4 Year Plan for Completing a Degree in Political Science
This is a planning guide for Political Science Majors who are entering Cal Poly as Freshmen, beginning in the 2005-06 and 2006-07 Academic Years. The guide makes recommendations about what courses, and how many courses, you need to take in order to complete a Bachelor of Arts degree in four years (12 quarters) without requiring coursework to be taken during the summer. This is only a guide and you may find that you need to speed up (by attending classes in summer) or slow down (by not taking so many units each quarter) as your life progresses. For your convenience, draft plans of study for five years and six years have been developed, as well as a plan for students who transfer in to Cal Poly having completed 90 units at a community college.
This particular guide assumes that the student begins in Fall Quarter. Starting in another quarter may only affect this plan marginally in that not every required course is offered every quarter. This guide also assumes that the student is not required to do any preparatory coursework in English or mathematics (i.e., courses numbered under 100).
If you do intend to attend summer school, you should plan to take courses in the General Education curriculum during the summer since those tend to be the classes offered most often. Only occasionally is a department able to offer more than one or two upper division courses during the summer months.
This page is not a substitute for regular meetings with your adviser. You still must meet with your adviser every quarter in order to have the registration hold removed.
FALL Quarter (1st Quarter) - 13 units
| Units | Course | Fulfills Requirements in: |
| 4 | ENG 104 - Freshman English | Area A1 |
| 1 | PLS 101 - Resources for Studying Politics | Major Core |
| 4 | PLS 201 - American Government | Area D1 |
| 4 | EC 202 - Principles of Economics | Major Support Course |
WINTER Quarter (2nd Quarter) - 16 units (29 total)
| Units | Course | Fulfills Requirements in: |
| 4 | COM 100 or COM 204 | Area A2 |
| 4 | Math GE Req. (STA 120 - Statistics recommended) | Area B1 |
| 4 | HST 202 - U.S. History | Area D1 |
| 4 | PLS 202 - Gov & Politics of the World | Major Core |
SPRING Quarter (3rd Quarter) - 16 [or 17] units (45 total)
| Units | Course | Fulfills Requirements in: |
| 4 | PHL 202 or ENG 105 | Area A3 |
| 4 or 5 | Physical or Biological Science w/ Lab GE Req. | Area B2 or B3 |
| 3+1 | PLS 205/205A - Research Methods | Major Core |
| 4 | Hist/Econ/Pol Sci GE Requirement | Area D2 |
FALL Quarter (4th Quarter) - 16 units (61 total)
| Units | Course | Fulfills Requirements in: |
| 4 | Philosopy/Civilization GE Requirement | Area C2 |
| 4 | Soc/Anth/Eth/Gender Studies GE Req. | Area D3 |
| 4 | PLS 203 - International Relations | Major Core |
| 4 | PLS 204 - Political Thought | Major Core |
WINTER Quarter (5th Quarter) - 16 units (77 total)
| Units | Course | Fulfills Requirements in: |
| 4 | Physical or Biological Science GE Req. (no lab) | Area B2 or B3 |
| 4 | Literature/Foreign Language GE Req. | Area C3 |
| 4 | PLS Elective | Major Option Courses 1 |
| 4 | PLS Elective | Major Option Courses 2 |
SPRING Quarter (6th Quarter) - 16 units (93 total)
| Units | Course | Fulfills Requirements in: |
| 4 | PLS Elective | Major Option Courses 3 |
| 4 | PLS Elective | Major Option Courses 4 |
| 4 | Fine/Performing Arts GE Requirement | Area C1 |
| 4 | Free Elective | Unrestricted Electives |
FALL Quarter (7th Quarter) - 16 units (109 total)
| Units | Course | Fulfills Requirements in: |
| 4 | PLS Elective | Major Option Courses 5 |
| 4 | PLS Elective | Major Option Courses 6 |
| 4 | PLS Elective | Major Option Courses 7 |
| 4 | Free Elective | Unrestricted Electives |
WINTER Quarter (8th Quarter) - 16 units (125 total)
| Units | Course | Fulfills Requirements in: |
| 4 | PLS Elective | Major Option Courses 8 |
| 4 | PLS Elective | Major Additional Courses |
| 4 | Free Elective | Unrestricted Electives |
| 4 | Science Synthesis Course | Area B4 |
SPRING Quarter (9th Quarter) - 12 or 16 units (137 or 141 total)
| Units | Course | Fulfills Requirements in: |
| 4 | PLS Elective | Major Option Courses 9 |
| 4 | Humanities Synthesis | Area C4 |
| 4-8 | PLS Elective (Internship Recommended) | Major Additional Courses |
FALL Quarter (10th Quarter) - 16 units (153 or 157 Total)
| Units | Course | Fulfills Requirements in: |
| 4 | PLS Elective | Major Option Courses 10 |
| 4 | PLS Elective | Major Option Courses 11 |
| 4 | Free Elective | Unrestricted Electives |
| 4 | Social Science Sythesis | Area D4 |
WINTER Quarter (11th Quarter) - 12 units (169 or 173 total)
| Units | Course | Fulfills Requirements in: |
| 4 | Free Elective | Unrestricted Elective |
| 4 | Free Elective | Unrestricted Elective |
| 4 | Lifelong Understanding | Area E |
| 4 | Free Elective (if only 4 units of internship were taken) | Unrestricted Elective |
SPRING Quarter (12th Quarter) - 12 Units (181 or 185 total)
| Units | Course | Fulfills Requirements in: |
| 4 | Free Elective | Unrestricted Elective |
| 4 | Free Elective | Unrestricted Elective |
| 4 | Free Elective | Unrestricted Elective |