Undergraduates majoring in Childhood Education (Grades 1 to 6) must select a 30 to 32 credit academic specialty from the Liberal Arts and Sciences curriculum. Such study complements the Childhood Education courses and provides you with specialized knowledge in one particular discipline. This adds depth and breath to your level of teaching expertise. As a teacher, you can transmit your enthusiasm for the focused subject to young learners, helping them to grow intellectually and socially. You may select Political Science from among the Liberal Arts and Sciences curriculum. By concentrating in Political Science, future teachers can deepen their knowledge of how societies are governed and how individuals are involved in the process. Beginning with courses that analyze the nature of the state, political ideologies and the law, you will learn to apply theoretical concepts of political power to contemporary events and institutions. You will examine key ideas in political writings from Plato to Machiavelli, as well as the works of American theorists from colonial times to the present. In choosing electives to round out your concentration, you will have available a broad range of offerings, from an examination of the role of public opinion in political and social affairs to an investigation of the causes, motivations, possible justifications and impact of political violence in modern times. Students take 30 credits in Political Science to satisfy the liberal arts and sciences requirements for the B.S. in Childhood Education degree program.