Bachelor of Arts in Political Science

• At least 28 units for the major must be from upper-division courses (300–699).

Political Science (B.A.) – 42 units

• For a course to count towards the Political Science major, students must earn a grade of C- or better in all core, breadth, PLSI 302GW, and culminating experience courses.
• Political Science majors may take up to four units of political science coursework as credit no credit (CR/NC), as long as those units are part of their electives. All PLSI courses other than electives must be taken for a letter grade (i.e., A-, B, C+, etc.)

• At least 28 units for the major must be from upper-division courses (300–699).

• The GWAR (writing-emphasis) course must be taken in the Political Science Department, even if a student has completed a GWAR course in another department.

• Students who want to do an independent study/special study must arrange it with faculty, submit a Petition for Course by Individual Study (PLSI 699) form, and have at least a 3.0 grade-point average. Independent Study units count only as electives.

Core Requirements (19 units)

Course List

Code	Title	Units
PLSI 200	Introduction to American Politics	3
PLSI 250	Comparative Politics	3
PLSI 275	Introduction to Political Theory	3
PLSI 302	Political Science Writing Workshop	1
PLSI 302GW	Writing for Political Science - GWAR	3
PLSI 303	Fundamentals of Political Science	2
PLSI 304	Scientific Inquiry in Political Science	4

Breadth Requirement (9-12 units)

Upper-division Political Science courses selected to include at least one course in three of the four sub-fields. Students can also take extra courses from the breadth and seminar areas as an elective as well as other upper division PLSI courses not listed below.

1. American Politics

Course List

Code	Title	Units
PLSI/P A 400	Introduction to Public Policy in the U.S.	3
PLSI 460	Topics in American Politics 1	4
PLSI 461	Voting Behavior, Campaigns, and Elections	4
PLSI 462	Applied Public Opinion Research	4
PLSI 463	The Politics of Immigration in the United States	4
PLSI 464	Race and American Politics	4
PLSI 467	Politics and Community Organizing	4
PLSI 468	Women and American Politics	4
PLSI 469	Women's Political Movements in the United States	4
PLSI/SXS/WGS 470	The Politics of Sex and Reproduction	4
PLSI 472	Civic and Political Engagement	4
PLSI 473	California Politics and Government	4
PLSI 475/USP 485	San Francisco Political Issues	4
PLSI 476	The American Presidency	4
PLSI 477	Congress and the Presidency	4
PLSI 479	The United States Congress	4
PLSI/USP 512	Urban Politics and Community Power	4
PLSI 603 & PLSI 604	Public Service Internships and Internship Seminar	4

2. Comparative Politics

Course List

Code	Title	Units
PLSI/I R 307	Qualitative Methods in Political Science and International Relations	4
PLSI 403	Cases in Comparative Politics	4
PLSI/I R 404	Politics of China	4
PLSI/I R 407	Politics of Russia	4
PLSI 408/LTNS 670	Mexican Politics and Society	3
PLSI/I R 411	East Asian Politics	4
PLSI/I R 412	South Asian Politics	4
PLSI/I R 416	Ethnicity and Nationalism	4
PLSI 418	Political Transitions in East & Southeast Asia	4
PLSI 419	Comparative Political Economy	4
PLSI/I R 422	Law and Courts in Comparative Perspective	4
PLSI 423	Video Games, Politics, and The State	4
PLSI/I R/SOC 424	Social Movements	4
PLSI/I R 425	Imagining Power in the Middle East	4
PLSI/I R 459	Refugees in Global Perspective	4

3. Political Theory

Course List

Code	Title	Units
PLSI 309	Methods and Approaches in Political Theory	4
PLSI 351	Political Theory: The Classical Tradition	4
PLSI 352	Political Theory: Reformation to Nineteenth Century	4
PLSI 354	Politics, the Environment, and Social Change	4
PLSI/PHIL 355	Politics and Ethics of the Consumer Society	3
PLSI 356	Political Theories of Neoliberalism	4
PLSI 360	Development of American Political Thought	4
PLSI 371	Marxist Political Theory	4
PLSI/HUM/I R 372	Critical Political Theory	4
PLSI 381	Political Theories of Sexuality	4
PLSI 382	Politics and Literature	4
PLSI 386/CST 300	Introduction to Critical Social Thought	3
PLSI 388	Politics and the Popular	4
PLSI 389	Latin American Revolutionary Societies	4
PLSI 392	Latin American Political Thought	4
PLSI 393	Anarchist Political Theory	4
PLSI/LABR 394	Political Theories of Work, Labor, and Free Time	4
PLSI 396/I R 357	Fascism and Communism in Europe	4

4. Public Law

Course List

Code	Title	Units
PLSI 308	Research and Writing for Public Law	4
PLSI 478	Judicial Process	4
PLSI 481	Race and Public Law	4
PLSI 552	Individual Rights and the Constitution	4
PLSI 553	Legal Issues	4
PLSI 554	Separation of Powers and Federalism	4
PLSI 555	Moot Court 2	4
PLSI 556	Constitutional Law: First Amendment	4
PLSI 557	Constitutional Law: The Fourteenth Amendment	4
PLSI 561	Jurisprudence	4
PLSI 562	Jurisprudence Writing Workshop	3
PLSI 610 & PLSI 611	Judicial and Legal Internship and Judicial and Legal Internship Seminar	4

Electives (7-11 units)

Select enough Political Science courses (PLSI prefix) to reach a total of 42 units for the major. No more than 3 units of major electives can come from lower-division coursework. With permission of a major advisor, up to 4 units of courses from closely related departments may be used as electives.

