Political science contributes to a liberal education by introducing students to concepts, methods, and knowledge that help them understand politics within and among nations. A bachelor's degree in political science can lead to a career in business, government, journalism, education, or non-profit organizations. It can lead to a PhD program in the social sciences or to professional school in law, business, public policy, or international relations. Our recent majors have done all these things—and more.
If you are a Political Science major, or a prospective major, please join our listhost ugpolsall@uchicago.edu.
Program Requirements
NOTE: In 2015, the Department faculty decided to require that nine of the twelve courses required for the major be Political Science courses. The change applies to the Class of 2018 and later.
1 Course Requirements
The Political Science major requires twelve political science courses and a substantial paper. All students must take three out of the four courses that introduce the fields of political science. All students must also take the required research methods course. Students may meet the writing requirement by completing a BA Thesis or by writing a Long Paper. The BA Thesis and Long Paper options are explained below.
1.1 Introductory Course Requirement
To gain a broad understanding of political science, the department's faculty thinks students should take a wide range of courses. To ensure that breadth, students are required to take at least three of the following four courses:
PLSC 28701 Introduction to Political Theory
PLSC 28801 Introduction to American Politics
PLSC 28901 Introduction to Comparative Politics
PLSC 29000 Introduction to International Relations
Each course will be offered every year, introducing students to the four principal areas of study in political science. The introductory courses must be taken for quality grades.
1.2 Research Methods Requirement
To prepare students to evaluate the materials in their classes and to write research papers, students are also required to take the department's research methods course, which will be offered every quarter:
PLSC 22913 The Practice of Social Science Research
The department strongly recommends, but does not require, a course in statistics.
2 Writing Requirement: Two Options
Students who are majoring in political science must write at least one substantial paper. There are two ways to meet this requirement, by writing a BA Thesis or by submitting a Long Paper.
2.a The Long Paper. The Long Paper is typically a course paper. It may be written for either a professor in political science, a professor in another department whose course is accepted for political science credit, or for an advanced graduate student who teaches courses in the political science department. Students who write a Long Paper are not required to write a BA Thesis. Students submitting a Long Paper must submit an approval form to the Undergraduate Administrator via e-mail signed by an instructor who verifies that the paper meets two requirements: (a) the paper is twenty pages or longer, double spaced (that is, approximately 5,000 words or longer); (b) the paper received a grade of B or better (that is, a grade of B- or below does not meet the requirement).
The Long Paper might be:
- A class paper for any course used to meet the major's requirements.
- An extended version of a shorter paper written for a course. If a course requires a shorter paper, students may ask the instructor for permission to write a twenty-page paper instead.
- Written for a course that did not require any papers. Students may ask the instructor for permission to write a twenty-page paper, either in place of another assignment, as an extra assignment, or as an ungraded assignment.
- Written for a political science instructor after a course is completed. The student could either produce an entirely new paper or, with the instructor's permission, take a shorter assignment and turn it into a longer paper.
If the paper is not a graded assignment for class, it still meets the department's requirement if the instructor attests that it merits a grade of B or better. Unless the paper is written for a graded class assignment, students must ask the instructor's permission to submit any such paper.
Students are responsible for obtaining an approval form to verify the successful completion of the Long Paper from the department office and giving it to the relevant instructor. Please ask the instructor to sign the approval form and e-mail it to the Undergraduate Administrator. The deadline for submitting the approval form and the paper is 4 pm on Friday of the second week of the quarter in which the student expects to graduate. Students should complete their paper before their final quarter; the approval form should be submitted to the departmental office as soon as the writing requirement is completed.
2.b The BA Thesis. Writing a BA thesis will meet the writing requirement in political science and may also qualify a student for consideration for honors; see sections below for more information. In either case, the paper is typically from thirty-five to fifty pages in length (the length of most scholarly articles in professional journals). It must receive a grade of B or higher. Students choose a suitable faculty member to supervise the research and writing. The deadline for submitting an electronic copy of the BA thesis to the department office is 4 pm on Friday of the fourth week of the quarter in which the student expects to graduate. Students who write a BA thesis must participate in PLSC 29800 BA Colloquium in the Fall Quarter of senior year. Students who write a BA thesis must also enroll in PLSC 29900 BA Thesis Supervision for one quarter, normally Winter of senior year (although enrollment may be in any quarter).
