Go Global in Law or Politics with a Law & Politics Major from SNHU
In developed countries like the United States, law and politics are closely intertwined. At the same time, the globalization of national economies worldwide means that lawyers from common law jurisdictions like the United States and civil law jurisdictions (like most developing countries) often find themselves working side by side in business transactions, where sharp differences in legal cultures can lead to misunderstandings and miscommunication.
The law and politics major at Southern New Hampshire University offers international students an opportunity to explore these issues by providing insight into what it means to "think like a lawyer," both in the United States and around the world, as well as with a solid undergraduate foundation in the art and science of politics as practiced in the United States, abroad, and internationally.
Our Bachelor of Arts in Law and Politics (International) candidates spend their first two years in a law, politics or other degree program at their home universities, then complete their remaining degree requirements in two years on our campus. They also take all of their SNHU law and politics courses with American peers, immersing themselves not just in the legal and political content of their coursework, but in American culture and university life, too.
SNHU's beautifully wooded, 120-hectare campus is set on a hillside above the Merrimack River on the outskirts of Manchester, New Hampshire. Once in the forefront of America's Industrial Revolution, Manchester is now New Hampshire's biggest city - a sophisticated, multicultural urban center with 110,000 inhabitants. New Hampshire is one of the six states of the New England region, which forms the northeastern corner of the United States, and was among the first regions to be settled by English-speaking colonists. SNHU's campus is an hour west of the Atlantic Ocean, an hour south of some of the region's most impressive lakes and mountains, and an hour north of Boston, Massachusetts, which is New England's biggest city. With a population of 625,000, this coastal metropolis enjoys an international reputation as a hub of literature, learning, medical research, and high-tech industry, and is a popular weekend destination for the students from the dozens of colleges and universities in the area.
See Yourself Succeed as a Law & Politics Major
SNHU is an ideal place to study law and politics because of the state of New Hampshire's unique role as host to the first-in-the-nation presidential primary election, which often is the most crucial stop for the many men and women seeking Presidential office.
The candidates start their primary election campaigns as early as a year and half before the general election, meeting face-to-face with ordinary voters throughout New Hampshire in their homes and workplaces, in restaurants and diners, and on the street. Two recent presidential candidates, including Hillary Clinton in 2008, have chosen SNHU as their primary election night campaign headquarters. In 2007, Barack Obama delivered the commencement speech at SNHU's graduation ceremony shortly before launching his own presidential campaign.
As a private, nonprofit university, SNHU has one mission - to help you see yourself succeed. The benefits of majoring in law and politics for international students at SNHU include:
- Supportive community. Join the SNHU campus community of students who are closely connected with faculty and staff dedicated to your success.
- Affordability. SNHU is one of the most affordable private, nonprofit universities in New Hampshire, and students who qualify could receive up to $20,000 in grants and scholarships. (This scholarship amount is only for students who do not need a visa to study in the U.S.)
- Innovative programs. Save time and tuition with our three-year degree programs or study abroad at little or no extra cost.
- Accessible faculty. Learn from highly credentialed faculty who are experts in their fields and interact with you in the classroom, dining hall, fitness center and the stands.
- Opportunity. Tap into our nationwide network of alumni and strong connections with employers for internship and career opportunities.
- Campus experience. Enjoy more than 50 student clubs, champion Division II athletics and fun events on our 300-acre campus in Manchester, NH, named a "Best Place to Live" by Money magazine.
​Internships & Outcomes
Historically, lawyers have always commanded high salaries, and opportunities within this field will remain steady at 6% growth through 2024. Those looking to pursue a career as a political scientist will be pleased to know that the median pay in the field reached nearly $100,000/year in 2015, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Facts like these make now an excellent time to enter either profession.
Curriculum
Our BA Law and Politics faculty brings a wealth of experience to the classroom. For example, as a lawyer at one of the region's biggest law firms, Dr. Paul Barresi helped to advise major multinational corporations in complex legal compliance matters. As a political scientist, he's an expert on American political culture. Dr. Dean Spiliotes is an SNHU Civic Scholar, veteran political analyst and blogger whose expertise on presidential politics and the state of New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation presidential primary election is sought out by major media outlets from throughout the United States and around the world.
The array of faculty teaching law or politics courses at SNHU also has included a former mayor of New Hampshire's biggest city, a former World Bank and Ford Foundation consultant with experience working in Asia, Africa and elsewhere, and a former research associate in the civil litigation and criminal appeals divisions of the State of Florida's attorney general's office.
Prerequisites for the program include:
- 60 credits from an SNHU-approved university, at least three of which must be derived from an introductory American politics course transferred to SNHU as POL 210. Students transferring credits from a university that does not offer an introductory American politics course must take POL 210 at SNHU in the summer term immediately preceding the students' first fall semester on the SNHU campus.
- 3.0 GPA equivalent
- TOEFL score of at least 500/61, or IELTS score of at least 6.0
The curriculum itself begins with general education courses, required courses in geography, political theory and more, then includes your choice of specialty classes, among them: Campaigns and Elections, The American Presidency, and U.S. Environmental Law and Politics.
