Political Science
The following are the program maps for the Political Science program for those entering second, third and fourth year. Please refer only to the information for the year you are entering.
If you have selected a specialization, please contact Academic Advising for an updated program map.
Please keep in mind that if you are out of sequence, these maps may not be right for you. Please review your full Program Map, along with your academic transcript, to guide your registration. We are happy to assist anyone who is unsure of their degree progression or their requirements for degree completion. Please feel free to contact the Social Science and Humanities Academic Advising office at SSHadvising@ontariotechu.ca
To view course descriptions and prerequisites, please visit the course descriptions section of the Ontario Tech Academic Calendar.
Year 2
Fall
- POSC 2100U – Global Politics
- POSC 2200U – Fundamentals of Policy Theory
- POSC 2300U – Mobilizing for Change
- One of:
- LGLS 2940U – Legal Research Methods or
- SSCI 2900U – Research Methods
- General elective
Winter
- POSC 2000U – Canadian Politics
- POSC 2502U – Community Development and Social Change
- General elective (2000 level or higher)
- General elective (2000 level or higher)
- FSSH elective (2000 level or higher, not POSC)
Recommended elective: POSC 2800U - Intro to Business, Economy and Society (winter)
Year 3
Fall
- POSC 3000U—Policy, Democracy and Governance
- POSC 3305U- Energy Policy: Canada in a Transitioning World
- POSC 3750U- American Politics and Political Culture
- COMM 3751U - Media, War and Conflict
- General elective (must be 2000 level or higher, any major)
Winter
- POSC 3800U – Business Politics & Macroeconomics (formerly Capitalism and Socialism
- POSC 3203U – Urban Development or
- POSC 3501U – Politics and Poverty
- General elective (must be 2000 level or higher, any major)
- General elective (must be 2000 level or higher, any major)
Year 4
- POSC 4300U – Special Topics: Politics of Provinces & Territories (fall)
- POSC 4000U – International Politics and Policy (winter)
- SSCI 4010U – Policy Development (winter)
- One of:
- POSC-approved elective
- SSCI 4005U – Independent Study
- SSCI 4101U – Honours Thesis I (fall)**
- POSC 4104U - Directed Research***
- One of:
- POSC Approved elective
- SSCI 4098U – Practicum (fall or winter)
- SSCI 4103U - Internship (fall or winter)
- Note: SSCI 4098U/4103U requires a cumulative GPA of 2.7 or higher and approval through a pre-application process.
- One of:
- POSC Approved elective
- SSCI 4102U – Honours Thesis II (winter)**
- General elective (2000-level or higher, any major)
- FSSH elective (2000-level or higher, NOT POSC)
- FSSH elective (2000-level or higher, NOT POSC)
- FSSH elective (2000-level or higher, NOT POSC)
*FSSH elective are any courses (except POSC) offered by the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities (COMM, CRMN, FPSY, INDG, LBAT, LGLS, PSYC, SOCI, SSCI, SUST).
**The Honours Thesis I and II, SSCI 4101U & SSCI4102U, and Independent Study course, POSC4005U, require an application and a minimum 3.7 cumulative grade point average (GPA).
*** The Directed Research course, POSC4104U, requires a separate application and interested students are required to have a minimm 3.0 cumulative grade point average (GPA).
POSC-approved electives
POSC-approved electives include any 3000- or 4000-level POSC courses, as well as the following courses:
Fall
- COMM 3710U – Media, Identity and Intercultural Communication
- LGLS4200U- Law and Social Change
- CRMN3040U- Restorative Justice
- CRMN3050U- Police and Society
- SSCI3910U- Advanced Data Analysis
- SSCI3920U- Advanced Qualitative Methods
Winter
- COMM 3350U – Environmental Communication: Media and Tech for Sustainability
- COMM3510U- Work in the Creative & Tech Industries (formerly Work in the Information Age)
- COMM3720U- Knowing your Audience: Audience Studies for Media Professionals and Creators (formerly Communicating Identities)
- COMM4420U: Political Communication, Digital Media & Democracy
- COMM 4610U- The Struggle is Real
- CRMN3040U- Restorative Justice
- CRMN 3056U- Race-ing Justice
- CRMN3301U- Green Crime & Eco-Justice
- LGLS3310U- Indigenous Peoples, Law and State in Canada
- LGLS3520U- Law and Technology
- POSC 2800U- Intro to Business, Economy and Society
- SSCI2910U- Data Analysis
- SSCI2920U- Qualitative Research Methods
Note: Students must be aware of and plan appropriately for elective prerequisites, particularily for the LGLS courses.
POSC electives are interchangeable by term and between years three and four, provided the number of electives listed above are taken over the two terms.
If you are entering year two or three and would like to declare the Business in Society specialization, please complete the Change of Specialization form.