Course List

Code	Title	Units
PLSI 100	Understanding Politics	3
PLSI 105	Principles of Government and Politics	3
PLSI 106	Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy: Introduction to Political Economy	3
PLSI/PHIL 150	Contemporary Moral/Political Issues	3
PLSI 216	The 2024 Presidential Election: Issues and Analysis	2
PLSI 318	Modern Citizenship: Pundits, Podcasts, and Political Know-How in the 21st Century	2
PLSI 320	Political Issues	2
PLSI/I R 321	Development and Foreign Policy: Africa	4
PLSI/I R 322	Policy Analysis: The Latin American Cases	4
PLSI/I R 325	Chinese Foreign Policy	4
PLSI/I R 342	Modern Conflict: Cyber Warfare, Food Security, and Crises in the International System	4
PLSI/I R/C J 362	The Making of US Foreign Policy	4
PLSI 373	Essentials of California Politics	1
PLSI 395	Political Theories of Pedagogy and Community Activism	3
PLSI/FR 421	Social Movements in the Francophone World	3
PLSI/I R/JS 430	Israeli Democracy: Politics, Institutions, and Society	3
PLSI/USP 492	Research Methods	4
PLSI/USP 493	Data Analysis	4
PLSI/LABR 500	Labor and Government	3
PLSI/GER/HIST/I R 514	Political Violence and Terrorism in German History, Film, and Visual Media	3
PLSI/I R 544	Women in the World	4
PLSI/USP 560	Urban Poverty and Policy	4
PLSI/LABR/USP 570	Urban Health Policy	3
PLSI/USP 580	Housing Policy and Planning	3
PLSI 685	Projects in the Teaching of Political Science	1-4
PLSI 699	Independent Study	1-4

Senior Seminar: Culminating Experience (3-4 units)

Course List

Code	Title	Units
PLSI 602	Seminar: Politics As Story	3
PLSI 605	Seminar: Student's Choice Empirical Research Project	4
PLSI 606	Senior Seminar in American Politics	3
PLSI 607	Senior Seminar in Comparative Politics	3
PLSI 608	Senior Seminar in Political Theory	3
PLSI 609	Senior Seminar in Public Law	3
PLSI 613	Senior Seminar: The Politics of Harry Potter	3
PLSI 614	Seminar: Politics of Reproduction	3

¹

This course 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.

²

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

Note: A minimum of 30 upper-division units must be completed for the degree (including upper-division units required for the major, General Education, electives, etc.). A student can complete this major yet not attain the necessary number of upper-division units required for graduation. In this case, additional upper-division courses will be needed to reach the required total.

Complementary Studies

Twelve units of Complementary Studies are required of all candidates for the B.A. in Political Science. These units may come from any courses bearing a prefix other than PLSI that are not cross-listed with Political Science.

General Education Requirements

General Education Requirements

Requirement	Course Level	Units	Area Designation
Oral Communication	LD	3	A1
Written English Communication	LD	3	A2
Critical Thinking	LD	3	A3
Physical Science	LD	3	B1
Life Science	LD	3	B2
Lab Science	LD	1	B3
Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning	LD	3	B4
Arts	LD	3	C1
Humanities	LD	3	C2
Arts or Humanities	LD	3	C1 or C2
Social Sciences	LD	3	D1
Social Sciences: US History	LD	3	D2
Lifelong Learning and Self-Development (LLD)	LD	3	E
Ethnic Studies	LD	3	F
Physical and/or Life Science	UD	3	UD-B
Arts and/or Humanities	UD	3	UD-C
Social Sciences	UD	3	UD-D
SF State Studies
Courses certified as meeting the SF State Studies requirements may be upper or lower division in General Education (GE), a major or minor, or an elective.
American Ethnic and Racial Minorities	LD or UD	3	AERM
Environmental Sustainability	LD or UD	3	ES
Global Perspectives	LD or UD	3	GP
Social Justice	LD or UD	3	SJ

Note: LD = Lower-Division; UD = Upper-Division.

First-Time Student Roadmap (4 Year)

The roadmaps presented in this Bulletin are intended as suggested plans of study and do not replace meeting with an advisor. For a more personalized roadmap, please use the Degree Planner tool found in your Student Center.

