Charles and Louise Travers Department of Political Science, UC Berkeley

No matter how badly you want to graduate, you will be unable to do so unless and until you have satisfied all of the university, college, and major requirements. It is therefore crucial that you are aware of your status in relation to these requirements. Your DARS (degree audit) report is a useful reference tool to use throughout your time at Berkeley to track your progress towards graduation, but it is not an official report. We therefore recommend that you meet with a college adviser and major adviser prior to registering for your last semester's coursework to receive official confirmation of which (if any) requirements you have left to complete.

To view your DARS report visit "Degree Audit Report (DARSweb)" on BearFacts (external link). The report audit will tell you which university, Letters & Science, and major requirements you have and have not satisfied. Pay attention to any category that says "NO", and look for minus signs to identify exactly what you are missing. Please note that the DARS report is not 100% accurate, nor is it official. It is for your information only and will not be used by anyone to actually process your degree. If you find a discrepancy, just take the report to whichever office is responsible for that part of your degree. In other words, if the discrepancy is with your major requirements, go to your major adviser; if it is with your breadth requirements, go see an L&S adviser. If you studied abroad or at another campus and the courses were approved by a PoliSci adviser, we have made a note in your file, but DARS may not pick up on it. As long as we know and you know that the courses have been approved, it does not matter that they are not showing up on your DARS report.

Detailed information about your university and L&S requirements is available at http://ls-advise.berkeley.edu/requirements/ (external link) or in the handy L&S publication, "Earning Your Degree" (external link). Check now to avoid nasty surprises later.

You can review the requirements for the PoliSci major in the Major Requirements section, but please double-check your status with one of the PoliSci advisers in 296 Barrows before your last semester (and as many times as you like up to that point!) to make sure you are interpreting the requirements, and your progress towards completing them, correctly.