Questions Regarding Government Major

Colleges and Universities A-Z Georgetown University
1

<p>I just had a few relatively simple questions about the Government major and Georgetown College itself:</p>

<p>1) How many classes do students usually take per semester in the College?</p>

<p>2) How are the introductory classes for the Government major (difficult, fairly easy, etc.)?</p>

<p>3) When do most students fulfill the four required intro courses, taking into account the Gen Ed requirements (sophomore year, junior year)?</p>

<p>4) What are your general views/comments on the Government major?</p>

<p>Any response would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.</p>

2

<p>1) A normal course load is 5 classes 15 units. If you are taking an intensive language (mandatory for first/second year Arabic, Chinese, Russian and elective for all others) which is 6 units and every day its 4 classes and 15 units. </p>

<p>2) The intro courses are challenging but incredibly important to your course of study. Both IR and CPS are required courses for SFS students as well, so I can only really speak to those personally. Some very impressive faculty teach these sections.</p>

<p>3) You would never want to take more than one of these classes per semester so completing the classes in your first two years is average.</p>

<p>4) I’m in the SFS so a lot of my course work is in the government department. I have been really impressed by my govt courses, especially the department seminars.</p>

3

<p>1) It’s really 15-18 credits, depending on your situation. It’s very rare to take more than 5, but a lot of people taking an intensive language will still take a full 5 courses (bumping them up to 18 credits). Really, though it varies.
2) As above, they are challenging but excellent. The Government department almost always puts top faculty teaching them (perhaps in a ploy to attract more government majors) and they are truly among the best courses at Georgetown, and very useful. At the same time, expect to work.<br>
3) It depends. I must respectfully disagree with the above poster as I took CPS and US Political Systems all at once and it wasn’t a problem at all. If you’re particularly interested in one or two areas, naturally you’d take those early (freshman year) and if there’s something that holds no interest for you, you might push it into the later part of your Georgetown career (junior or senior year even). In general, though, taking one a semester for your first four semesters is a reasonable plan, and you may always discover that you love one you thought you wouldn’t like.
4) Well, it depends what you’re looking for. If you’re interested in international issues, you obviously belong in the SFS. That leaves you looking at the Government major if you’re interested in either American politics or political theory. Frankly, Georgetown is not nearly as strong in these areas as it is in IR/CP. If your interest is really in American politics, you can do better somewhere like Harvard, Princeton, Duke, Michigan, Wisconsin, or Cornell. If, however, you really want to go to Georgetown or be in DC, then you will find that the faculty is excellent and the courses are good.</p>