Mar 28, 2024  
2022-2023 Catalog 
    
2022-2023 Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]


Political Science, B.A.



In addition to adhering to General Education  and School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts Requirements , the Political Science major requires 52 units, some of which may simultaneously meet general education requirements. Courses in the major must be taken for a letter grade, and may not be taken on a pass/no pass basis unless the course is only offered on a pass/no pass basis.

Political Science, B.A. Four-Year Course Plan   

Lower Division Major Requirements [16 Units]


Lower Division Major Core Requirement [8 units]


Complete the following courses:

Additional Lower Division Political Science Requirement [8 units]


Complete two courses chosen from the following:

Upper Division Major Requirements [36 Units]


Subfield Requirement [24 units]


Complete three courses per subfield for two of the following subfields for a total of six courses.

Additional Elective Requirement [12 units]


Complete three additional upper division courses in Political Science.

Transfer Students


Transfer students planning to major in Political Science should complete the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) at their community college. Transfer students may not be admitted to the Political Science major without specific major preparation. Below are the current Transfer Selection Criteria for the Political Science Major.

Transfer Selection Criteria


To be admitted to the Political Science major transfer students must meet the following requirements:

Applicants will, at the time of admission have completed at minimum each of the following courses (or their equivalent) with a “C‐” or better:

At least one course chosen from:

Political Science Honors Program


UC Merced Political Science majors may petition to join the Political Science Honors Program, which will consist of coursework and an Honors thesis in addition to the standard Political Science major requirements. Undergraduate majors who are accepted and successfully complete the Honors Program will receive a notation to that effect on their diploma and on their undergraduate transcript thereafter.

Students apply to join the Honors Program in the spring of their second or third year, and can fulfill the requirements during their third or fourth year. To be eligible for the Honors Program, a Political Science major must have an overall GPA of 3.3 and a minimum GPA of 3.7 in the major. A student with a GPA in the major between 3.5 and 3.69 may request an exemption from the Political Science Undergraduate Chair. Students admitted to the Political Science Honors Program will be required to complete POLI 175  (or an equivalent such as ECON 110 , PSY 105 , or COGS 105 ) and then, enroll in POLI 194H  during the spring of their third or fourth year and will count toward the three non-subfield specific upper division courses that are required of all Political Science.  Please contact SSHA Advising for more information.