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Why major or Double Major in Political Science?

Why Major and earn your AA-T in Political Science?

You should major in political science to become a publicly spirited, scholarly minded, and civically engaged individual with has the knowledge, skills, and abilities to effect political and policy change at the local, state, national, and international level.


Cuyamaca College offers a robust AA-T in Political Science that includes courses in Research Methods and Public Policy.

Why Double Major and earn your AA-T in Political Science and 2nd degree of your choice?

You should double major because you can, and because you keep your options open after you transfer to a 4-year university and beyond.


You can double major in Political Science and another academic field of your choice, such as Communications, Economics, Psychology, Public Health, Sociology, Spanish, Arabic, History, or Environmental Science.

About the AA-T Degree in POSC

The Associates of Arts-Transfer in Political Science (AA-T) degree is designed to prepare students to transfer to a California State University (CSU) with the intent of earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science.


The following is required for the AA-T in Political Science for Transfer degree: 

  1. Minimum of 60 semester or 90 quarter CSU-transferable units. 
  2. Minimum grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.0 in all CSU-transferable coursework. 
  3. Minimum of 18 semester or 27 quarter units in the major. 
  4. A grade of “C” or better in all courses required for the major. 
  5. Certified completion of the California State University General Education (CSU GE) Breadth pattern OR the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) pattern; see Degree Requirements and Transfer Information section for more information. Note: If following IGETC, IGETC-CSU must be followed for admission to a CSU. 

What Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities will you earn?

Knowledge

Knowledge

Knowledge

 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

Knowledge

Knowledge

 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

Knowledge

Abilities

 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. 

What are the AA-T Program Learning Outcomes?

Upon successful completion of the AA-T in Political Science program, you will be able to: 

  • Remember the major concepts of subfields of political science and their relevance to political behavior and political institutions across diverse communities and cultures
  • Understand the historical roots and major theories, conceptualizations, operationalizations, and measurements utilized in political science and its subfields from multiple perspectives
  • Apply the scientific method to explain political behavior and political institutions
  • Analyze the application of political science's abstract theories, empirical regularities, and public policy applications towards civic engagement domestically and internationally
  • Evaluate how concepts of political actors, networks, and status quo are theoretically and empirically analyzed and their application across diverse communities and cultures
  • Create a professional research project that uses the scientific method and follows ethical guidelines to analyze political phenomenon, and/or a public policy project that utilizes data, geographic information systems, policy, and communication analysts' perspective, and/or a civic engagement project that focuses on local, state, and federal public policies which promote diversity, inclusion, and equity. 

Versions of the AA-T POSC Degree at Cuyamaca College

AA-T Political Science 1.0: For Students Enrolled BEFORE Fall 2020

AA-T Political Science 3.0: For Students Enrolled starting Fall 2023 (Pending Approvals)

AA-T Political Science 2.0: For Students Enrolled Fall 2020 to Spring 2023

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

AA-T Political Science 2.0: For Students Enrolled Fall 2020 to Spring 2023

AA-T Political Science 3.0: For Students Enrolled starting Fall 2023 (Pending Approvals)

AA-T Political Science 2.0: For Students Enrolled Fall 2020 to Spring 2023

Declared political science majors who enrolled between Fall 2020 and Spring 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

AA-T Political Science 3.0: For Students Enrolled starting Fall 2023 (Pending Approvals)

AA-T Political Science 3.0: For Students Enrolled starting Fall 2023 (Pending Approvals)

AA-T Political Science 3.0: For Students Enrolled starting Fall 2023 (Pending Approvals)

Pending approval, declared political science majors starting Fall 2023 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

Note: Grossmont College has different AA-T POSC Degree Requirements

See 2020-21 Grossmont College Catalog (pg 140)

What Multi-disciplinary Approaches can you take?

As you work towards earning your AA-T in Political Science degree, you may be looking to build your knowledge, skills, and abilities in other disciplines that you find fascinating and applicable to your personal, life, and career goals.


Below are some multi-disciplinary approaches, which are meaningful groupings of courses in established sub-fields of political science.

Health Politics

American Political Development

California Politics

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

California Politics

American Political Development

California Politics

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

American Political Development

American Political Development

American Political Development

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

Political Psychology

Race, Ethnicity, and Politics

American Political Development

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

Gender Politics

Race, Ethnicity, and Politics

Race, Ethnicity, 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

Race, Ethnicity, and Politics

Race, Ethnicity, and Politics

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

Environmental Politics and Policy

International Relations

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

Environmental Politics and Policy

International Relations

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

Environmental Politics and Policy

Environmental Politics and 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

Interested in declaring Political Science as your major?

Schedule a Meeting with Dr. Josh Franco
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Political Science @ Cuyamaca College

Cuyamaca College, Room F-515, 900 Rancho San Diego Parkway, El Cajon, California 92019

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