Legislative Affairs Degree Requirements

In order to qualify for admission to the Master of Professional Studies in Legislative Affairs students must first be admitted by the College of Professional Studies (CPS). Applicants are required to have:

• A Bachelor's degree with at least a B average (3.0 on a 4.0 scale)
  or equivalent from an accredited college or university
• Three letters of recommendation
• Official results of the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) general test or three years of relevant, professional, full-time work experience
• Official results of the Test of English as a foreign Language
  (TOEFL) for students who are from countries where English
  is not an official language and those who do not hold a degree
  from an accredited American institution of higher learning.
  The Test of Written English (TWE) is also recommanded

Program Curriculum

There are two options available for the Master's in Legislative Affairs:

• 11 courses (33 credit hours)
                       OR
• 9 courses (27 credit hours) plus a Master's Thesis (6 credits)

Required Core Courses (4 courses, 12 credit hours)

• PSC 201 Introduction to Empirical Political Analysis
                            OR
• PSC 203 Approaches to Public Policy Analysis
                           AND
• PSC 218 Legislative Politics
• PSC 222 Executive-Legislative Relations
• PSC 229 Politics and Public Policy

American Political Processes (At least 2 courses, minimim of 6 credits)

• PSC 215 Judicial Politics
• PSC 216 American Presidency
• PSC 219 American Political Parties and Elections
• PSC 220 Public Opinion and Political Socialization
• PSC 221 Interest-Group Politics
• PSC 226 Budgetary Politics
• PSC 228 Media and Politics
• PSC 246 U.S. Foreign Policy
• PSC 286 Selected Topics in American Politics

Public Policy Analysis (At least 2 courses, mimimum of 6 credits)

• PSC 212 State and Urban Policy Problems
• PSC 224 Domestic Policy Analysis Selected Topics
• PSC 226 Budgetary Policy
• PSC 249 International Security Politics
• PSC 250 Foreign Policy Analysis-Selected Topics
• PSC 240 Women and Public Policy

Master's Thesis Option (6 credits)

• PSC 299-300 Thesis Research I and II
  
  

All degree candidates must take the Master's Comprehensive Examination.


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