Bachelor of Arts in Political Science – POLS Associate Degree for Transfer Roadmap

This is a sample pathway for students who transfer to San Francisco State University in the current Bulletin year with an AA-T in Political Science. At least three units in the major (PLSI 200) and all lower-division GE requirements have been satisfied. Additional units in the major may have been satisfied. Check with a major advisor about the most appropriate course sequence. Degree completion guaranteed in 60 units; see the Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) section for more information.

Plan of Study Grid
First Semester		Units
PLSI 250	Comparative Politics (Major Core)	3
or University Elective if requirement met in transfer
PLSI 275	Introduction to Political Theory (Major Core)	3
or University Elective if requirement met in transfer
US History		3
or University Elective if US History met before transfer
GE Area UD-B: Upper-Division Physical and/or Life Sciences		3
University Elective		3
	Units	15
Second Semester
PLSI 303	Fundamentals of Political Science (Major Core)	2
Breadth Requirement - Take Two ¹		6-8
GE Area UD-C: Upper-Division Arts and/or Humanities (Consider SF State Studies Course)		3
University Elective		3
	Units	14
Third Semester
PLSI 302GW	Writing for Political Science - GWAR (Major Core)	4
PLSI 304	Scientific Inquiry in Political Science (Major Core)	4
Breadth Requirement ¹		3-4
Major Elective ²		3-4
	Units	16
Fourth Semester
Major Elective ²		3-4
Culminating Experience ³		3-4
GE Area UD-D: Upper-Division Social Sciences		3
University Elective		4
	Units	15
	Total Units	60

Breadth Requirement (10-12 units)

Upper-division Political Science courses selected to include at least one course in three of the four sub-fields:

American Politics

PLSI 460 Topics in American Politics (4 units)*
PLSI 461 Voting Behavior, Campaigns, and Elections (4 units)
PLSI 462 Applied Public Opinion Research (4 units)
PLSI 463 The Politics of Immigration in the United States (4 units) (AERM, SJ)
PLSI 464 Race and American Politics (4 units) (UD-D, AERM, SJ)
PLSI 465 Reason, Passion, and Political Behavior (4 units)
PLSI 467 Politics and Community Organizing (4 units)
PLSI 468 Women and American Politics (4 units)
PLSI 470/SXS 470/WGS 470 The Politics of Sex and Reproduction (4 units)
PLSI 472 Civic and Political Engagement (4 units)
PLSI 473 California Politics and Government (4 units) (CSLG, SJ)
PLSI 475 San Francisco Political Issues (4 units)
PLSI 476 The American Presidency (4 units)
PLSI 477 Congress and the Presidency (4 units)
PLSI 479 The United States Congress (4 units)
PLSI 512 Urban Politics and Community Power (4 units)
PLSI 603/USP 603 Public Service Internships (3 units)
& PLSI 604/USP 604 Internship Seminar (1 unit)

Comparative Politics
PLSI 307/I R 307 Qualitative Methods in Political Science and International Relations (4 units)
PLSI 328/I R 328 Domestic and Foreign Policy: Post-Communist Regions (4 units)
PLSI 403 Cases in Comparative Politics (4 units) (GP, SJ)
PLSI 404/I R 404 Politics of China (4 units) (UD-D, GP)
PLSI 406 Radical Right Politics: Far-Right Parties in Contemporary Europe (4 units) (UD-D, GP, SJ)
PLSI 407 Politics of Russia (4 units) (UD-D, GP)
PLSI 408/LTNS 670 Mexican Politics and Society (3 units) (UD-D, AERM, GP, SJ)
PLSI 409/I R 409 Russia and World Order (4 units) (GP)
PLSI 410 Middle East Politics (4 units) (UD-D, GP)
PLSI 411/I R 411 East Asian Politics (4 units) (UD-D, GP)
PLSI 412/I R 412 South Asian Politics (4 units) (GP)
PLSI 416 Ethnicity and Nationalism (4 units) (UD-D, GP)
PLSI 417/I R 417 Gender, Equality, and Politics: A Comparative Perspective (4 units)
PLSI 418 Political Transitions in East & Southeast Asia (4 units)
PLSI 419 Comparative Political Economy (4 units) (UD-D, GP)
PLSI 422/I R 422 Law and Courts in Comparative Perspective (4 units)
PLSI 424 Social Movements (4 units)
PLSI 425 Imagining Power in the Middle East (4 units) (GP)
PLSI 431 Constructing Kurdistan (4 units) (GP)
PLSI 459/I R 459 Refugees in Global Perspective (4 units) (UD-C, AERM, GP)

