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2021-2022

Political Science, Bachelor of Arts (accelerated masters degree option)

VCU

Community college:
Associate of Arts and Sciences: General Studies (Germanna Community College)
Germanna Community College
Germanna Community College
Associate degree

Associate of Arts and Sciences: General Studies

Program description

Political science is the systematic study of institutions, behavior and ideas in order to further our understanding and explanation of government and politics at the local, state, national and international levels. The discipline has a rich history that bridges the present with the past and future, is pluralistic in its modes of inquiry and adopts a critical approach that makes use of qualitative and quantitative analytic methods.


The Department of Political Science uses its unique position on an urban campus located in the state capital and just a short distance from Washington, D.C. to provide our students with transformative learning experiences that promote active and engaged citizenship, domestically and globally. We integrate our teaching with cutting-edge scholarship that advances the boundaries of the discipline and meaningfully impacts public debate and policy.

Career opportunities

A bachelor’s degree in political science can lead to exciting careers in federal, state and local governments; law; business; international organizations; nonprofit associations and organizations; campaign management and polling; journalism; precollegiate education; electoral politics; research; and university- and college-level teaching.

Bachelor-level job titles
  • Compliance officer
  • Equal opportunity representative
  • Fundraiser
  • Insurance adjuster, examiner and investigator
  • Intelligence analyst
  • Legislator
  • Municipal clerk
  • Paralegal and legal assistant
  • Risk management specialist
  • Staff and legislative assistant
Graduate and professional level job titles
  • Attorney
  • Diplomat
  • Government Agency Administrator
  • Policy Advisor
Contact information

 

VCU Transfer Center

Telephone: (804) 827-1349

Email: transferinfo@vcu.edu

Transfer Advising Request

VCCS Transfer Planning Checklist


Office of Admissions

Telephone: (804) 828-1222 or (800) 841-3638

Email: ugrad@vcu.edu
Apply Here.

Guaranteed transfer admission requirements

Completion of associate degree
Minimum GPA of 2.5
All courses must be completed with a grade of "C" or better

Degree requirements in Bulletin
Plan of study in Bulletin
Requirements
Highest level of math required
  • Quantitative Foundations requirement only
Science required
  • Natural Sciences requirement only
Foreign language requirements
  • Yes
Additional tuition/fees
  • No
GPA requirements (to progress/graduate in the major)
  • 2.0+ cumulative GPA, 2.0+ major GPA
VCU Major Maps

View VCU Major Map for Political Science with concentration in Civil Rights, Comparative Politics, Human Security, International Relations, Political Theory and Methodology, Politics and Government, Public Policy and Administration, U.S. Government

Transfer major map
Visit majormaps.vcu.edu for the online version with links.
Sponsored by the Office of the Provost
Major map compass icon
2021-2022

Political Science, Bachelor of Arts (accelerated masters degree option)

Germanna Community College (Associate of Arts and Sciences: General Studies)

MAXIMIZE COURSE AND DEGREE PLANNING GET CONNECTED WITH YOUR COMMUNITY DEVELOP CULTURAL AGILITY EXPLORE CAREERS AND DEVELOP ESSENTIAL SKILLS PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER COLLEGE
Explore Year 1
  • Be prepared for academic challenges and use tutoring resources to get ahead.
  • Schedule an appointment with your academic advisor each semester.
  • Cultivate relationships with your professors.
  • Log into Navigate and view its features to help you on your pathway.
  • Register for SDV 100.
  • Attend VCU’s annual Intercultural Festival or another community intercultural event.
  • Attend cultural events at community college and/or VCU and celebrate diversity.
  • Browse careers related to Political Science through the career coach.
  • Explore the community college’s iGrad’s Job Genius Search Engine to look into building a career and financial future.
  • Build a LinkedIn profile.
  • Work with career services to build resume.
  • Develop personal and career goals and create SMART steps for 2-3 "dream jobs."
  • Take a career assessment through the career coach.
  • Assess your preparation for a career by completing a Gap Analysis.
  • Use SDV 100 to create a weekly and monthly budget.
Experience Year 2
  • Visit the VCU campus and attend a transfer admission session.
  • Attend a talk or other event sponsored by the VCU Political Science department, consider joining a VCU club, or meeting with VCU students to make professional and personal connections.
  • Take service-learning classes or volunteer to address a current issue in your community.
  • Attend VCU cultural events, including the monthly Global Café, VCU Diversity Scholars in Research week, or Political Science department-related events.
  • Consider learning another foreign language, or make a plan for undertaking that study at VCU.
  • Learn about short-term, semester and year-long study abroad options.
  • Become familiar with OMSA at VCU.
  • Attend Career & Internship Fairs throughout the year.
  • Acquire career related experience (e.g., job, internship, organization involvement).
  • Run for leadership in your student organization.
  • If your GPA is 3.5 or higher, consider applying for the VCU Honors College.
  • Find out about VCU REAL and learn about REAL graduation requirement.
  • Conduct informational interviews or shadow someone in a field of career interest.
  • Use the cost calculator to estimate your tuition/fees as an upperclassman at VCU.
  • Take advantage of free Financial Aid counseling.
  • Using LinkedIn, connect to at least 10 people. Check out the VCU alumni page in My Network.
  • Consider who you would like to have serve as professional and academic references for future letters of recommendation.
  • Explore the types of aid available at VCU.

