The Department of Political Science is a small group of active scholars committed to teaching, research and community activities.  Our goal is to provide quality education to all our undergraduate students, including those who wish to become majors or minors in the discipline, and those whose objective is to learn the fundamentals about government and politics so that they may become more informed and better citizens.

The expertise of our faculty spans several areas of the study of politics, including Canadian government at all levels, constitutional and criminal law, comparative government of Europe, the US and the developing world, modern and contemporary political behaviour, and international politics, among others. We make every effort to ensure that all our students have an ample choice over their three or four years of study by offering a wide range of courses, some basic, some more advanced.

Despite its small size, the department is proud to have significant number of majors and minors each year, numbering currently about fifty. This means that classes are relatively small beyond the first year-between 15 and 30 students- and that students have an opportunity to become engaged in classroom discussion and to get to know faculty members as well as other students in a congenial yet challenging learning atmosphere.

In the best tradition of liberal arts education, many of our students take political science because of their deep interest in public affairs.  Other proceed to graduate school, or to careers in journalism, law school, public service, political parties, consulting or active politics.  We are proud that some of these students have completed and are now completing masters and doctoral degrees elsewhere in Canada or abroad and that a significant number have been and are now involved in politics as members of parliament or provincial legislatures.

The department also offers students opportunities for extra-curricular activities through the Political Science Club and the Peace Garden Conference. The student-run Club organizes talks, debates and participation in model United Nations at other universities. The annual conference held in the Peace Gardens is a get-together of students from Brandon University and Minot State University who discuss papers and socialize, thereby helping Canadian-American relations.

Faculty  

Lime most other departments at BU, ours is small.  This means that all professors take teaching undergraduate students very seriously as a primary goal of their own careers in academia, and strive to make the learning experience for students as challenging and stimulating as possible.  Our faculty members also believe that research and publishing are important not only to enhance their own academic careers, but also to make the learning experience of students more inspiring.  In addition, all of us are involved in a significant way in community activities, including appearances in the various communications media, political activism or participation in government offices. 

Programs 

The department offers a balanced and complete undergraduate degree, including a three and four-year major and minor.  A three-year major is required to take at least 30 credit hours of study, while a four-year major needs to have 48 hours in political science to graduate, including at least 9 credits of courses at the 300 or 400 level.  A three year minor requires a minimum of 18 credit hours of study, while a four-year minor consist of 24 credits. Students should consult the Undergraduate Calendar for details of the requirements and offerings at all levels to complement the comments that follow.  Of particular importance is the fact that four-year majors need to receive a minimum GPA of 3.0 in order to graduate with an honours degree.  In addition to all regular courses, four year majors may request to take 499, a three-credit course of independent study called Topic, Which involves writing a mini-thesis or major research paper.  If approved by the chair and the Dean, they will be assigned a supervisor under whom the research may be conducted.  

All students are required to take either 130 Introduction to Politics (six credit hours) or 172 Contemporary Political Issues (three credit hours) (or both) as a basic entry to the discipline.  They may not normally take any other courses until they have completed this prerequisite. 

Our program is divided up into sub-fields of study that include Canadian, Comparative, International, Theory and Policy.  (see below).  All our majors need to take at least one course each of these sub-fields so as to ensure that they have a good general background in various aspects of the discipline.  Minors are required to take at least one course in three of the sub-fields.  The remaining credits are optional to ensure that students can follow their respective interests. 

 Schedule of Courses for 2007-2008

Students should realize that not all courses listed in the Calendar can be offered each and every year.  The Department makes a serious effort to rotate all courses on a two or three year basis depending on their perceived importance and student/faculty interest.

Please check the Course Schedule for courses offered in the 2007-2008 year.  Please note that circumstances beyond our control may force cancellation or changes of the schedule provided. above. We will try and keep this list updated.

E-mail queries: Dr. Meir Serfaty will respond to e-mail queries from prospective students. Please feel free to contact him at serfaty@brandonu.ca