BA with a Major in Politics

In addition to the Program Requirements listed below, all Arts students must also satisfy the Bachelor of Arts (Major) requirements outlined in the Acadia Academic Calendar.

Students majoring in Politics must complete a minimum of 48h in the Politics program, including:

  1. POLS 1303: Law, Politics and Government
  2. POLS 1403: Global Politics, Law and Culture
  3. POLS 2113: Politics of Knowledge
  4. POLS 2223: Canadian Politics
  5. POLS 2683: Global Politics
  6. POLS 2893: Comparative Politics
  7. 27h additional Politics courses
  8. Politics Majors must complete the POLS 2000 Politics Passport, which is a non-credit course in each year of study.

For Double Majors, a minimum of 42h (36h if Politics is the second Major) is required.

Students majoring in Politics must complete the Arts Core. It is recommended that these requirements be completed in the first two years of study. The Arts Core includes:

  • 6h in English at the 1000-level
  • 6h in a single language other than English:Students whose first language is not English, or who can demonstrate a high level of competence in a language other than English, may substitute a second 6h in English. (French courses fill early - register ASAP for your 2nd year if you don't get in 1st year. Please follow this link and take the placement test to see which French you need.)
  • 6h Social Science: POLS courses satisfy this requirement. As a Politics Major, you are not required to take additional social science courses.
  • 6h Humanities: Art (not 2013, 2023, 3013, 3023), Classics, Comparative Religion, History, Philosophy, WGST, or Music (not applied, vocal or instrumental methods, or practical studies)
  • 6h in the Faculty of Pure and Applied Science; note, not a math-based requirement

Note: Requirements for Politics Majors were revised in 2020. Students who began their Major prior to the implementation of these changes have the choice to complete their Major as specified in the Academic Calendar of their year of entry in the program or under the current requirements. A description of these previous requirements is available HERE.

For the most up to date and authoritative list of POLS courses, consult the University Calendar.  Courses offered in current year can be found in the course catalogue in Colleague Self-Service.

You can switch your major to Politics by emailing the Department, politics@acadiau.ca.

Honours Program
Students interested in more intensive and extensive coursework and the opportunity to produce an original piece of scholarly activity, in the form of an honours thesis, should consider the Honours Program. More information on honouring in Politics is available HERE.