Courses To Prepare You For Your Career
SNHU's bachelor's in international law and politics program includes:
- General education
- Degree-specific courses
General Education Program
Our programs are designed to equip you with the skills and insights you need to move forward. In recent years, employers have stressed the need for graduates with higher order skills - the skills that go beyond technical knowledge - such as:
- Writing
- Communication
- Analysis
- Problem solving
All bachelor's students are required to take general education classes. Through foundation, exploration and integration courses, students learn to think critically, creatively and collaboratively, giving you the edge employers are looking for.
Courses May Include
ENG
120
College Composition I
ENG-120 is a college-level writing course that introduces students to various forms of academic discourse. Students are required to prepare essays in a variety of rhetorical modes, including exposition, description and argumentation. In addition to out-of-class writing assignments, students will be required to compose in-class essays in response to readings and other prompts. ENG 120 introduces students to process-writing techniques, library research and MLA documentation procedures. The primary focus of ENG 120 is to help students acquire the writing skills they need to succeed in an academic environment. Enrollment is kept intentionally small, typically 15 students per section, to assure maximum benefit.
ENG
200
Sophomore Seminar
This is a theme-based seminar that builds on the skills learned in SNHU-101 and ENG-120, focusing on information literacy (the ability to locate and evaluate information) as well as written and oral communication skills. The theme of the course will vary according to the instructor, but in all sections, students will conduct extensive research on the topic and communicate their knowledge in a variety of oral presentations and writing assignments that will culminate in a research paper. To be taken during the student's sophomore year.
MAT
240
Applied Statistics
This is a fundamental course in the application of statistics. In this course, students will learn to apply statistical techniques to a variety of applications in business and the social sciences. Students will learn how to solve statistical problems by hand and through the use of computer software. Topics include probability distribution functions, sampling distributions, estimation, hypothesis testing and linear regression.
HIS
104
The Modern World: Exploring the Past
A skills-oriented introduction to the study of history for majors and non-majors alike. Through the study of a key episode or event in the Modern period, students will develop foundational historical skills: reading, writing, analysis, creative and critical thinking, and problem solving. Students will learn how to handle both primary and secondary historical sources, to evaluate historical evidence, and to analyze historical arguments.
GEO
200
World Geography
This course examines the implications of global location and topography for the people of planet Earth. Students will explore how geography shapes the dynamics of human societies, with an emphasis on the geoenvironmental, geopolitical, and geosocial phenomena that help to define the modern world.
POL
210
American Politics
This course offers a broad introduction to the structure and function of the American political system at the national level, including the roles played by the president, Congress, the courts, the bureaucracy, political parties, interest groups and the mass media in the policy- making and electoral processes. This course places special emphasis on how the efforts of the framers of the Constitution to solve what they saw as the political problems of their day continue to shape American national politics in ours.
POL
211
International Relations
This course offers a broad introduction to the study and practice of international relations, including the roles played by states and nations, non-state actors, national interests, power, morality and international law. This course places special emphasis on realism and idealism as alternative approaches to the study and practice of international relations and on their implications for ongoing efforts to construct a peaceful and prosperous global political system in the aftermath of the Cold War.
POL
306
The American Legal Tradition
This course offers a broad introduction to the American legal tradition, including the structure and function of the courts, the legal profession, legal education, and the politics of judicial selection. As an introduction to what it means to "think like a lawyer" in the United States, students learn how to write parts of a predictive legal memorandum of the type that first-year law students learn how to write, in which they analyze a legal issue of concern to hypothetical clients by applying the reasoning and conclusions in selected judicial opinions to the facts of the clients' case.
POL
326
World Legal Traditions
This course explores the history and contemporary significance of the world's major legal traditions, including the common law, civil law, and other municipal legal traditions, and the international law tradition. Students compare and contrast the essential features of these traditions, and explore how they shape what it means to "think like a lawyer" in the United States, in many foreign countries, and internationally.
SCS
224
Social Science Research Methods
This course offers a broad introduction to research methods in the social sciences, including surveys, case studies, experiments, and quasi-experiments. Students learn to spot design flaws in research intended to generate scientifically sound conclusions about social phenomena, and to evaluate critically the interpretations of social science research results by third-party observers, such as reporters. Students also learn how to draft a research proposal that would satisfy the requirements of peer review within the community of professional social scientists.
SCS
444
Capstone Colloquium
This colloquium serves as the capstone course for students in the sociology, law and politics, and environmental management majors. Students learn from their instructor and from each other as they apply the knowledge and skills acquired in their other course work to a directed research project in the appropriate discipline or field.
Program Outcomes
- Articulate a theoretically coherent conception of law and politics as distinct but related phenomena, and a theoretically and philosophically coherent conception of the public good
- Analyze a contemporary national, sub-national, international, or foreign dilemma at the nexus of law and politics and its implications for the public good using tools derived from the social sciences and other relevant fields
- Identify strategies of political participation that individuals could use to help to resolve that dilemma in the service of the public good, whether as legal or political professionals, private citizens, or both
Our Manchester campus aims to keep tuition and related costs low for our students so that you can pursue your degree and your goals. More than 90% of our students receive some form of financial aid, and students who qualify could receive up to $20,000 in grants and scholarships.
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Southern New Hampshire University is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education as well as several other accrediting bodies.
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