Academic Advising Information
The Department of Political Science offers academic advising services to UCSD students.
Current Students: Please send a message through the Virtual Advising Center or stop by during drop-in advising hours*.
Prospective Students: Please review our Department Website, specifically the "Undergraduate Program" tab prior to sending any remaining questions via email to askpolisci@ucsd.edu.
From CASP - Video on how to use the Virtual Advising Center
Academic Advising at UC San Diego: Major Advisors vs. College Advisors
Your Political Science Undergraduate Advisor is available to provide advice and answers to questions about the Undergraduate Program in Political Science.
Your college advisor will provide you with general academic support, assist you with questions that you may have regarding college general education requirements, university requirements, IGETC and TAG, writing courses, graduation, and policy questions.
Who Should You See?
Major and Course Planning
In order to plan out your Political Science major and remaining courses effectively, please utilize the Quarter by Quarter plan below that fits your needs. The documents are fillable PDFs; students are more the welcome to fill out a plan and have it verified by the Undergraduate Advisor. We recommend you consider which Department and campus programs you may be interested in partaking during your time at UCSD
Quarter by Quarter Plan - Two Years (Blank, Political Science)
Quarter by Quarter Plan - Three Years (Blank, Political Science)
Quarter by Quarter Plan - Four Years (Blank, Political Science)
Quarter by Quarter Plan - Four Years (Blank, UCSD)
Incoming Freshmen and Transfer students should review the general academic plans at plans.ucsd.edu
Academic Deadlines
Deadline information is pertinent to all Political Science majors and students taking Political Science courses. These deadlines, policies, and procedures should be kept in mind when making changes to any current or future courses.
Academic Quarter Deadlines (does not include Summer Session)
- The deadline to add courses is the Friday of 2nd week. The Department does not allow late adds.
- The deadline to change the grading option without a W is the Friday of 4th week (through Fall 2022)
- UPDATE for Winter 2023: San Diego Senate Regulation 500(D) re: The P and NP Grades, was amended to move the deadline to change grading option (letter or P/NP) for undergraduate students from the end of week four (Week 4) to the end of week six (Week 6).
- The deadline to change units and drop courses without a W is the Friday of 4th week.
- EFFECTIVE FALL 2018: The deadline to drop courses with a "W" is the Friday of Week 6 for undergraduate students.
See the current Enrollment and Registration Calendar for specific deadline dates. Be sure that you are reading the dates for the current academic year.
Academic Policies
Academic policy information is pertinent to all Political Science majors and students taking Political Science courses. These deadlines, policies, and procedures should be kept in mind when making changes to any current or future courses. Students are held responsible for knowing UC San Diego's Academic Policies via the Academic Senate Educational Policies and Senate Manual.
W grades
A student may receive a maximum of one W per course per Academic Senate Regulation 500(F)(C), Keep in mind that if you have already received a W for a course, you may not drop that same course after 4th week the second time you take it.
Retaking classes
You can only repeat classes for which you receive a D or an F. If you retake a class where you received a grade higher than a D, you will not receive units for it, nor will it replace the old grade in your GPA. For information on how to repeat a class and eligibility, please visit Special Enrollment website.
If you wish to retake a course for the third time you must contact your College first for approval.
P/NP vs Letter Grade
The Department of Political Science requires that all students take their major required coursework for a letter grade. This includes all lower division and upper division work. The only exception to this rule is for courses that do not offer a letter grade option (such as POLI 199). In order for the course to be applicable to the major requirements, students must earn a C- or better.
The Department DOES NOT allow courses to be late added. There are no exceptions.
Quarter Limit and Enrollment Beyond the Quarter Limit (for students entering UC San Diego in Fall 2019 and thereafter)
- An undergraduate student who enrolls at UC San Diego as a freshman in Fall 2019 and thereafter is allowed to enroll for twelve quarters to complete all requirements for a bachelor of arts (BA) or bachelor of science (BS) degree. If a student reaches this quarter limit and needs additional time to complete those requirements, they will be required to submit a completion plan and have it approved by their major department or program as well as their college prior to enrolling for additional quarters to continue work toward the degree.
- An undergraduate student who enrolls at UC San Diego as a transfer student in Fall 2019 and thereafter is allowed to enroll for six quarters to complete all requirements for a bachelor of arts (BA) or bachelor of science (BS) degree. If a student reaches this quarter limit and needs additional time to complete those requirements, they will be required to submit a completion plan and have it approved by their major department or program as well as their college prior to enrolling for additional quarters to continue work toward the degree.
- Summer session, as well as quarters during which students are approved for part-time status or have withdrawn from all courses, will not count toward the allowable number of quarters.
- Students should have a GPA of 3.0 or higher to enroll in Political Science courses past the unit limit 19.5.
Maximum Unit Limitation (for students enrolled at UC San Diego prior to Fall 2019)
- Students are limited to 200 units for B.A. and B.S. in Arts and Sciences, 230 units for B.S. in Engineering, and 240 units for double majors.
- Transfer units applicable toward general-education requirements or major requirements are included in the maximum unit calculation; all other transfer units are to be excluded. Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate units are to be excluded.
