Things Students Need to Know to Be Successful
in the Political Science Department
Advising
- For Political Science questions and concerns, please see Andrea Messing-Mathie, Zulauf Hall 420, 815-753-7045, amessing@niu.edu. Students should call the department to schedule an appointment with the Undergraduate Advisor when they need help scheduling, creating their plan or figuring out which classes to take. Students should schedule a graduation check with the Undergraduate Advisor late in the their junior year or early in their senior year to make sure that all political science requirements will be satisfied on time.
- For all other advising issues (Gen Eds, university electives, other graduation requirements, etc.) students should contact the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Zulauf Hall 201, 815.753.0114. Students should schedule a graduation check with an LA&S advisor late in their junior year or early in their senior year to make sure that the university and college graduation requirements will be satisfied in time.
- Although all of the student’s advisors will do their best to steer them toward graduation, it is still the student's responsibility to read and follow all requirements of their catalog. Students should also periodically check their Degree Progress Report in MyNIU.
Overview of Graduation Requirements
Note: Any requirements mentioned below are superseded by the student’s official Undergraduate Catalog. Students are responsible for reading and following all requirements of their catalog.
- Students must complete at least 120 credit hours in order to graduate. Please note, Distributive Studies (General Education requirements) plus all POLS requirements will not add up to the required 120 hours. The remaining hours are “university electives,” which means they can choose them from any department on campus (in a minor or otherwise), as long as they make sure to complete:
- 40 hours of upper-division credit (i.e., 300-400 level classes). Again, Distributive Studies plus POLS requirements alone may not quite satisfy this requirement.
- At least 29 hours of Distributive Studies (General Education requirements) http://catalog.niu.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=12&poid=1862
- No more than 50 hours of POLS classes, including transfer coursework. Students are allowed to take more than 50 hours of POLS credit, but the additional hours will not count toward the required 120 hours.
- No more than 66 academic credit hours plus 4 physical education credit hours from community colleges can count toward the 120 hours needed to graduate. That means a student needs to take a minimum of 56 credit hours at four year institutions, including NIU. Keep in mind that MyNIU will show all community college credits, even those above the limits, and those hours will be included in total credit hours. It is up to each student to realize that hours above the limits will not actually count.
- Students may not interrupt their last 30 hours before graduation by transferring in classes from another college (the so-called “30 hour residency rule”) unless they get prior permission from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Zulauf Hall 415, 815.753.0114.
- Students must maintain a 2.0 NIU GPA overall to remain at the university as well as maintain a 2.0 GPA in all POLS classes taken at NIU in order to graduate as a POLS major. Both GPAs must be a 2.0 or above at the time of graduation. Be aware that MyNIU may not reflect student’s GPA accurately, since it discounts any prior attempts at a course as of the time they register for a repeat of that course. Thus, students should not place complete faith in the GPA shown in MyNIU if they are currently enrolled in a repeat of a prior class.
- It is the student’s responsibility to read and follow all requirements of their catalog. Students should also periodically check their Degree Progress Report in MyNIU.
Registering for Classes
- Most upper-level political science courses require that students have taken POLS 100 or POLS 150. Additionally, they should have taken several POLS introductory classes to familiarize themselves with the material that they will be expected to know in upper-level classes.
- Registration for the majority of POLS courses is on a first-come, first-serve basis. Students should pay careful attention to the registration timetables so they know when they are eligible to register for classes. Registration in classes that are full is at the professor’s discretion. Some courses do require a permit in order to register. Students should contact the Undergraduate Secretary at 815-753-1015 or the Undergraduate Advisor (Andrea Messing-Mathie, 815-753-7045, amessing@niu.edu) for more information should they encounter this when trying to register.
- POLS 340 is a required course for POLS students attempting a Bachelor of Science degree. Registration for POLS 340 is done by the department. Because there are a limited number of seats available for this course, students should contact the Undergraduate Advisor prior to registration for the semester they intend to take the course. Students should anticipate taking the course during their junior year. Registration for this course is on a first-come, first-serve basis, but they should recognize that those students who are anticipating graduation will be given first priority.
Applying for Graduation
- The application deadline for graduation is approximately six months prior to the month in which students intend to graduate. Students should obtain specific deadlines and apply for graduation through Registration and Records. Please keep in mind that graduation deadlines are very strict.
