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.

*  AP credit doesn't satisfy any requirements.  However, students who received a 4 or 5 on the American Government AP exam may declare the major earlier with the completion of one prerequisite (PS2, 4, or 5) and substitute an upper-division American Politics course for PS 1 after declaring 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.

Starting in Fall 2027, if you are an incoming transfer student, please see the "Transfer Students" section below for important information.

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 the day of the session.  A Google Docs sign-up sheet will be available one hour before the the start of the session next to the session date and time, listed below.

3. Be sure to sign up 45 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, which always happens for the last declaration session of the semester).  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. Students must join the Zoom meeting no later than 5 minutes after the start time (see below). 
 

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 in mid-October for Spring 2027 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 students will not be admitted more than 5 minutes after the start time, even though they have signed up in advance to attend.

See "How to Declare" above for important details.   

All dates for the Fall 2026 semester are now posted.

**  The last session of the semester is the busiest by far!  It is crucial that you sign up 60 mins before the start time for this last session to secure your spot.  

** IF you are currently completing your second lower division Political Science course with PS 1 or 5, you will be eligible to attend a declaration session during finals week.

** If you are an incoming junior transfer whose first semester is Spring 2027, your first opportunity to declare will be at the start of the spring semester. Please do not sign up for a declaration session.  Look for future emails from us. If you were admitted as a major in another department or college, please email us so we can add you to future emails. 

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

Starting in Fall 2027, transfer students who selected Political Science as their intended major on their UC Berkeley application are automatically declared and do no need to take any other action to declare the Political Science major. If you do not have the two prerequisite courses (above) completed prior to starting at UC Berkeley, you must plan to take them during your first semester here. If you transferred from a 4-year university, including other UC campuses, or from a community college outside of California, the department will need to review the syllabi of your Political Science courses to determine if they can satisfy major requirements.

Transfer students who did not select Political Science as their intended major on their application, or hope to add Political Science as a second major, will need to complete the two prerequisite courses listed above to become eligible to attend a major declaration session.

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.