2013-2015 Flowchart

Political Science Suggested Sequence of Courses

• Download B.A. Political Science 4-Year Academic Flowchart (PDF)

	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4
Some Time  This Year	HIST 110/111	STAT 221 or 217 [GE B1]	ENGL 302/310 or C4	one Geog. / Anthro. / Soc. 300-400 level
				Senior Project (POLS 461/462)
Fall	POLS 180*	Core/POLS	POLS 359	POLS (461/462)
	POLS 112 (or 230)**	POLS	POLS	POLS
	POLS 225	GE	GE	GE
	ENGL 133/134 [A1]	GE/Support/Elective	GE/Support/Elective	***
			Declare Your POLS Concentration
Winter	POLS 230 (or POLS)	POLS	POLS 361	POLS
	GE	GE	POLS	POLS/GE/Elective
	GE	GE	GE	GE
	GE/Support	GE/Support/Elective	GE/Support/Elective	GE/Support/Elective
Spring	Core/POLS	POLS	POLS	POLS/GE/Elective
	GE	GE	POLS	Support/Elective
	GE	GE	GE	Support/Elective
	GE/Support/Elective	GE/Support/Elective	GE/Support/Elective	Support/Elective

* = Transfer students should take POLS 180 their first quarter at Poly.

** If you pass both the AP US History and the AP US Government exams with a 3 or higher, you will not take POLS 112. You will be automatically enrolled in POLS 230 instead, and you will need to take POLS 111 to fulfill GE D1 (in some later quarter).

*** Take 12 units the quarter that you enroll in senior project.

Legend

• Core – POLS core classes (112, 180, 225, 229, 230); you should finish these by the middle of your second year
• Support – HIST 110/111 has no prereqs, so you can take it any time; you need to take STAT 221 before taking POLS 359/361; an ENGL C4 can fulfill the GWR (see below)
• POLS – a core class you haven’t done, 359/361, 461/462, a class for your concentration, or an elective for your POLS major
• GE – a class to fulfill a general education requirement; pay attention to these rules: (1) you have to complete A1 and A2 before taking A3. (2) You have to complete Area A before taking C1 and/or D5. (3) You may not use a POLS class to fulfill D5. (4) These GEs have no prereqs: C3, D1, D2, D3. (5) You have to have completed A, D1, and either D2 or D3 to take a D5. (6) You have to have completed Area B and have junior standing to take an Area F class.
• Choice – You should take 16 units per quarter. Courses marked in purple give you some flexibility about exactly what order you take your classes in. Use the degree requirements on the back of this sheet as a guide.
• Concentration – In your third year, you should select one of the concentrations within POLS and map out your plan to complete all the classes before you graduate. Not all classes are offered every quarter (or even every year), so plan ahead.
   

Notes

• USCP/GWR – Don’t forget that along the way you have to take a U.S. Cultural Pluralism class (as marked in the catalog) and fulfill the Graduate Writing Requirement. An ENGL C4 can fulfill the GWR, but only if you already have at least 90 credits.
• Minors – A minor is “instead of” some electives, not “in addition to” the 180 credits you need to graduate.
• Double Counting – Sometimes one class can fulfill two requirements—for example, an ENGL C4 can count both as a GE and as a Support course. In that case, you still have to earn 180 credits, but now more of those credits are electives.