¶¡ÏãÔ°AV

Political Science Major Program

Department of Political Science | Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
¶¡ÏãÔ°AV Calendar 2013 Spring

Program Requirements

Students complete 120 units, as specified below.

Lower Division Requirements

Students complete a total of 18 units, including one of

  • POL 100 Introduction to Politics and Government (3)
  • POL 101W Introduction to Politics and Government (3)

and

  • POL 210 Introduction to Political Philosophy (3)

and one of

  • IS 240 Research Methods in International Studies * (3)
  • POL 201 Research Methods in Political Science * (3)
  • STAT 203 Introduction to Statistics for the Social Sciences (3)

*students may not complete both of IS 240 and POL 201 for credit

If students plan to complete both POL 201 and STAT 203, POL 201 should be completed before STAT 203.

and two of

  • POL 221 Introduction to Canadian Government (3)
  • POL 231 Comparative Politics (3)
  • POL 241 Introduction to International Politics (3)
  • POL 251 Introduction to Canadian Public Administration (3)

and one of

  • POL 151 The Administration of Justice (3)
  • POL 202 Research Design (3)
  • POL 211 Politics and Ethics (3)
  • POL 222 Introduction to Canadian Politics (3)
  • POL 223 Canadian Political Economy (3)
  • POL 232 US Politics (3)
  • POL 252 Local Democracy and Governance (3)
  • POL 253 Introduction to the Public Policy Process (3)

Upper Division Requirements

Students cannot complete upper division courses until lower division prerequisites are complete. Specified prerequisites or department permission is required for course entry. Students who fulfil the requirements may also complete POL 497, 498 and 499.

Students complete a total of 32 upper division POL units from the lists below. Eight of these 32 units must be at the 400 division.

Students who wish to concentrate on a particular field or combination of fields should consult with a faculty advisor to arrange their programs.

300 division courses

  • IS 302 Introduction to Humanitarian Intervention (4)
  • IS 303 Ethnic Minorities, Identity Politics, and Conflict in Southeast Asia (4)
  • IS 304 Russian Foreign Policies and Security Policies (4)
  • IS 312 Europe: Undivided but Plural (4)
  • IS 313W Nationalism, Democracy and Development in Modern India (4)
  • IS 314 National, Regional, and International Politics in Southeast Asia (4)
  • All ISPO 300 division courses
  • All POL 300 division courses

400 division courses

  • IS 409 Special Topics I (4)
  • All ISPO 400 division courses
  • All POL 400 division courses

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Program Requirements

For all bachelor of arts (BA) programs (except the honours program), students complete 120 units, which includes

  • at least 60 units that must be completed at ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV
  • at least 45 upper division units, of which at least 30 upper division units must be completed at ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV
  • at least 65 units (including 21 upper division units) in Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences courses
  • satisfaction of the writing, quantitative, and breadth requirements
  • an overall cumulative grade point average (CGPA) and upper division CGPA of at least 2.0, and a program (major, joint major, extended minor, minor) CGPA and upper division CGPA of at least 2.0

Writing, Quantitative, and Breadth Requirements

Students admitted to ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV beginning in the fall 2006 term must meet writing, quantitative and breadth requirements as part of any degree program they may undertake. See Writing, Quantitative, and Breadth Requirements for university-wide information.

WQB Graduation Requirements
A grade of C- or better is required to earn W, Q or B credit.
Requirement

Units

Notes
W - Writing

6

Must include at least one upper division course, taken at ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV within the student’s major subject
Q - Quantitative

6

Q courses may be lower or upper division
B - Breadth

18

Designated Breadth Must be outside the student’s major subject, and may be lower or upper division
6 units Social Sciences: B-Soc
6 units Humanities: B-Hum
6 units Sciences: B-Sci

6

Additional Breadth

6 units outside the student’s major subject (may or may not be B-designated courses, and will likely help fulfil individual degree program requirements)
Additional breadth units must be from outside the student's major and may be B-designated (B-Hum, B-Soc, B-Sci courses). Students choosing to complete a joint major, joint honours, double major, two extended minors, an extended minor and a minor, or two minors may satisfy the breadth requirements (designated or not designated) with courses completed in either one or both program areas.

Residency Requirements and Transfer Credit

The University’s residency requirement stipulates that, in most cases, total transfer and course challenge credit may not exceed 60 units, and may not include more than 15 units as upper division work.

Elective Courses

In addition to the courses listed above, students should consult an academic advisor to plan the remaining required elective courses.

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