Political Theory
PLSI 309 Methods and Approaches in Political Theory (4 units)
PLSI 351 Political Theory: The Classical Tradition (4 units)
PLSI 352 Political Theory: Reformation to Nineteenth Century (4 units)
PLSI 353 Political Theory: The Twentieth Century (4 units)
PLSI 354 Politics, the Environment, and Social Change (4 units) (UD-D, ES, SJ)
PLSI 355 Politics and Ethics of the Consumer Society (3 units) (UD-D, ES, SJ)
PLSI 356 Political Theories of Neoliberalism (4 units)
PLSI 360 Development of American Political Thought (4 units)
PLSI 371 Marxist Political Theory (4 units)
PLSI 372/HUM 372/I R 372 Critical Political Theory (4 units)
PLSI 381 Political Theories of Sexuality (4 units) (UD-D, SJ)
PLSI 382 Politics and Literature (4 units)
PLSI 386 Introduction to Critical Social Thought (3 units) (UD-D, SJ)
PLSI 387 Non-Western Comparative Political Thought (4 units)
PLSI 388 Politics and the Popular (4 units) (UD-D, SJ)
PLSI 389 Latin American Revolutionary Societies (4 units)
PLSI 392 Latin American Political Thought (4 units)
PLSI 393 Anarchist Political Theory (4 units) (UD-D, SJ)
PLSI 394/LABR 394 Political Theories of Work, Labor, and Free Time (4 units)
PLSI 396 Fascism and Communism in 20th Century Europe (4 units) (UD-D, GP, SJ)

Public Law
PLSI 308 Research and Writing for Public Law (4 units)
PLSI 478 Judicial Process (4 units) (SJ)
PLSI 481 Race and Public Law (4 units)
PLSI 552 Individual Rights and the Constitution (4 units) (SJ)
PLSI 553 Legal Issues (4 units)
PLSI 554 Separation of Powers and Federalism (4 units)
PLSI 555 Moot Court (4 units)**
PLSI 556 Constitutional Law: First Amendment (4 units)
PLSI 557 Constitutional Law: The Fourteenth Amendment (4 units)
PLSI 561 Jurisprudence (4 units)
PLSI 610 Judicial and Legal Internship (3 units)
&PLSI 611 Judicial and Legal Internship Seminar (1 unit)

Electives (7-10 Units)

Select enough to reach 42 units for the major. It is recommended that elective units be taken in Political Science. However, up to 4 upper-division units may be selected from closely related departments with the consent of a major advisor. Please note that only 3 units of electives can come from lower-division coursework.

MEIS 300 Foundations in Middle East and Islamic Studies (3 units) (UD-D, GP)
GEOG 433/USP 433 Urban Transportation (4 units)
GEOG 445/I R 445 Geopolitics and Globalization (3 units) (UD-D)
GEOG 658/USP 658 Land-Use Planning (4 units)

