Why major or Double Major in Political Science?

 Knowledge includes principles of political science as an academic community, structure of U.S. government and interaction between its political actors, dynamics of international relations and international institutions, principles of comparative government, and organization of California state and local governments. 

 Skills include proficiency in reading a variety of political information and discerning their veracity, reading constitutions, laws, and regulations and determining how their alteration can affect governments, firms, and individual behaviors, viewing a real-world phenomenon and abstracting away the complexity to produce a general model, and reasonably contributing verbally and in writing to political ideological and policy conversations and debates. 

 Abilities obtained include the capacity to discern between credible and less credible information sources, capacity to rigorously analyze peer-reviewed journal articles and books, capacity to robustly analyze national and subnational constitutions, laws, regulations, norms, and cultures, and the capacity to model networks of political actors and political institutions. 

Declared political science majors who enrolled before Fall 2020 can fulfill the following requirements to earn their AA-T in Political Science from Cuyamaca College. 

CORE: 1 course

POSC 121

List A: 3 of the following courses

POSC 120

POSC 124

POSC 130

MATH 160 or PSY 215

List B: 2 of the following courses

HIST 108

HIST 109

Any course from List A

Declared political science majors who enrolled between Fall 2020 and Fall 2023 can fulfill the following requirements to earn their AA-T in Political Science from Cuyamaca College. 

CORE: 1 course

POSC 121

List A: 3 of the following courses

POSC 120

POSC 124

POSC 130

POSC 170

List B: 2 of the following courses

POSC 140

MATH 160 or PSY 215

Any course from List A

Pending approval, declared political science majors starting Spring 2024 must fulfill the following requirements to earn their AA-T in Political Science from Cuyamaca College.

CORE: 3 courses

POSC 121

POSC 124

POSC 130

POSC 150 (offered at Grossmont)

List A: 2 of the following courses

POSC 120

POSC 165

POSC 170

Any course from Core

List B: 2 of the following courses

POSC 140

POSC 145 (offered at Grossmont)

POSC 147 (offered at Grossmont)

POSC 148 (offered at Grossmont)

POSC 155 (offered at Grossmont)

POSC 160 (offered at Grossmont)

POSC 165

POSC 166

POSC 180

Any CSU transferrable political science courses

Any course from List A

 Political Science for Transfer (AA-T) | Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District Academic Catalog (gcccd.edu) 

Not sure if you want to major in political science or psychology? Why not both?? There is a sub-field of political psychology.

• PSY 120 Introductory Psychology 3
• PSY 125 Cross-Cultural Psychology 3
• PSY 138 Social Psychology 3
• PSY 211 Cognitive Psychology 3

If you are interested in state and local politics, then invest time in the following courses about the Golden State.

• GEOG 170 Geography of California 3
• HIST 124 History of California 3
• POSC 140 Introduction to California Governments and Politics 
• POSC 180 Introduction to Public Policy

Students who are interested in U.S. History, there is the political science sub-field of American Political Development.

• HIST 108 Early American History 3
• HIST 109 Modern American History 3
• PHIL 160 American Philosophy 3

Health politics centers on the intersection of health, public health, and political science. Students interested in the policy and political components of health and healthcare can consider the following courses.

• POSC 180 Introduction to Public Policy
• HED 201 Introduction to Public Health 3
• HED 202 Health Professions and Organizations 3
• HED 204 Health and Social Justice 3
• POSC 140 Introduction to California Governments and Politics

Gender politics is a growing field in political science. This sub-field focuses on how gender and gender-ness influence political perceptions, behavior, and institutions.

• HIST 123 Women in Modern American History 3
• SOC 114 Introduction to Race and Ethnicity 3
• SOC 140 Sex and Gender Across Cultures 3
• POSC 180 Introduction to Public Policy

Race, Ethnicity, and Politics is another emerging sub-field in the discipline. If you are interested in how race and ethnicity matter to political attitudes, behavior, and policy outcomes, then this sub-field is for you.

• SOC 114 Introduction to Race and Ethnicity 3
• HIST 119 U.S. History: Chicano/Chicana Perspectives II 3
• HIST 131 U.S. History: Native American Perspectives II
• HIST 181 U.S. History: Black Perspectives II 3
• POSC 180 Introduction to Public Policy

Political sociology bridges the fields of political science and sociology to help explore identity, social movements, and underlying assumptions of political systems.

• SOC 120 Introductory Sociology 3
• SOC 114 Introduction to Race and Ethnicity 3
• SOC 140 Sex and Gender Across Cultures 3 
• PSY 138 Social Psychology 3

International relations is a traditional subfield of political science, but a popular one among students.

• GEOG 106 World Regional Geography
• HIST 100 Early World History
• HIST 101 Modern World History
• ECON 120: Macroeconomics
• ECON 121: Microeconomics
• POSC 180 Introduction to Public Policy

Environmental politics and policy is a newer subfield of political science. Given the growing issue of climate change, students may want to merge political science and environmental policy together.

• POSC 180 Introduction to Public Policy
• BIO 112 Contemporary Issues in Environmental Resources
• EHSM 210 Industrial Wastewater and Stormwater Management
• EHSM 215 Air Quality Management
• CWC 103 Water Resources Management
• ECON 121: Microeconomics