Summary of Requirements for Students Meeting the Writing Requirement with a Long Paper
Course List
Three of the following Political Science courses: 300
PLSC 28701 Introduction to Political Theory
PLSC 28801 Introduction to American Politics
PLSC 28901 Introduction to Comparative Politics
PLSC 29000 Introduction to International Relations
PLSC 22913 The Practice of Social Science Research 100
Eight additional Political Science courses * 800
Fulfillment of the writing requirement 000
Total Units 1200
*At least five must be courses in Political Science. Courses outside Political Science may be approved for the major by petition to the Director of Undergraduate Studies. (The petition form is available at college.uchicago.edu/policies-regulations/forms-and-petitions.) PLSC 29800 BA Colloquium and PLSC 29900 BA Thesis Supervision may not be used to meet this requirement.
Summary of Requirements for Students Meeting the Writing Requirement with a BA Thesis
Course List
Three of the following Political Science courses: 300
PLSC 28701 Introduction to Political Theory
PLSC 28801 Introduction to American Politics
PLSC 28901 Introduction to Comparative Politics
PLSC 29000 Introduction to International Relations
PLSC 22913 The Practice of Social Science Research 100
Six additional Political Science courses * 600
PLSC 29800 BA Colloquium 100
PLSC 29900 BA Thesis Supervision 100
Total Units 1200
*At least three courses must be courses in Political Science. Courses outside Political Science may be approved for the major by petition to the Director of Undergraduate Studies. (The petition form is available at college.uchicago.edu/policies-regulations/forms-and-petitions.)
BA/MA programs and the Political Science Major
Students accepted into BA/MA programs complete their writing requirement with their MA thesis. They do not need to write a separate long paper or BA thesis. BA/MA students must still fulfill the course requirements of the major — three of the four introductory classes, the research methods course (PLSC22913), and eight political science electives. Three of the eight electives may include courses outside of the major (by petition to the Director of Undergraduate Studies) or graduate level MA courses. BA/MA programs may have additional requirements regarding how many courses may be double counted for the undergraduate major.
Using the MA thesis for Undergraduate Honors
While the MA thesis is used to fulfill the undergraduate major writing requirement, it is not automatically evaluated for undergraduate honors. Students in four-year BA/MA programs (e.g., CIR, MAPSS) who would like to use their MA thesis for undergraduate honors must do the following:
- Apply for the undergraduate honors program by the departmental deadlines. This often occurs before students find out whether they have been accepted into a BA/MA program. If accepted, students notify the department that they would like their MA thesis evaluated for honors and follow the rules outlined below. If a student is not accepted into a BA/MA program, they can write a thesis for undergraduate honors. Students in BA/MA programs are not eligible to use their MA thesis for undergraduate honors if they did not apply to the BA honors program.
- Secure a faculty advisor. The advisor for the BA thesis must be the same person as the MA thesis advisor and may not be a graduate student or visiting scholar. The faculty advisor does not need to be a member of the political science department.
- Students in BA/MA programs do not participate in PLSC298 or PLSC299 since these research and writing courses are duplicated in MA program courses and workshops. Instead, BA/MA students must simply make sure that they have eight political science electives between their undergraduate courses and any MA courses that can be double counted for the undergraduate major. Reading and research courses in the BA/MA programs can be included in the three courses that are counted as electives.
- BA/MA students must submit an electronic copy of the thesis for evaluation for undergraduate honors by the BA honors deadline, which is 5pm on Monday of the fourth week of the quarter in which the student intends to graduate. Students graduating in summer turn in the BA thesis by the end of the fourth week of summer quarter.
- Departmental approval of the BA thesis is separate from approval of the MA thesis. The honors evaluation will be determined by both the faculty advisor and a randomly assigned second reader in the political science department. To receive honors, BA/MA students must have honors level grades in the undergraduate major (see above) as well as a thesis judged worthy of honors.