PLSI 100 Understanding Politics (3 units) (D1, SJ)
PLSI 105 Principles of Government and Politics (3 units)
PLSI 106 Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy: Introduction to Political Economy (3 units) (D1, SJ)
PLSI 150/PHIL 150 Contemporary Moral/Political Issues (3 units) (C2, SJ)
PLSI 216 The 2020 Presidential Election: Issues and Analysis (2 units)
PLSI 318 Modern Citizenship: Pundits, Podcasts, and Political Know-How in the 21st Century (2 units)
PLSI 320 Political Forum (2 units)
PLSI 321/I R 321 Development and Foreign Policy: Africa (4 units)
PLSI 322/I R 322 Latin American Policy Analysis (4 units) (UD-GP, SJ)
PLSI 325/I R 325 Chinese Foreign Policy (4 units)
PLSI 329/I R 329 U.S.-Japan Politics (4 units)
PLSI 342/I R 342 Strategy and War (4 units)
PLSI 362/I R 362 Domestic & Transnational Sources of U.S. Foreign Policy (4 units)
PLSI 373 Essentials of California Politics (1 units) (CSLG)
PLSI 395 Political Theories of Pedagogy and Community Activism (3 units) (SJ)
PLSI 430/JS 430/I R 430 Israeli Democracy: Politics, Institutions, and Society (3 units) (UD-D, GP)
PLSI 492/USP 492 Research Methods (4 units)
PLSI 493/USP 493 Data Analysis (4 units)
PLSI 500/LABR 500 Labor and Government (3 units)
PLSI 544/I R 544 Women in the World (4 units) (UD-D, GP, SJ)
PLSI 560/USP 560 Urban Poverty and Policy (4 units) (UD-D, SJ)
PLSI 570/USP 570/LABR 570 Urban Health Policy (3 units)
PLSI 580/USP 580 Housing Policy and Planning (3 units) (UD-D, AERM, GP, SJ)
PLSI 685 Projects in the Teaching of Political Science (1-4 units)
PLSI 699 Independent Study (1-4 units)

Culminating Experience (3-4 units)

PLSI 605 Senior Seminar: Student's Choice Empirical Research Project (4 units)

PLSI 606 Senior Seminar in American Politics (3 units)

PLSI 607 Senior Seminar in Comparative Politics (3 units)

PLSI 608 Senior Seminar in Political Theory (3 units)

PLSI 609 Senior Seminar in Public Law: Legal Issues (3 units)

PLSI 460 is a variable topic course and may be taken more than once for credit. If taken more than once, any additional semesters count towards the Political Science Electives.

Moot Court (PLSI 555) may be repeated once for credit, but only 4 units may be applied to the Breadth requirement.

To Do at SF State:

Enough total units to reach 120 minimum for graduation; 30 units minimum at the upper-division level; to include the following:

University–Wide Requirements: 9–12 units

American Institutions (0–3 units): US History requirement if not completed prior to transfer. Please note: the US Government and California State and Local Government requirements were most likely completed as part of the AA-T. Check DPR to see whether this requirement is satisfied. If not, complete the requirement in place of a University Elective.
Upper-division GE areas B, C, and D (9 units): Courses required for the major may double-count if approved for UD GE.
Students entering this major with the AA-T in Political Science are not required to fulfill SF State Studies requirements.
Complementary Studies: consult with a department advisor on how transfer units and SF State units can be applied to ensure degree completion within 60 units.

Political Science Major: 31–38 Units

PLSI 200 met in transfer.

Core (6-16 units): PLSI 250, PLSI 275, PLSI 302GW, PLSI 303, and PLSI 304 if not met in transfer
Breadth requirement (11-12 units): One upper-division course from three of four sub-fields. See note 1 above. Note: PLSI courses are three or four units.
Electives (7-9 units): Up to 4 upper-division units from areas outside of PLSI may be used with the consent of a major advisor. See note 2 above.
Senior Seminar: Culminating Experience (3–4 units): See note 3 above.

University Electives: 9 or More Units

Depends on course choices made at the community college, how transferred units are applied to the requirements above, and course choices at SF State - some courses may meet more than one requirement, e.g., in both UD GE and the major.