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Advising

The Department of Political Science wants to work with you to ensure a rewarding and stimulating educational experience. This page is your guide to assorted advice and other information that will help you to have the best experience possible at Cal Poly.

Curriculum and Requirements
It is important that you understand the requirements to graduate with a Political Science degree. Please familiarize yourself with these requirements. A good place to start is the curriculum page. In addition, other useful sources of advising information are the Political Science Academic Advisors page, and the College of Liberal Arts Advising homepage.

As a Political Science major, you may want to consider pursuing supplementary academic studies to enhance the Political Science curriculum. Some majors opt to minor in another discipline and/or attain fluency in a second language. Within the department, we encourage you to "learn by doing" by registering for one of our many internships. Another way to complement your educational experience is through club participation. Consider getting involved in a club such as the Model United Nations, Undergraduate Law Association, Mock Trial Team, Political Science Club, and Pi Sigma Alpha.

New students
As a first year student, we recommend choosing 12 to 16 units in the first term. You are required to take POLS 180 in the Fall quarter of your first year; the course is offered only in the Fall quarter. In addition, plan to take 200 level courses in the Political Science core. Some suggested courses are listed below. All majors should plan to take one to two Political Science courses each quarter. Remedial Math and English courses must be completed in the first year. Be particularly careful NOT to select general education courses for which you have received advanced placement credit.

Suggested Courses (Units)
Courses in the Major
POLS 180 Political Inquiry (4)
POLS 225 Introduction to International Relations (4)
POLS 229 Introduction to Comparative Politics (4)
POLS 230 Basic Concepts of Political Thought (4)
Support Courses
HIST 110 (4) or HIST 111 (5)
General Education Courses
POLS 112 (4)
ENGL 134 (4)*
SCOM 101/102 (4)**
ANT 201/ES 212/GEOG 150HIST 215/SOC 110 (4)

* May be taken Winter or Spring Quarters if you have difficulty in registering for Area A courses
** If you have Advanced Placement Credit for ENGL 134

Students entering in Fall may find the annual Student Orientation and Advising Resources of benefit. This one-day program takes place in mid-July to assist students in planning a fall schedule.

For more information, see the College of Liberal Arts First-time Freshmen and Transfer Student pages, as well as the Cal Poly Admissions Office's Newly Admitted page.

Tentative Course Schedule
To help you plan which courses to take and when to take them, we provide a list of classes that we tentatively plan to offer in the coming academic year.

Political Science Department Academic Integrity Policy
The Political Science Department has an academic integrity policy that applies in addition to univeristy academic integrity policies. It is the obligation of students to be familiar with and abide by this policy. Click here (Word doc) for details of the Department's policy.