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Advising for Political Science Majors
Information for Prospective Majors and Minors
The Department of Political Science offeres 3 Bachelors of Arts degrees and one minor. Information about each degree can be found by clicking on the below links. The Department also offers a Master of Arts in Political Science.
Students interested in declaring a major or minor in Political Science, major in International Relations, or major in Political Science-Journalism should meet with a new major/minor faculty advisor.
Spring 2025 Advising Schedule for new majors/minors
- Once advising has been completed, a Change of Major/Minor form will be submitted on your behalf to update your major.
Once the Change of Major/Minor form is submitted through OnBase, it goes to the University Registrar’s office for processing. Processing times vary, but it typically takes one to two weeks to process. If you do not see your major or minor updated after two weeks, contact the Political Science department at pols@csus.edu or (916) 278-6202.
Frequently Asked Questions for all majors (POLS/IR/POLS-JOUR)
- All declared majors for Political Science, International Relations, Political Science-Journalism and minors for Political Science should be assigned to an advisor within the department. Newly admitted students are assigned to major advisors by the fourth week of the semester.
- Advisor assignments can be found in your Student Center, underneath your "To Do" list.
- Any declared major or minor not assigned to a specific advisor or those requesting to change their assigned advisor should email pols@csus.edu for assistance.
- Advisors should be available during their posted office hours, which can be found on the department's Meet Us page. Additionally, appointment times outside of posted office hours can be requested by emailing your advisor directly.
The SSIS Student Success Center can assist with General Education (GE) advising. They can also assist students with:
- Graduation Requirements (GR) Advising
- Course and academic planning using the Smart Planner
- Interpretation of University academic policies
- Basic career exploration and planning
- Academic probation, disqualification and dismissal advising
- GPA calculation
No. POLS 150 does not count as an elective for the POLS major, IR major, or POLS-JOUR major. However, POLS 150 can be taken instead of POLS 1. Do not take both.
A score of 3 or higher on AP United States Government and Politics exam fulfills the POLS 1 requirement for the major (POLS, IR, and POLS-JOUR). But if a POLS course requires POLS 1 prerequisite, and does not list the AP exam as counting for the prerequisite, you need to contact the instructor to be admitted to the course. You can check the university catalog to determine if a course has prerequisites.
If you score 3 or higher, you receive credit for POLS 35. To receive credit, you must talk to a major advisor and request they submit a course substitution form.
- Only 3 units of American Institutions (AI) Graduation Requirement (GR) count for Area D GE.
- A minimum of two disciplines must be taken in Area D.
- If you have have not already, submit any and all transcripts from other institutions you have attended. This include both community colleges and other four-year schools.
- Check your Advising Summary to see if a class you took is counting for another requirement.
- Contact the registrar’s office if you have any questions about transferred courses: transfer@csus.edu.
- For more information about records, check the catalog. https://www.csus.edu/student-life/records-transcripts/transfer-credit/
Frequently Asked Question for POLS majors
No. POLS 10 and POLS 35 are not required. Either course may be taken as an elective but only one will be able to count. All other electives need to be upper division (numbered POLS 102 or above).
- Yes. POLS 165 and POLS 149A count as a Writing Intensive (WI) course and an elective for the POLS major. You only need to take one Writing Intensive course.
- POLS 170 does NOT count as a writing intensive course.
Frequently Asked Questions for IR majors
No. POLS 10 or POLS 35 are not required. Only POLS 35 may be taken as a lower divison elective for the IR major. All other electives need to be upper division courses.
No. Taking classes outside of the POLS department is optional. You need to take 24 units of IR electives. All of these can be POLS classes in the IR area. Up to nine of these units can be taken from the list of approved courses in other departments. The complete list of electives can be found in the univeristy catalog
The Academic Requirements Report can be misleading. Check with a major advisor if elective courses you've taken are not reflected as counting towards your 24 elective units on your report.
No.Only IR electives can be used for the IR major. These classes are numbered in the POLS 130s and 140s, plus POLS 118, 119A, 127, 162, and 166.
- POLS 149A counts as both a Writing Intensive and elective for the IR major.
Frequently Asked Questions for POLS-JOUR majors
Yes. JOUR 20, Style for Media Writers, is a one-unit credit/no credit corequisite of JOUR 30, which is a required course for the POLS-JOUR major. You need to take JOUR 20 at the same time you take JOUR 30.
Yes, you can complete JOUR 197A, The State Hornet-Introduction, for your required internship units.
- You will need to meet with an advisor to submit the required course substitution form to have JOUR 197A count towards this requirement.