Major in Political Science

The specific curricular requirements of the BA in Political Science are:

Lower Division—6 units required

  • PSCI 1201 / American Government (3 units)
  • PSCI 2000 / Introduction to Political Science (3 units) or PSCI 2030 / Global Politics (3 units)
  • MATH 1600 / Statistics (4 units) (strongly recommended)

Upper Division—34  units required

  • PSCI 3000/ Ancient & Medieval Political Thought (3 units) or PSCI 3010 / Modern Political Thought (3 units) (WP); and one additional upper division course in Political Theory (6-7 units)
  • 2 upper division courses in American Politics (6-8 units)
  • 1 upper division course in Comparative Politics (3-4 units)
  • 1 upper division course in International Relations (3-4 units)
  • 16 units of upper division electives in Political Science

Fields and Courses

Political Theory

  • PSCI 3000 - Ancient & Medieval Political Thought
  • PSCI 3010 - Modern Political Thought (WP)
  • PSCI 3011 – Political Thought in the Modern World
  • PSCI 3030 - American Political Thought
  • PSCI 3055 - Marx on the Human Condition
  • PSCI 4050 - Political Ideologies
  • PSCI 4055 - Money and Power
  • PSCI 4060 - Globalization and Democracy: Ideals and Institutions

American Politics

  • PSCI 3210 - Legislative Process
  • PSCI 3220 - Constitutional Law
  • PSCI 3225 - Civil Liberties
  • PSCI 3230 - Political Parties and Interest Groups
  • PSCI 3235 - Political Campaigns and Elections
  • PSCI 3240 - Media and Politics
  • PSCI 3250 - Public Opinions and Voting Behavior
  • PSCI 3304 - Introduction to Public Administration (WP)
  • PSCI 3314 - Corruption in Government
  • PSCI 3320 - Executive Legislative Relations
  • PSCI 3330 - California Politics
  • PSCI 3810 - Multicultural Community Building and Conflict Resolution
  • PSCI 4214 - The Judicial Process
  • PSCI 4220 - Simulation—Supreme Court Decision-Making
  • PSCI 4230 - The Presidency (WP)
  • PSCI 4300 - Organization Theory
  • PSCI 4305 - Gender Politics at Work
  • PSCI 4310 - Ethnic and Gender Politics
  • PSCI 4311 - Women in American Law
  • PSCI 4314 - Ethics in Government
  • PSCI 4315 - Public Policy-Making
  • PSCI 4318 - Environmental Policy and Politics
  • PSCI 4320 - Immigration and Refugee Policy
  • PSCI 4325 - Land Use Planning
  • PSCI 4326 - Planning Issues and Agriculture
  • PSCI 4330 - Urban Politics
  • PSCI 4940 - Public Administration Internship

Comparative Politics

  • PSCI 3400 - Introduction to Comparative Politics
  • PSCI 3410 - Comparative Politics: Latin America
  • PSCI 3430 - Comparative Politics: Middle East
  • PSCI 3444 - Gender and Sexuality in the Middle East

International Relations

  • PSCI 3600 - International Relations
  • PSCI 4640 - Foreign Policy Issues
  • PSCI 4650 - International Relations: Model United Nations and Arab League
  • PSCI 4654 - Politics of the Arab-Israeli Conflict

Specialized Courses

  • PSCI 2950 - Selected Topics in Political Science
  • PSCI 4950 - Selected Topics in Political Science and Public Administration
  • PSCI 4980 - Individual Study

Interdisciplinary

  • PSCI 4316 - Teaching Democracy in the Classroom
  • PSCI 4700 - The Political Novel
  • PSCI 4710 – Politics and Film

 

Minor in Political Science

The Minor in Political Science constitutes an excellent and broadening complement to a number of other majors on campus in the rounding out of a student’s undergraduate course of study.

The specific curricular requirements for the Minor in Political Science are:

Lower Division—6 units required

  • PSCI 1201 / American Government (3 units)
  • PSCI 2000 / Introduction to Political Science (3 units) or PSCI 2030 / Global Politics (3 units)

Upper Division—13  units required

  • 13 units of upper division Political Science coursework as approved by Minor Advisor in the Department.

Total for Minor—19 units required with lower division and upper division units combined

Updated: July 23, 2024