Year 2
Fall
- POSC 2100U – Global Politics
- POSC 2200U – Fundamentals of Policy Theory
- POSC 2300U – Mobilizing for Change
- LGLS 2940U – Legal Research Methods
- General Elective (2000-level or higher)
Winter
- POSC 2000U – Canadian Politics
- POSC 2502U – Community Development and Social Change
- One of:
- COMM 2220U – The Media, Creativity and Culture in Canada or
- COMM 2311U – The Creative Industries: Ideas, Art, Tech, Money, Power or
- COMM 2530U – Advertising as Social Communication (FALL) or
- LGLS 2200U – Legal Theory (FALL) or
- POSC 2800U – Introduction to Business, Economy, Society or
- SSCI 2101U – Making a Difference: Intro to Social Entrepreneurship
- General Elective
- General Elective
Year 3
Fall
- POSC 3000U—Policy, Democracy and Governance
- POSC 3305U- Energy Policy: Canada in a Transitioning World
- POSC 3750U- American Politics and Political Culture
- COMM 3751U - Media, War and Conflict
Winter
- POSC 3800U – Business Politics & Macroeconomics (formerly Capitalism and Socialism
- POSC 3203U – Urban Development or
- POSC 3501U – Politics and Poverty
Two of:
- COMM 3510U – Work in the Creative and Tech Industries
- CRMN 3301U – Green Criminology and Eco-Justice
- LGLS 3410U – Labour and Employment Law
- LGLS 3530U – Intellectual Property
- LGLS 3700U – Law and Power
Political Science Advanced Entry
The information below is general 4th year information. However based on course selection and availability in previous years not all students completed the standard 3rd year requirements. Please review your full Program Map, along with your academic transcript, to guide your registration. Feel free to reach out to sshadvising@ontariotechu.ca if you have any questions.
Year 4
- POSC 4300U – Special Topics: Politics of Provinces & Territories (fall)
- POSC 4000U – International Politics and Policy (winter)
- SSCI 4010U – Policy Development (winter)
- One of:
- POSC-approved elective
- SSCI 4005U – Independent Study
- SSCI 4101U – Honours Thesis I (fall)**
- POSC 4104U - Directed Research***
- One of:
- POSC Approved elective
- SSCI 4098U – Practicum (fall or winter)
- SSCI 4103U - Internship (fall or winter)
- Note: SSCI 4098U/4103U requires a cumulative GPA of 2.7 or higher and approval through a pre-application process.
- One of:
- POSC Approved elective
- SSCI 4102U – Honours Thesis II (winter)**
- General elective (2000-level or higher, any major)
- FSSH elective (2000-level or higher, NOT POSC)
- FSSH elective (2000-level or higher, NOT POSC)
- FSSH elective (2000-level or higher, NOT POSC)
*FSSH elective are any courses (except POSC) offered by the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities (COMM, CRMN, FPSY, INDG, LBAT, LGLS, PSYC, SOCI, SSCI, SUST).
**The Honours Thesis I and II, SSCI 4101U & SSCI4102U, and Independent Study course, POSC4005U, require an application and a minimum 3.7 cumulative grade point average (GPA).
*** The Directed Research course, POSC4104U, requires a separate application and interested students are required to have a minimm 3.0 cumulative grade point average (GPA).
POSC-approved electives
POSC-approved electives include any 3000- or 4000-level POSC courses, as well as the following courses:
Fall
- COMM 3710U – Media, Identity and Intercultural Communication
- LGLS4200U- Law and Social Change
- CRMN3040U- Restorative Justice
- CRMN3050U- Police and Society
- SSCI3910U- Advanced Data Analysis
- SSCI3920U- Advanced Qualitative Methods
Winter
- COMM 3350U – Environmental Communication: Media and Tech for Sustainability
- COMM3510U- Work in the Creative & Tech Industries (formerly Work in the Information Age)
- COMM3720U- Knowing your Audience: Audience Studies for Media Professionals and Creators (formerly Communicating Identities)
- COMM4420U: Political Communication, Digital Media & Democracy
- COMM 4610U- The Struggle is Real
- CRMN3040U- Restorative Justice
- CRMN 3056U- Race-ing Justice
- CRMN3301U- Green Crime & Eco-Justice
- LGLS3310U- Indigenous Peoples, Law and State in Canada
- LGLS3520U- Law and Technology
- POSC 2800U- Intro to Business, Economy and Society
- SSCI2910U- Data Analysis
- SSCI2920U- Qualitative Research Methods
Note: Students must be aware of and plan appropriately for elective prerequisites, particularily for the LGLS courses.
POSC electives are interchangeable by term and between years three and four, provided the number of electives listed above are taken over the two terms.