First-Time Student Roadmap

SF State Scholars

The San Francisco State Scholars program provides undergraduate students with an accelerated pathway to a graduate degree. Students in this program pursue a bachelor’s and master’s degree simultaneously. This program allows students to earn graduate credit while in their junior and/or senior year, reducing the number of semesters required for completion of a master’s degree.

SF State Scholars Roadmap

Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Master of Public Administration Scholars Roadmap

Transfer Student Roadmap (2 Year)

For students with an AA-T in Political Science.
POLS ADT Roadmap

For students with an AA-T in Law, Public Policy and Society.
LPPS AT Roadmap

This degree program is an approved pathway (“similar” major) for students earning the ADT in Political Science

California legislation SB 1440 (2009) mandated the creation of the Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) to be awarded by the California Community Colleges. Two types of ADTs are awarded: Associate in Arts for Transfer (AA-T) and Associate in Science for Transfer (AS-T). 

Note: no specific degree is required for admission as an upper-division student. However, the ADT includes specific guarantees related to admission and graduation and is designed to clarify the transfer process and strengthen lower-division preparation for the major.

An ADT totals 60 units and in most cases includes completion of all lower-division General Education requirements and at least 18 units in a specific major. (The Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Science AS-T degrees defer 3 units in lower-division GE area C and 3 units in lower-division GE area D until after transfer.) Students pursuing an ADT are guaranteed admission to the CSU if minimum eligibility requirements are met, though not necessarily to the CSU campus of primary choice.

Upon verification that the ADT has been awarded prior to matriculation at SF State, students are guaranteed B.A. or B.S. completion in 60 units if pursuing a “similar” major after transfer. Determinations about “similar” majors at SF State are made by faculty in the discipline.

Degree completion in 60 units cannot be guaranteed when a student simultaneously pursues an additional major, a minor, certificate, or credential.

A sample advising roadmap for students who have earned an ADT and continue in a "similar" major at SF State is available on the Roadmaps tab on the degree requirements page for the major. The roadmap displays:

• How many lower-division units required for the major have been completed upon entry based on the award of a specific ADT;
• Which lower-division requirements are considered complete upon entry based on the award of a specific ADT;
• How to complete the remaining 60 units for the degree in four semesters.

Students who have earned an ADT should seek advising in the major department during the first semester of attendance.

General Advising Information for Transfer Students

1. Before transfer, complete as many lower-division requirements or electives for this major as possible.
2. The following courses are not required for admission but are required for graduation. Students are strongly encouraged to complete these units before transfer; doing so will provide more flexibility in course selection after transfer.
   • a course in U.S. History
   • a course in U.S. & California Government

For information about satisfying the requirements described in (1) and (2) above at a California Community College (CCC), please visit http://www.assist.org. Check any geographically accessible CCCs; sometimes options include more than one college. Use ASSIST to determine:

• Which courses at a CCC satisfy any lower-division major requirements for this major;
• Which courses at a CCC satisfy CSU GE, US History, and US & CA Government requirements.

Remedial courses are not transferable and do not apply to the minimum 60 semester units/90 quarter units required for admission.

Additional units for courses that are repeated do not apply to the minimum 60 units required for upper-division transfer (for example, if a course was not passed on the first attempt or was taken to earn a better grade).

Before leaving the last California Community College of attendance, obtain a summary of completion of lower-division General Education units (IGETC or CSU GE Breadth). This is often referred to as a GE certification worksheet. SF State does not require delivery of this certification to Admissions, but students should retain this document for verifying degree progress after transfer.

Credit for Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or College-Level Examination Program courses: AP/IB/CLEP credit is not automatically transferred from the previous institution. Units are transferred only when an official score report is delivered to SF State. Credit is based on the academic year during which exams were taken. Refer to the University Bulletin in effect during the year of AP/IB/CLEP examination(s) for details regarding the award of credit for AP/IB/CLEP.

Students pursuing majors in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines often defer 6-9 units of lower-division General Education in Areas C and D until after transfer to focus on preparation courses for the major. This advice does not apply to students pursuing associate degree completion before transfer.

Transferring From Institutions Other Than CCCs or CSUs

Review SF State's lower-division General Education requirements. Note that, as described below, the four basic skills courses required for admission meet A1, A2, A3, and B4 in the SF State GE pattern. Courses that fulfill the remaining areas of SF State’s lower-division GE pattern are available at most two-year and four-year colleges and universities.

Of the four required basic skills courses, a course in critical thinking (A3) may not be widely offered outside the CCC and CSU systems. Students should attempt to identify and take an appropriate course no later than the term of application to the CSU. To review more information about the A3 requirement, please visit bulletin.sfsu.edu/undergraduate-education/general-education/lower-division/#AAEL.

Waiting until after transfer to take a single course at SF State that meets both US and CA/local government requirements may be an appropriate option, particularly if transferring from outside of California.