Normally, students entering the Department must have successfully completed at least two courses offered by the Department of Politics on a graded basis before the end of the sophomore year. The first two courses in Politics taken are considered prerequisites. The following rules apply to the designation of prerequisites by Politics concentrators:
- Prerequisites may not be taken as P/D/F.
- Grades in prerequisites are counted in the calculation of departmental honors.
- Prerequisites may be used to fulfill distribution requirements.
- In addition to the two prerequisites, Politics concentrators are required to take a course in systematic analysis. Normally, this course should be taken no later than the first semester of their junior year -- and prospective Politics concentrators are encouraged to satisfy this requirement before the end of sophomore year.
- Only one of the two prerequisites may be an analytical course (e.g., POL 345). For example: (1) If a student has taken POL 345 and POL 346 as their first two Politics courses, a third Politics course will be required – one of which must not include a course that counts as meeting the Department’s analytical requirement (e.g., POL 250, POL 345, POL 347, etc.). -OR- (2) A student who has taken SOC 245/POL 245 and POL 345 as their first two Politics courses will be required to take a third departmental in order to declare the major by the end of sophomore year.
Transfers and late concentrators
Students who submit late requests for admission to the Department or who wish to transfer into the Department will be accepted, only if the Department can provide adequate supervision for junior and senior independent work. Students who have not completed prerequisites may be admitted at the discretion of the Director of Undergraduate Studies.