This track focuses on the fundamentals of intelligence and national security from both a theoretical and practical perspective. It is designed to be helpful to those students who wish to pursue careers in national security and the intelligence community. The required courses in the track constitute a coherent sequence that will give students a familiarity with the functions of the intelligence community and the practice of intelligence collection and analysis. Electives help students build a strong foundation in regional or specialized areas that support careers in intelligence and national security.
Degree Requirements
- Students who change degree programs and select this major must adopt the most current catalog.
- Co-op or internship credit cannot be used in this major without prior school approval.
- Students should regularly consult with their Academic Success Coach (ASC) and the School's program advisor.
- The School Residency Requirement consists of at least 21 semester hours of regularly scheduled courses taken from the UCF School of Politics, Security, and Int'l Affairs.
- All prerequisites of courses taught within the College of Sciences will be enforced.
- Courses designated in the General Education Program (GEP) and Common Program Prerequisites (CPPs) are usually in the first 60 hours.
Prerequisite Courses
- Students must satisfy each course's prerequisites before enrolling in the class.
Double major/dual degree policy in Political Science programs and minors
- Students who double major/degree in any Political Science track and International and Global Studies shall not count more than two courses toward both programs, except the following courses:
- POS 2041 – American National Government
- POS 3703 – Scope and Methods of Political Science
- Students who major in any Political Science track, and minor in International and Global Studies, shall not count more than one course toward both programs.
- Students who major in the Political Science, Intelligence and National Security Track (B.A.) shall not enroll in the Intelligence and National Security Minor or the Intelligence and National Security Certificate.
- The myKnight Audit cannot capture overlapping courses between two or more programs; therefore, students should have their program reviewed by your Academic Success Coach (ASC) or the School before filing for graduation.
- To fulfill the 120 hours required in this degree, select primarily from upper-level courses after meeting with an Academic Success Coach (ASC) in consultation with the School's program advisor. Courses may be outside the school.
- Internship Program: For students who excel, a limited number of internships may be available each semester for three to six hours of credit. Under the Internship Director, the student is typically placed in an office of local, state, or national government, a law office, or campaign headquarters.
- Students who qualify for Senior Scholars Program may enroll in graduate level courses to satisfy major requirements to take Area courses.
- The following courses are not required, but serious students should consider taking these as free electives:
- ACG 2021 - Principles of Financial Accounting
- ACG 2071 - Principles of Managerial Accounting
- BUL 3130 - Legal and Ethical Environment of Business
- ENC 3241 - Writing for the Technical Professional
- ENC 3250 - Professional Writing
- LIN 4105 - History of the English Language
- MHF 3302 - Logic and Proof in Mathematics
- PHI 2101 - Formal Logic I
- PLA 3108 - Legal Research
- PLA 3155 - Legal Writing
- POS 4941 - Political Science Internship
Foreign Language Requirements
Graduation
- Proficiency equivalent to two semesters of college instruction in a foreign language or in American Sign Language (ASL). Standardized examinations for foreign languages may be used. ASL proficiency is met by successful completion of ASL 2140 and ASL 2150 or an appropriate score on the ASL proficiency exam. Contact the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (https://healthprofessions.ucf.edu/csd/) regarding the ASL proficiency examination.
Program Exit Requirements
- Students must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 in all courses used to satisfy major requirements.
- Students will be required to take the standard Exit Exam during their graduating semester.
University Minimum Exit Requirements
- A 2.0 UCF GPA
- 42 semester hours of upper division credit completed
- 30 of the last 39 hours of course work must be completed in residency at UCF.
- A maximum of 45 hours of extension, correspondence, CLEP, Credit by Exam, and Armed Forces credits permitted.
- Complete the General Education Program, the State Writing and Math Requirement, and nine hours of Summer credit.
High Impact Learning Experiences
High Impact Learning Experiences are available to all students. Interested students may select from the following options:
- POS 3940 Internship*
- POS 3955 Study Abroad*
- POS 4903H Honors Directed Reading I*
- POS 4904H Honors Directed Reading II*
- POS 4912 Directed Independent Research*
- POS 4941 Internship*
- POS 4955 Study Abroad*
- POS 4970H Undergraduate Honors Thesis*
- Any course designated as Research Intensive
- Any course designated as Service Learning
- Any course designated as an Integrated Learning Experience
* These courses may also be taken with an INR, CPO, PUP, or POT prefix.
Honors Undergraduate Thesis
- Application and admission through The Burnett Honors College. More information about Honors Undergraduate Thesis (HUT) can be found at honors.ucf.edu/research .
- Interested students who meet the requirements are encouraged to participate in the HUT program. Contact the school for information about the program and the HUT coordinator.
Related Programs
- Economics (B.S.)
- History (B.A.)
- Philosophy (B.A.)
- Legal Studies (B.A. or B.S.)
- Criminal Justice (B.A. or B.S.)
- Diplomacy Certificate
- Intelligence and National Security Certificate
- Civics Teaching Certificate
- Business Minor
- Criminal Justice Minor
- Diplomacy Minor
- Economics Minor
- English, Creative Writing Minor
- English, Technical Communication Minor
- History Minor
- Human Communication Minor
- Intelligence and National Security Minor
- Legal Studies Minor
- Mass Media Minor
- Philosophy Minor
- Public Administration Minor
- Sociology Minor
- Writing and Rhetoric Minor
Advising Notes
- Contact your Academic Success Coach (ASC) in the College of Sciences Advising Services (COSAS) office (CSB 250) for more information about overall progress toward your degree, GEP and other university requirements, academic probation, special problems as well as general academic advising.
- No more than 9 credits of a combination of Honors in the Major, Independent Study, and Internship may be counted toward the major in Political Science, provided that no more than 50% of an Area be covered by such credits.
Transfer Notes
- Lower division courses do not substitute for upper division courses.
- Courses transferred from private and out-of-state schools must be evaluated for equivalency credit. The student must provide all supporting information.
- The following substitutions for common program prerequisites are acceptable if taken prior to transferring to UCF:
- POS 2041: any three hours of introductory Political Science classes will satisfy the CPP. However, since this course is required in the core of the major and is a prerequisite to subsequent courses, it still must be taken.
- POS 3703: any three hours of introductory Political Science classes will satisfy the CPP. However, since this course is required in the core of the major, it still must be taken.
Program Academic Learning Compacts
- Program Academic Learning Compacts (student learning outcomes) for undergraduate programs are located at: http://www.oeas.ucf.edu/alc/academic_learning_compacts.htm
Equipment Fees
- Part-Time Student: $5 per term
- Full-Time Student: $10 per term
