Declaring the Political Science Major

Minimum eligibility to declare

• Students must complete two of the following introductory political science courses to declare Political Science. One of these courses should ideally be in their subfield specialization:
  • PS 1, Intro to American Politics *
  • PS 2, Intro to Comparative Politics
  • PS 4, Intro to Political Theory
  • PS 5, Intro to International Relations
• A 2.0 gpa overall and in courses counting for the major.

*Students who received a 4 or 5 on the American Government AP exam may substitute an upper-division American Politics course for PS 1 after declaring the major. However, an upper-division American politics substitute course taken to satisfy the PS 1 requirement may NOT also fulfill an upper-division requirement in the major. In other words, students will still need to complete 8 upper-division requirements in addition to the upper-division American politics substitute course.

How to Declare

You must attend a Major Declaration Session to get declared in the major.  Recently admitted transfer students should attend the Political Science GBO orientation, if possible. The Political Science GBO orientation is a great opportunity to learn more about the major and officially declare the major (if eligible).  Please note that you must RSVP ahead of time in order to attend. Look for an email from PS Advisers with details.

All students, you will be eligible to attend a Major Declaration Session after you have completed the final for your second introductory political science course from PS1, 2, 4, and/or 5.

Declaration sessions are scheduled throughout the Fall (August-December) and Spring semester (January-May), not Summer. Sessions held early and late in the semester, as well as those near Phase 1 registration, often fill.  Sign up early to secure your spot!

Next Steps:

1. Pick a date from the calendar below. 

2. For all sessions (e.g., in person, online), students must sign up on this website in advance. All sign ups are online. A Google Docs sign-up sheet will be available one hour before the the start of the session.  For instance, the sign up will be available on this website at 2:00 pm on Monday, 10/14. A link to the Google Docs sign-up will be available next to the session date and time, listed below.

3. Be sure to sign up 30 to 60 mins before the session, as the sign-up will close 30 mins before the start time (or possibly earlier if the number of available spots fill up).  Once a sign-up is closed, it's closed. There is no way to join a declaration session late!

4. For the in person sessions, once you are signed up on this website, arrive to the room at least 10 mins before the start time.

5. For ONLINE sessions, students who sign up will receive an e-mail 10 minutes before the start time with the link to the Zoom address for the session.
 

You will need to email us all needed transcripts after the session. This includes a transcript (unofficial is okay) for History and Political Science courses you have taken at community colleges, other universities, and UCBerkeley.  For your UCBerkeley courses, you can email us a copy of your Academic Summary from CalCentral. 

Schedule of Declaration Sessions

A Declaration Session takes about an hour and includes an orientation to the major and Q&A, after which declaration forms are completed (we supply the forms - you supply the transcripts).

IF you are eligible to declare now and are a sophomore or junior, it's crucial that you declare before the start of your Phase 1 registration (which begins the last week of October for Spring 2025 registration) so that you can directly enroll in upper-division courses.  Upper-division courses in the major are restricted to declared majors in Phase 1 and often fill before Phase 1 ends.

IF you are currently completing your second lower division Political Science course from PS1, 2, 4, and/or 5, you will be eligible to attend a declaration session during finals week. 

We start on time (NOT "Berkeley time") and sometimes earlier if a session fills before the start time (which is often the case for the first and last session of the semester as well as those near Phase 1 registration). 

See "How to Declare" above for important details.   

* Students must also sign up online in advance for in-person sessions. Those who show up at the location without having signed up online beforehand will not be admitted to the session. See details above for sign-up process. SSB = Social Science Building

** Students currently enrolled in PS1 are welcome to attend the last session [Wednesday, 12/18] as long as PS1 is their second prerequisite.  The last session of the semester is often the busiest!  It is crucial that you sign up 60 mins before the start time for this last session to secure your spot.  

The lower-division requirements for the major can be satisfied by courses offered at community colleges and four-year universities. All but one of the lower-division requirements can be fulfilled at community colleges. You can find which lecture-based courses were approved at Assist.org: http://www.assist.org. FYI: There are no PS 3 equivalents at junior colleges; it must be taken at UC Berkeley.

Note: UCB students are free to take lower-div courses elsewhere during the summer, but should have the courses approved by a major advisor or an L&S advisor (depending on the requirement you wish to fulfill) in advance. 

Transfer Students

Once you are admitted to the university, additional steps are required at the start of your first semester at Berkeley to declare Political Science as your major. You will need to attend the GBO Political Science Orientation (details emailed, RSVP required) in August (if incoming in the fall) or in January (if incoming in the spring) or one of the Major Declaration Sessions early on your first semester at Berkeley. Be sure to bring a unofficial transcript from your previous school. Although you may have sent transfer transcripts to Berkeley, we do not have access to them.

Double Majors

To declare a double major, you must complete the Double Major Petition forms. These forms must be signed by an advisor in each department and then emailed to the College of Letters & Science at lspetitions@berkeley.edu. Double Major Petitions can be downloaded from the L&S website. You may declare both majors at one time or declare one major first and add the second major later.

Are you adding Political Science as your second major? If you have not yet declared Political Science, you must attend a Major Declaration Session (see above). We will sign your double major petition after the declaration session. Please note that the forms must be completely filled out before we can sign them.

If you are already a declared Political Science major and are adding a second major, contact the Undergrad Office during office hours for review and signatures. The double major petition can take several weeks for L&S to process (single major petitions take a few days), so be sure to submit it at least one full semester before your intended graduation date.