Politics, BA

Lower Division

The following lower-division courses are required for the major.

• POL 101 - Introduction to American Politics
• POL 102 - Introduction to Comparative Politics
• POL 203 - Introduction to International Relations
• POL 204 - Intro to Political Theory

Upper Division

Take the Writing in the Discipline Course:

• POL 300 - Writing, Research, and Analysis

American Politics

Take one course in American politics

• POL 301 - California and Local Politics
• POL 302 - Pol Parties, Soc Movements and Int Groups
• POL 303 - Campaigns and Elections
• POL 304 - Congress and the Presidency
• POL 305 - Introduction to Public Policy
• POL 306 - U.S. Public and Constitutional Law
• POL 307 - American Legal Institutions
• POL 308 - Politics of Mass Incarceration
• POL 309 - Politics of Labor
• POL 310 - Politics and Race
• POL 311 - Environmental Politics
• POL 312 - Environmental Law and Regulation
• POL 313 - Politics and the Media
• POL 385 - Topics in American Politics

Political Theory

Take one course in political theory

• POL 361 - Modern Political Theory
• POL 362 - American Political Theory
• POL 363 - Just and Unjust Wars
• POL 364 - Political Theories of Decolonization
• POL 365 - Theories of Justice
• POL 366 - Theory of Law
• POL 370 - Political Polling and Survey Research
• POL 388 - Topics in Political Theory

International Politics

Take one course in international politics

• POL 341 - American Foreign Policy
• POL 342 - Defense Policy
• POL 344 - Dynamics of Terrorism
• POL 345 - Politics of Developing Countries
• POL 346 - Food Politics
• POL 347 - Politics in the Global Economy
• POL 343 - Human Rights
• POL 387 - Topics in International Politics

Comparative Politics

Take one course in comparative politics

• POL 321 - Gender Politics
• POL 322 - Contemporary Revolutions
• POL 323 - Middle East Politics
• POL 324 - Asian Politics
• POL 325 - Latin American Politics
• POL 326 - West European Politics
• POL 327 - Russian Politics from Lenin to Putin
• POL 328 - East European Politics
• POL 386 - Topics in Comparative Politics

Upper-division Electives

Take two additional 300 or 400-level politics courses. Each course must be at least 3 units.

Engaged Learning Course

One elective taken to satisfy the requirements above must have the Engaged Learning designation. Politics Internship courses that satisfy Engaged Learning may be petitioned to count for this category.

• POL 310EL - Politics and Race EL
• POL 321EL - Gender Politics EL
• POL 346EL - Food Politics EL
• POL 370EL - Political Polling and Survey Research EL
• POL 392EL - Remembrance and Resistance

Note

The department faculty recommend that students taking an upper-division course in American politics complete POL-101 first; for comparative politics complete POL-102 first; for international politics, POL-203 is recommended first; and for political theory, POL-204 is recommended first.

The department also recommends that POL 300 be taken in the second year.