Degrees & Majors

The Georgia State University Department of Political Science offers a B.A./M.A. program that allows students to save time and tuition money by earning both degrees in as little as five years.

This dual degree opportunity enables qualified students to enroll in graduate courses late in their undergraduate program and apply the coursework toward both the bachelor’s and master’s programs.

Political science is the study of “who gets what, when and how” in the distribution of goods and values in society and in groups. Political scientists study the forces that determine such distributions, including political parties and voters, public opinion, interest groups, bureaucracies and administrative behavior, public law, international relations, international law and organizations, national security, intergovernmental relations, political behavior, political philosophy, comparative politics, public policy and conflict.

At the undergraduate level, students may specialize in any of the five fields of the discipline:

• American politics and government
• Comparative politics
• International politics
• Political theory, or
• Public policy and administration

At the graduate level, students can choose from four concentrations:

• General Political Science
• American Politics
• International and Comparative Politics
• Public Law

Religious Studies is an interdisciplinary area of study that prepares students to navigate multicultural environments successfully, to lead teams effectively in collaborative settings and to interpret and marshal various types of information and data while advancing a large project.

Graduates with religious studies degrees advance in a wide range of careers and hold positions at nonprofit, in healthcare, academia and other public and private settings. Studying religion puts you on the cutting edge of global politics, business, health care, education and the media.

Course offerings in religious studies, all of which are taught from a non-sectarian perspective, include comparative courses on such topics as world religions, religious thought, religious ethics, mysticism, and women and religion, as well as a host of courses on specific religious traditions, including Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Shinto and Taoism.

Increasing inequality, political polarization and the value of diversity in growing numbers of organizations have increased demand for Social Justice professionals in non-governmental organizations (NGOs), non-profit institutions, grassroots activist collectives and corporate departments whose work involves subjects like multiculturalism, community outreach and equity.

To provide the skills necessary for such work, the Department of Sociology offers a multi-disciplinary Certificate in Social Justice. This certificate provides specialized curricula to strengthen the candidacy of graduates for post-graduate professional activities concerned with social justice, provides opportunities to apply course material via experience-based learning activities and forms a comprehensive and interdisciplinary field of social justice from relevant courses in various university departments.

Sociology is the study of society, including identities, cultures, and institutions, and particularly the power dynamics that animate societal structures and social interactions.

Sociology uses data and theory to analyze the causes, processes, and consequences of social ideologies, social behaviors, institutional discourses, and institutional practices. Undergraduate students in our courses critically explore topics like race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, urbanization, health, illness, wealth, deviance, social problems, inequality and activism.

Specialty Areas:

• Health & Life Course
• Gerontology
• Gender & Sexuality
• Race & Urban

The certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) equips students with skills that will enable them to teach English as a Foreign Language abroad. The TEFL certificate is designed as a credential for those who plan short-term stays overseas and is open to Georgia State University students in any undergraduate major.

The program requires students to complete a series of five undergraduate courses offered by the Department of Applied Linguistics & English as a Second Language.

Students who are likely to be interested in the certificate program include:

• Those in disciplines where an extended stay abroad would enhance their skills, employment or graduate school admission possibilities upon their return.
• People who are simply interested in the adventure of living in another culture and of gaining knowledge of the world.
• Individuals with a bachelor's degree who are interested in working abroad but do not want to make the long term professional commitment involved in earning a graduate degree.
• Majors in Language Studies interested in further graduate study in applied linguistics. For these students, earning the certificate as part of their undergraduate degree requirements can enhance their graduate school potential.

Find out more about applying for a College of Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Certificate.

Georgia State also offers a graduate certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). This certificate is likely a better choice for students interested in continuing on to earn an MA. For more information about the graduate certificate, go to the TESOL program page.