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Political Science Major Requirements

As a student of political science at The College of New Jersey, you will be acquainted with both national and global perspectives with courses in American, Comparative, and International relations, as well as Political Theory. Additionally, students in our Department develop an excellent foundation in economics, law, and quantitative methods, which they can later apply hands-on through our extensive internship program.

Fifteen total course units are required for the Political Science major, including 12 course units in the Political Science core. Transfer students are required to take half of the 12 course units in the Political Science core at TCNJ. Once they are enrolled at TCNJ, majors may not take core POL courses at a two-year institution. Students who have taken the AP exams for American Government and Politics or for Comparative Politics will receive credit towards the major by earning a score of five (5). Students should be careful not to repeat AP courses or courses taken elsewhere here at TCNJ because you cannot be credited twice. Click here for a printable Program Planner

Political Science Core Major Requirements

Requirement Courses
Correlate Courses STA 215
ECO 101
ECO 102
Political Science Breadth Distribution POL 110: American Government
POL 130: International Relations
POL 150: Comparative Politics
1 Political Theory Course
Research Core Sequence POL 200: Typically taken sophomore year
POL 390: Typically taken junior year, POL 200 is a prerequisite
POL 498: Typically taken senior year, POL 390 is a prerequisite
Electives 5 POL courses
Upper Division Requirements 5 of 12 POL courses must be a 300 or 400 level course

Political Science Major Four Year Program Planner

Year Course Title Course Unit(s)
First Year
FYS First Year Seminar 1 course unit
HSS 99/Orientation to Humanities and Social Sciences 0 course units
POL 110/American Government* 1 course unit
POL 130/International Relations 1 course unit
POL 150/Comparative Politics 1 course unit
STA 215/Statistics 1 course unit
Foreign Language (if not exempted)** 2 course units
Second Year/Sophomore
POL 200/Political Analysis 1 course unit
Foreign Language (if not exempted)** 1 course unit
POL Electives 1 course unit
ECO 101 1 course unit
ECO 102 1 course unit
College Core courses 2-3 course units
Third Year/Junior
POL 390/Tutorial in Political Science 1 course unit
POL Electives 3 course units
College Core courses 1-2 course units
Electives 2-4 course units
Fourth Year/Senior
POL 498/Seminar in Political Science 1 course unit
POL Electives 2 course units
Electives 4-5 course units

*Students who have taken a course in American politics or government prior to TCNJ should take POL 150, POL 130, or POL 250 instead.

**It is recommended that students exempted from these courses take other College Core courses. Note: Chinese 151/152 and Japanese 151/152 are intensive courses and carry two course units of credit each. Students should take this into account when planning a normal four-course semester.

Students may take STA 115 instead of STA 215.

The following courses are pre-approved substitutes for the designated POL course: PHL 240 for POL 275; ECO 231 or SOC 302 for POL 200. These other courses may have prerequisites controlled by their home department.