCT 365, International Accounting; AG E 315V/GEOG 315V, World Agriculture and Food Problems; AGHE 380V, Ecosystem Earth: the Impact of Human Activities; ANTH 301, Cultural Anthropology; ANTH 306V, Peoples of Latin America; ANTH 433/WS 433, Women, Gender and Culture; COMM 475, International Communication; ECON 251G, Principles of Macroeconomics; ECON 325V, Economic Development of Latin America; ECON 330V, Business Economy of Mexico; ECON 458, Development of Economic Thought; FIN 475/I B 475, International Managerial Finance; GEOG 328V, Geography of Latin America; GEOG 461, U.S.-Mexico Border Development; GOVT 372, Comparative Politics; GOVT 363, Inter-American Relations; GOVT 364, National Security Policy; GOVT 366, American Foreign Policy; GOVT 371, Latin American Politics; GOVT 378, U.S.-Mexico Border Politics; GOVT 379, Mexican Politics; HIST 318, U.S. Foreign Relations since 1919; HIST 422, History of Global Political Economy, HL S 465, International Health Problems; HON 305V, Global Environment; HON 320V, Food and Humanity; HON 380V, Comparative Economic Systems; HON 386V, Women in the Economy; HON 390V, Economic Development of Latin America; I B 317/MKTG 317, International Marketing; I B 351, International Business; I B 398, International Business and Economic Environments; I B 458/MKTG 458, Comparative International Management; PHIL 332, Ethics and Global Poverty, SOC 361V/ANTH 361V, Social Issues in the Rural Americas; SOC 376V, Social Change; additional core courses; and appropriate Honors, special topics, or subtitled independent studies courses approved by the Department of Government or the Department of Economics and International Business | 9 |
SHARED MINOR: United States/Mexico Border Studies
Students must pass 3 courses selected from the core (1 course coming from each of 3 departments), and 3 additional courses selected from either the core, the set of additional courses, or other relevant courses approved by either the Department of Government or the Department of Economics and International Business. At least 9 of the minimum 18 credits must be upper division. Students should check the undergraduate catalog for individual course prerequisites.
| Core: ECON 331, The Border Economy; GEOG 461 U.S.-Mexico Border Development; GOVT 322, Border Security Policy; GOVT 378, U.S.-Mexico Border Politics; HIST 458, History of the U.S.-Mexico Border; SOC 479, Sociological Perspectives on the U.S./Mexican Border; SPAN 450, Mexican Cultures; SPAN 459, Spanish Sociolinguistics of the U.S.- Mexico Border; and SPAN 469, Literatura de la Frontera | 9 |
| Additional Courses: ANTH 305V, Contemporary Native Americans; ANTH 306V, Peoples of Latin America; ANTH 312, The Ancient Maya; ANTH 313, Ancient Mexico; ANTH 316, Archaeology of the American Southwest; ANTH 361V or SOC 361V, Social Issues of the Rural Americas; ART 310, Native American Art; ART 320, Art and Architecture in Pre-Columbian Meso-America; ECON 324V, Developing Nations; ECON 325V, Economic Development of Latin America; ECON 330V, The Business Economy of Mexico; ECON 450V, International Economics; ENGL 338V, Latino Literature; ENGL 339V, Chicano Literature; ENGL 361, Southwest Folklore; ENGL 394V, Southwestern Literature; GOVT 360, International Relations; GOVT 346, New Mexico Government and Politics; GOVT 363, Inter-American Relations; GOVT 371, Latin American Politics; GOVT 379, Mexican Politics; HIST 261, New Mexico History; HIST 367, Mexican-Americans in the United States; HIST 416, History of Latinos in the United States; HIST 451, Colonial Mexico; HIST 452, National Mexico; HIST 457, The Mexican Revolution; I B 351, International Business; SOC 270, Sociology of the Chicano Community I; SOC 342, Sociology of Rural New Mexico; SOC 360V, Introduction to Population Studies; SOC 470, Sociology of Latinos/as in the United States; SOC 478/GOVT 477, Sociology of Development and the World System; SOC 489/GOVT 469, Globalization; SPAN 350, Introducción a Estudios Chicanos; SPAN 353, Spanglish and Bilingualism in the United States; SPAN 364V, Culture and Civilization of Mexico; SPAN 385, Introduction to Chicano Literature; SPAN 467, Chicano Literature; additional core courses; and appropriate Honors, special topics, seminars, service learning, and independent studies courses approved by Department of Government or Department of Economics and International Business | 9 |
MINOR: Contemporary Social Studies
See requirements for this minor under Department of History.