Law and Politics (B.A.)

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In the United States, nearly every important political issue eventually ends up in the courts. The law and politics major at Southern New Hampshire University provides you with a solid foundation in the art and science of politics, and insight into what it means to "think like a lawyer," both in the United States and around the world. 

The law and politics major prepares students for careers in electoral or interest group politics, political and public policy consulting, the civil service, and the diplomatic corps, and in any of the vast array of public- and private-sector fields that require a broad liberal arts education and the skills that the political science major provides, such as journalism, business, and education.  The major also prepares students for graduate study in political science, public policy, or public administration, for post-undergraduate paralegal studies, and for law school, as well as for a lifetime of citizenship in a politically and legally complex and increasingly globalized world. 

For more information about career opportunities for law and politics majors, see "Careers and the Study of Political Science:  A Guide for Undergraduates," which is available at SNHU's Shapiro Library or through the American Political Science Association (www.apsanet.org). 

• Major Requirements
• Semester In Washington, D.C.
• New Hampshire Presidential Primary
• Environment, Politics & Society Faculty

B.A./B.S. Core             
School of Arts and Science Course Requirements

Required Courses  (Courses are 3 credits unless otherwise noted) 
GEO 200 World Geography
POL 210 American Politics
POL 211 International Relations
POL 314 Political Theory
POL 306 The American Legal Tradition
POL 326 World Legal Traditions

SCS 224 Research Methods*
MAT 245 Statistics for the Social Sciences*
SCS 444 Capstone Colloquium*

Choose twelve credits of the following:
POL 316 Legal Reasoning and the Constitution
POL 336 Advocacy and the Law
POL 305 State and Local Government
POL 317 Campaigns and Elections
POL 324 Congress and the Legislative Process & Politics
POL 362 The American Presidency 
ENV 319 US Environmental Law and Politics**
ENV 329 Int'l Environmental Law and Negotiation**
ENV 349 Comp Environ Law/Sustainable Development**
POL 410A Semester in D.C./Pol Sci Field Trip (12 credits)***
POL 410B Sem in D.C./Pol Sci Seminar***
POL 413A Sem in Washington, D.C./Pre-Law Field Exp (12 credits)***
POL 413B Sem in Wash, DC: Pre-Law Seminar***

*Taken as part of the B.A./B.S. core.
**See the course descriptions for non-POL prerequisites for these interdisciplinary courses.
***Students who spend a semester in Washington, D.C., count twelve of the fifteen credits awarded for either POL 410A and POL 410B or POL 413A and POL 413B combined toward the requirements of the major, and the rest as free electives.

Graduation Requirements
SNHU 101 First Year Seminar: Foundations in Critical Thinking
Free Electives

Semester in Washington D.C.
Beginning in their junior year, political science majors may elect to spend a semester in the nation's capital as a student in SNHU's Semester in Washington, D.C., program.  The Semester in Washington, D.C., program promotes learning by doing among SNHU political science majors and minors and other SNHU students through for-credit internships and academic seminars hosted by The Washington Center in Washington, D.C. The Washington Center is an independent, not-for-profit organization that since 1975 has provided internship programs and academic seminars to college students from throughout the United States and around the world, and is affiliated with more than 850 colleges and universities nationwide.  The Washington Center provides students with housing and places them in internships appropriate to their interests. For more information, see the course descriptions for POL 410A through 413A and POL 410B through 413B,, email Paul Barresi (Political Science Chair), or visit The Washington Center.

New Hampshire Presidential Primary
Southern New Hampshire University's location in the largest city of the state with the first-in-the-nation presidential primary offers political science majors a unique opportunity to observe and participate in presidential politics at the grass-roots level. In POL 317, which is offered during the height of the New Hampshire presidential primary season, students not only study presidential politics at the grass-roots level, but acquire hands-on experience as interns with presidential campaigns. For more information about the New Hampshire presidential primary, see The New Hampshire Political Library.

University Accreditation

SNHU is a fully accredited university. Access our list of accreditations. More...