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Political Science College of Social Sciences & Interdisciplinary Studies

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Advising for Political Science, International Relations and Political Science-Journalism

Spring 2026 Registration and Advising FAQ's

  • Registration dates can be found in your Student Center to the right of your course schedule. Registration dates are assigned in order of class level priority.
  • If you did not originally receive priority registration but should have (e.g. you applied for Spring 2026 graduation after dates were assigned) contact the Registrar’s office to request your date be changed to an earlier one. Important Dates and Information for Spring 2026 Registration.

  • For major advising, you should try to meet with your assigned faculty advisor, which can be found in your Student Center to the right of your course schedule, under "Program Advisor". If you are unable to meet with your assigned advisor, you can contact another advisor from the list below for advising.
Spring 2026 Faculty Advisor Office Hours
  • For GE and graduation requirement advising, you can contact the SSIS Student Success Center. They can help you with a variety of services and are available for both in-person and Zoom appointments. SSIS Student Success Center webpage

  • Course offerings can be found in the Spring 2026 schedule

  • POLS 35: World Politics (4A, GE Area D)
  • POLS 100: Introduction to Research Methods in Political Science
  • POLS 113: American Political Thought (4A, GE Area D, AI)
  • POLS 114: Feminist Political Thought
  • POLS 120A: Constitutional Law
  • POLS 140: Comparative Politics
  • POLS 149A: Original Research in Comparative Politics (WI)
  • POLS 168: LGBTQ Politics
  • POLS 170: Public Policy Development
  • Multiple sections of POLS 1 (4A, GE Area D, AI)

  • POLS 102: Quantitative Reasoning in Political Science (2A, GE Area B5) (asynchronous)
  • POLS 137: Nationalism (hybrid: Mondays in-person & Wednesdays online synchronous)
  • POLS 153: U.S. Presidency (asynchronous)
  • Multiple sections of POLS 1 and 150 (4A, GE Area D, AI) (asynchronous and synchronous)

Yes, the below courses are not typically offered every semester or within a given academic year.

  • POLS 10: The Meaning of Government: An Introduction to Political Ideas (3B, GE Area C2)
  • POLS 102: Quantitative Reasoning in Political Science (2A, GE Area B5)
  • POLS 114: Feminist Political Thought
  • POLS 159A: Campaigns and Elections
  • POLS 168: LGBTQ Politics

  • ECON 190: International Trade
  • GEOG 128: Geography of Europe
  • HIST 138B: Modern and Contemporary Latin America (4A, GE Area D)
  • WGS 125: Sex & Gender in South Asia (3B, GE Area C2)
  • WGS 139: Violence Against Women (4A, GE Area D)

  • Submit a Course Add/Drop Petition formthrough OnBase for the class which requires POLS 1 for which you want to register. In the “Reason for Add/Drop” comment box, explain that you have met the POLS 1 prerequisite but the system does not recognize it.
  • Department staff will verify the prerequisite and enroll students if seats are available. Students will not be added before instruction begins if no seats are available in the class.
  • OnBase forms are processed 1-2 times per day, Monday through Friday.

  • If you are unable to enroll into classes that show reserved seats, it means the remaining seats are being held for students in a specific enrollment group (e.g. Hornet Launch). We are not able to release those seats to students outside of that group.
  • Unfortunately, we are unable to add students at this time for these classes even if they show open. Please note that any OnBase requests submitted before instruction begins will not be processed if the class is full.
  • You can continue to check the schedule during registration since seats may open up later. If you are unable to enroll in the desired course before instruction begins, you should contact the instructor to see if they are able to add you beginning the first day of classes.

Registration FAQ's for POLS/IR/POLS-JOUR majors and POLS minors

  • Submit a Course Add/Drop Petition formthrough OnBase for the class which requires POLS 1 for which you want to register. In the “Reason for Add/Drop” comment box, explain that you have met the POLS 1 prerequisite but the system does not recognize it.
  • Department staff will verify the prerequisite and enroll students if seats are available. Students will not be added before instruction begins if no seats are available in the class.
  • OnBase forms are processed 1-2 times per day, Monday through Friday.

  • If you are unable to enroll into classes that show reserved seats, it means the remaining seats are being held for students in a specific enrollment group (e.g. Hornet Launch). We are not able to release those seats to students outside of that group.
  • Unfortunately, we are unable to add students at this time for these classes even if they show open. Please note that any OnBase requests submitted before instruction begins will not be processed if the class is full.
  • You can continue to check the schedule during registration since seats may open up later. If you are unable to enroll in the desired course before instruction begins, you should contact the instructor to see if they are able to add you beginning the first day of classes.

For answers to general registration and other student issues, visit the Student Services: Commonly Asked Questions & Resource page.

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.

Fall 2025 Advising Schedule for new POLS majors

Fall 2025 Advising Schedule for new IR majors

Fall 2025 Advising Schedule for new POLS-JOUR majors

Fall 2025 Advising Schedule for new POLS 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.

FAQ's for all majors (POLS/IR/POLS-JOUR) and POLS minors

  • All declared majors and 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.
  • 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.

To change your assigned POLS or IR major or POLS minor advisor, email pols@csus.edu for assistance. Any declared major or minor not assigned to a specific advisor should email pols@csus.edu for assistance.

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
For more information, visit the SSIS Student Success website.

If you took the equivalent of POLS 1 at a different four year or Community College and it is not showing up on your Academic Requirements screen, you will need to meet with your major advisor. They can submit the required form to have your record updated.

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.

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.

  • Only 3 units of American Institutions (AI) Graduation Requirement (GR) count for
    GE Area D/GE Area 4.
  • A minimum of two disciplines must be taken in GE Area D/GE Area 4.

The Political Science department recommends students take a maximum of two (2) of the required major upper division courses each semester.

  • No. Unless there is a prerequisite for an elective course, you do not need to take the required courses before electives.
  • The Political Science department recommends majors complete POLS 1, or an equivalent course, before taking upper division major courses.
  • The Political Science department recommends students take a maximum of two (2) of the required major upper division courses each semester.

Before you enroll in a CSU Fully-Online course you should check with your major or minor advisor to see if the course will count towards your degree.

  • 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/

FAQ's 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.

  • No, POLS 170 does not count as a Writing Intensive (WI) course.

FAQ's 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.

FAQ's 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.

There are three options to complete the required 3 units of internship for the POLS-JOUR major:

  1. Internship in Journalism (JOUR 195 or COMS 195). Review information and contact the internship coordinator at least one semester before you want to complete an internship: Communications/Journalism Department Internships
  2. Internship in Political Science (POLS 195A or POLS 195B). Review information and contact the internship coordinator at least one semester before you want to complete an internship: Political Science Department Internships
  3. JOUR 197A, The State Hornet-Introduction. If you enroll in JOUR 197A for your internship units, you need to meet with an advisor to submit the required course substitution form to have JOUR 197A count toward the internship requirement.

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.

Advising Forms for Majors

POLS Major Advising Form IR Major Advising Form POLS-JOUR Major Advising Form

Advising Forms for Minors

Minor Advising Form