Students in five-year BA/MA programs (e.g., MACSS and CMES) who wish to be considered for undergraduate honors will need to write a separate BA thesis in their fourth year, before the final year of their MA program. Students in five-year BA/MA programs will apply for the undergraduate honors program and enroll in both PLSC298 and PLSC299.
Pass/Fail Courses
Courses that meet requirements for the major are normally taken for quality grades. The three required introductory courses must be taken for quality grades. However, students may take up to two courses on a P/F basis with the prior consent of the instructor.
Independent Study
Students with extensive course work in political science who wish to pursue more specialized topics that are not covered by regular courses have the option of registering for PLSC 29700 Independent Study, to be taken individually and supervised by a member of the political science faculty. Students must obtain prior consent of the program director and the instructor, as well as submit the College Reading and Research Course Form that is available from their College adviser. The substance of the Independent Study may not be related to the BA thesis or BA research, which is covered by PLSC 29900 BA Thesis Supervision. Only one PLSC 29700 Independent Study course may count toward requirements for the major.
Courses Taken at Other Universities by Students Who Transfer to the University of Chicago
Student who transfer into the University of Chicago and wish to transfer courses into the major should see the Director of Undergraduate Studies soon after matriculation. The Introductory Course Requirement and the Research Methods Requirement cannot be satisfied by courses taken elsewhere but courses may be counted toward the major by petition.
The BA Thesis Process
1 The BA Colloquium
Students who choose to write a BA thesis are required to enroll in PLSC 29800 BA Colloquium in the Autumn Quarter of their fourth year. (Prior to 2022, this was a two quarter course.) The colloquium is designed to help students carry out their BA thesis research and to offer feedback on their progress. Students enrolled in PLSC 29800 may not study abroad during the quarter that they are enrolled in this course.
All students who intend to write a BA thesis must submit an application during the Spring Quarter, regardless of residency. Students who are away from campus in the Spring Quarter should line up an adviser and discuss ideas about a thesis topic while they are abroad, or even during the Winter Quarter before departure. The department has arranged the BA thesis process so that students arrive back on campus for senior year ready to execute the research for the thesis in the Autumn Quarter, rather than compressing research and writing both into the Winter Quarter.
2 BA Thesis Supervision
During their fourth year, students who choose to write a BA thesis must register with their BA thesis faculty adviser for one quarter of PLSC 29900 BA Thesis Supervision. Students may also elect to take a second quarter of PLSC 29900 BA Thesis Supervision, which will count toward the 12 required courses. To enroll, students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form, which is available from the College Front Desk (HM 280). The final grade for the course will be based on the grade given the BA thesis by the faculty adviser. Although most BA theses are supervised by Political Science professors, the adviser need not be a member of the Department.
Double Majors
Students who plan to double major may complete the political science requirements by either the BA Thesis option or the Long Paper option. Students who write the BA thesis must attend the political science BA Colloquium even if the other major also requires attendance at its colloquium. A request to use a single BA thesis for two majors requires the approval of both program directors on a form available at college.uchicago.edu/policies-regulations/forms-and-petitions.
Honors in the Major
Students who do exceptionally well in their course work and who write an outstanding BA thesis are recommended for honors in the major. A student is eligible for honors if the GPA in the major is 3.6 or higher and the overall GPA is 3.0 or higher at the beginning of the quarter in which the student intends to graduate. Students who wish to be considered for honors are required to register for PLSC 29800 BA Colloquium and PLSC 29900 BA Thesis Supervision and to submit a BA thesis. To graduate with department honors, then, a student must have both honors-level grades and a BA thesis that receives honors.
Becoming a Political Science Major
Most students declare a major at the end of the second year or beginning of the third. The Department encourages students to try out the major even before. To receive announcements about the program in the major and other information about the Department of Political Science, students should sign up for the undergraduate email list either in the departmental office or at the Undergraduate Political Science subscription page.
