Course descriptionUndergraduate Study Political Science B.A.
Prepolitical Science Major
All students intending to major in Political Science must enroll as Prepolitical Science majors. After completion of preparation for the major courses, they need to petition to enter the major in the Undergraduate Office, 4269A Bunche Hall. Preparation for the Major
Required: Four lower division courses from Political Science 10, 20, 30, 40, 50. These lower division courses are requisites to upper division courses and 10, 20, 30 & 6, 40, and 50 are required in those fields designated as the concentration or distribution field. PS 6 or 6R along with PS 30 is required for a concentration or distrbution in Field V, Methods and Models. Students must also take one statistics course from Political Science 6 or 6R, Anthropology M80, Economics M40, Geography M40, Social Sciences 40, Sociology M18, Statistics 10, Statistics 11, Statistics M12, or Statistics M21C. PS 6 or 6R may be taken for credit and is not considered a repeat of content if another of the listed statistics courses has already been taken.
Students must complete all premajor courses with a 2.0 grade-point average by the time they attain 135 units. Admission to the major is granted only after successful completion of all lower division requirements.
Transfer Students
To be admitted as Political Science majors, transfer students with 90 or more units must complete the following introductory courses prior to admission to UCLA: one statistics course and four courses from political theory, world politics, political economy, American politics, or comparative politics.
The Major
Required: Ten upper division courses (40 units) selected from Political Science 102 through 199 taken for a letter grade. Students are also required to complete four upper division courses (16 units) in one or two of the following social sciences: anthropology, communication studies (only Communication Studies 160), economics, geography, history, management (only Management 150, 190), psychology (except Psychology 115, 116), sociology. These courses must be taken for a letter grade. Students are required to maintain a 2.0 overall grade-point average in all upper division political science courses.
Upper division political science courses are organized into four fields: (I) political theory, (II) international relations, (III) American politics, and (IV) comparative politics.
In fulfilling the requirement of 10 upper division political science courses, students must satisfy the following:
1. A concentration in one field by completing the lower division course and at least four upper division courses in that field
2. A distribution of the lower division course and two upper division courses in each of two other fields (four upper division courses)
3. Two additional elective courses in political science to comprise the total of 10
Field Concentration RequirementsThe lower division course is requisite to upper division courses in those fields designated as the concentration field and the two distribution fields for majors. Specific requirements for the field concentration are as follows:
I. Political Theory: Political Science 10 and any four courses in Field I
II. International Relations: Course 20 and any four upper division courses in Field II
III. American Politics: Course 40 and any four courses in Field III
IV. Comparative Politics: Courses 50, and any four courses in Field IV. Course 118 may also be applied toward concentration in this field .
V: Methods and Models: Courses 30 and 6 (Stat 10 and related classes may not be substituted) and any four courses in Field V.
Courses 119, 139, 149, and 169 may be applied no more than twice toward the field concentration requirement. No more than three of these courses may be applied toward the major.
Courses 195A, 195B, 195C, and 199 may not be applied toward either the concentration or distribution requirement.
Political Science majors should be aware that the upper division course requirements in the major (56 units) do not meet the upper division requirement of 60 units (effective Fall Quarter 1997) for graduation. Additional upper division units must be taken to reach the 60-unit total.
Undergraduate Seminars
Each term the department offers a series of seminars (Political Science C197A through C197D) in each field. The requisites are two upper division courses in the field in which the seminar is offered, a 3.25 average at the upper division level in political science, or discretion of the instructor. These courses may be applied toward either the concentration or distribution requirement, and students who qualify are encouraged to take them.
Honors Program
The department honors program is open to seniors and to students who (1) have completed five upper division political science courses (two of which are in one field), (2) have a 3.5 grade-point average in upper division political science courses, and (3) are eligible for College of Letters and Science honors. Students should have substantial experience in writing research papers and take at least one seminar course in the Political Science C197 series before they enter the honors program or course 195A.
Students wishing to qualify for graduation with departmental honors must complete the following: (1) courses 195A, 195B, 195C, in which a senior thesis is written; (2) eight upper division courses (excluding courses 119, 139, 149, and 169) distributed as follows: four courses in one field and four additional courses, two in each of two other fields; (3) four upper division courses in one or two of the social sciences other than political science.