Course Syllabus

Survey the basic principles, terminology, and methods of political science in this course, which combines a historical study of the discipline's greatest thinkers with an analysis of contemporary issues.

This course includes the following units:

• Unit 1: Foundational Concepts of Politics
• Unit 2: Participation and Public Opinion
• Unit 3: Ideologies
• Unit 4: The State
• Unit 5: Political Institutions
• Unit 6: International Politics

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Explain the concepts of power, legitimacy, and authority;
• Discuss the origins and developments of the nation-state;
• Discuss general approaches to the study of politics, such as political ideologies and political economy;
• Discuss the political socialization process;
• Examine the nature of political participation from a comparative perspective;
• Discuss the influence of public opinion on the political decision-making process;
• Identify the different types of electoral systems and assess the implications of those systems;
• Identify the role and functions of political parties;
• Identify the different types of party systems from a comparative perspective;
• Evaluate the general principles of presidential and parliamentary political systems;
• Identify and evaluate the principles of authoritarian and totalitarian governments;
• Explain the origins and principles of democratic capitalism, democratic socialism, communism, and fascism;
• Describe the origins and principles of international law;
• Assess the influence of major international organizations; and
• Analyze the causes of international conflict.

Throughout this course, you will also see learning outcomes in each unit. You can use those learning outcomes to help organize your studies and gauge your progress.

This course's primary learning materials are articles, lectures, and videos.

All course materials are free to access and can be found in each unit of the course. Pay close attention to the notes that accompany these course materials, as they will tell you what to focus on in each resource and will help you understand how the learning materials fit into the course as a whole. You can also see a list of all the learning materials in this course at this link.

Some parts of this course may have been created or reviewed with the support of artificial intelligence (AI). To make sure you receive accurate, high-quality, and academically sound learning materials, all AI-assisted content is carefully checked and approved by Saylor Academy's faculty and subject matter experts.

Only the final exam is considered when awarding you a grade for this course. To pass this course, you will need to earn a grade of 70% or higher on the final exam.

Your score on the exam will be calculated as soon as you complete it. Be sure to study in between each attempt! If you do not pass the exam, you will not complete this course or receive a certificate of completion. You can attempt the exam as many times as you want.

There are end-of-unit assessments in this course that are designed to help you study and do not factor into your final course grade. You can take them as many times as you want until you understand the concepts they cover.

You can see all of these assessments at this link.

The certificate earned by passing this self-paced course displays the program hours you completed and continuing education credits (CEUs). CEUs document successful completion of courses that are designed to improve the knowledge and skills of working adults. Many industries value CEUs, and now your certificate reflects them clearly, and they may be used to support career advancement or to meet professional licensing standards. This course contains 11.1 CEUs.

POLSC101: Introduction to Political Science is a self-paced course, meaning you can decide when to start and complete the course. We estimate the "average" student will take 111 hours to complete. We recommend studying at a comfortable pace and scheduling your study time in advance.

Learning new material can be challenging, so here are a few study strategies to help you succeed:

• Take notes on terms, practices, and theories. This helps you understand each concept in context and provides a refresher for later study.
• Test yourself on what you remember and how well you understand the concepts. Reflecting on what you've learned improves long-term memory retention.

This course is delivered entirely online. You will need access to a computer or web-capable mobile device and consistent internet access to view or download resources and complete auto-graded assessments and the final exam.

To access the full course, including assessments and the final exam, log into your Saylor Academy account and enroll in the course. If you don't have an account, you can create one for free here. Note that tracking progress and taking assessments require you to log in.

For more details and guidance, please review our complete Technical Requirements and our student Help Center.

Optional Saylor Academy Mobile App

You can access all course features directly from your mobile browser, but if you have limited internet connectivity, the Saylor Academy mobile app provides an option to download course content for offline use. The app is available for iOS and Android devices.

This course is entirely free to enroll in and access. All course materials, including textbooks, videos, webpages, and activities, are available at no charge. This course also contains a free final exam and a free course completion certificate.