At least 10 courses in political science must be taken in residence at UCSD. A total maximum of six courses may be taken elsewhere and applied toward the major. This applies to transfer students, students who pass the AP exam(s), students who study abroad on the Education Abroad Program (EAP) or the Opportunities Abroad Program (OAP), and students who take political science courses at another 4 year university (including UCs).
Students planning to transfer coursework completed elsewhere are urged to consult an undergraduate student affairs advisor.
Students who wish to utilize a course that is not a UCSD Political Science course must request an exception by submitting a completed Undergraduate Student Petition. The petition must be accompanied by supporting documentation and will be reviewed by a Political Science faculty member to determine if Political Science credit can be granted.
- Undergraduate Student Petition (PDF)
- Supporting documentation includes a course syllabus (at minimum), major assignments, and a reading list.
- Students petition after their coursework has posted to their record.
Petitions are not guaranteed to be approved and take approximately 4-5 weeks to be processed.
Notification of the decision is sent through the Virtual Advising Center (VAC). All petitions can be submitted to the Department of Political Science's Undergraduate advisor during drop-in advising hours or online via Google form.
Academic Procedures
Academic procedure information is pertinent to all Political Science majors and students taking Political Science courses. These deadlines, policies, and procedures should be kept in mind when making changes to any current or future courses.
Undergraduate Petitions
Exceptions to the published University deadlines and policies are usually granted only in extenuating circumstances beyond your control (computer error, hospitalization, etc.). Supporting documentation is required. Consult with an academic advisor if you have questions.
Undergraduate Petition
Submit Political Science Petitions here!
Many Political Science students decide to double major during their time at UCSD. Please note that Political Science students may not double major within the same Department (i.e. you may not have both a Political Science - International Relations major and a Political Science - Public Policy major, for example). A student in good standing may petition to declare a double major.
Review the page here or read below: https://students.ucsd.edu/academics/advising/majors-minors/declare-double-major.html
How To Declare a Double Major:
1. Make sure you meet the requirements.
- To declare a double major, you must plan to:
- Satisfy the requirements for BOTH majors, including 10 upper-division courses (40 units) unique to each major.
- Complete the two majors in six quarters for transfer students or twelve quarters for first-year students.
- Meet with both departments/programs and your college to discuss your academic plan.
Read the Academic Senate policy on double majors (A-3).
2. Obtain and complete a Double Major Petition.
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- Complete a Double Major Petition (PDF).
- Prepare an Academic Planning Worksheet (PDF):
- List all requirements for both majors as well as college and University requirements.
- List all courses, including completed, in progress, and proposed.
- Write a brief Statement of Purpose explaining your reasoning for completing two majors.
3. Submit the petition.
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- Submit the Double Major Petition, Academic Planning Worksheet, and Statement of Purpose to major departments/programs for review.
- Submit Political Science Petitions here!
- If approved by both departments/programs, submit all documents to your college academic advising office for final review.
Waitlists
- If a class you hope to add is full, get on the WebReg waitlist during your appointment time (Waitlisting is only available during second pass).
- The waitlist sequence is first-come, first-served. Be sure to enroll during your appointment time.
- An automated computer program will move eligible students off the WebReg waitlists and into classes as seats become available. It will run nightly through the end of the second week of the quarter.
- The program will send messages to your @ucsd.edu email if you are added to the class via waitlist.
- The Department cannot manipulate the waitlist or bump students to the front of the waitlist, regardless of circumstance or whether or not you are a Political Science major. NO exceptions.
Incompletes
- Students are eligible for an Incomplete if 1). something beyond the student’s control is preventing the student from completing coursework by the end of the quarter; and 2). The student is currently passing the course.
- You MUST request and receive instructor approval for an Incomplete. An Incomplete must be requested before the final.
- You must complete the work to remove the Incomplete on or before the date agreed upon with the instructor and in time for the instructor to assign a grade BEFORE THE END OF THE FOLLOWING QUARTER.
- Failure to complete this work within the time limit will result in the “I” lapsing to a permanent “F” grade.
Extension of Incompletes
- For justifiable reasons such as illness, you may petition your College to extend the Incomplete one quarter. These petitions must have prior approval of the instructor and the Department. The petition must include the reasons for requesting the extension, how and when the “I” is to completed and must be filed BEFORE the Incomplete lapses to a “Failing” grade. The extension cannot be made retroactively.
Many students inquire about how to find their enrollment time when registering for classes in the upcoming quarter.
We have created a helpful guide for students (with visuals) about where one can find their enrollment time.
Concurrent Enrollment
UCSD Extension Students wishing to take a Political Science course should first meet with UCSD Extension and then complete the following steps:
- Attend Lecture through the end of Week 2.
- Beginning week 3 but not prior to Week 3, bring in your Concurrent Enrollment Card to the Political Science Department in SSB 301. If there is room in the course, a student affairs officer will then stamp your Concurrent Enrollment Card.
If you have questions not answered on this page you may submit a question via the Virtual Advising Center or come in for drop-in advising. We do not answer advising questions via email or telephone.
Buckley Waiver
You can find the Buckley Waiver for the Political Science here.