Explore
MAXIMIZE COURSE AND DEGREE PLANNING
  • Be prepared for academic challenges and use tutoring resources to get ahead.
  • Schedule an appointment with your academic advisor each semester.
  • Cultivate relationships with your professors.
  • Log into Navigate and view its features to help you on your pathway.
  • Register for SDV 100.
GET CONNECTED WITH YOUR COMMUNITY
DEVELOP CULTURAL AGILITY
  • Attend VCU’s annual Intercultural Festival or another community intercultural event.
  • Attend cultural events at community college and/or VCU and celebrate diversity.
EXPLORE CAREERS AND DEVELOP ESSENTIAL SKILLS
  • Browse careers related to Political Science through the career coach.
  • Explore the community college’s iGrad’s Job Genius Search Engine to look into building a career and financial future.
  • Build a LinkedIn profile.
PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER COLLEGE
  • Work with career services to build resume.
  • Develop personal and career goals and create SMART steps for 2-3 "dream jobs."
  • Take a career assessment through the career coach.
  • Assess your preparation for a career by completing a Gap Analysis.
  • Use SDV 100 to create a weekly and monthly budget.

Experience
MAXIMIZE COURSE AND DEGREE PLANNING
GET CONNECTED WITH YOUR COMMUNITY
  • Visit the VCU campus and attend a transfer admission session.
  • Attend a talk or other event sponsored by the VCU Political Science department, consider joining a VCU club, or meeting with VCU students to make professional and personal connections.
  • Take service-learning classes or volunteer to address a current issue in your community.
DEVELOP CULTURAL AGILITY
  • Attend VCU cultural events, including the monthly Global Café, VCU Diversity Scholars in Research week, or Political Science department-related events.
  • Consider learning another foreign language, or make a plan for undertaking that study at VCU.
  • Learn about short-term, semester and year-long study abroad options.
  • Become familiar with OMSA at VCU.
EXPLORE CAREERS AND DEVELOP ESSENTIAL SKILLS
  • Attend Career & Internship Fairs throughout the year.
  • Acquire career related experience (e.g., job, internship, organization involvement).
  • Run for leadership in your student organization.
  • If your GPA is 3.5 or higher, consider applying for the VCU Honors College.
  • Find out about VCU REAL and learn about REAL graduation requirement.
PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER COLLEGE
  • Conduct informational interviews or shadow someone in a field of career interest.
  • Use the cost calculator to estimate your tuition/fees as an upperclassman at VCU.
  • Take advantage of free Financial Aid counseling.
  • Using LinkedIn, connect to at least 10 people. Check out the VCU alumni page in My Network.
  • Consider who you would like to have serve as professional and academic references for future letters of recommendation.
  • Explore the types of aid available at VCU.
Recommended courses
Major map compass icon
2021-2022

Political Science, Bachelor of Arts (accelerated masters degree option)

Germanna Community College (Associate of Arts and Sciences: General Studies)

Germanna Community College courses
Course Title Equivalent course Credits Requirements
SDV 100 College Success Skills UNIV 101 1 Elective
ENG 111 College Composition I Note: students with credit for AP English Language and Composition will only receive credit for UNIV 111 at VCU and should take ENG 112 to fulfill the VCU composition requirement. UNIV 111-112 3 General education
HIS Western Civilization or World History (select 1): HIS 101, 102, 111, 112 HIST 3 General education
MTH 154 Quantitative Reasoning MATH 131 3 General education
Transfer elective I Foreign Language 101 (the VCU foreign language requirement is waived if the student completed up through the third level of a foreign language in high school; select alternate humanities elective if foreign language is waived) VCU equivalent 4 General education
ENG 112 College Composition II UNIV 200 3 General education
MTH 155 Statistical Reasoning STAT 208 3 General education
HIS U.S. History (select 1): HIS 121, 122 HIST 3 General education
Transfer elective II Foreign Language 102 (the VCU foreign language requirement is waived if the student completed up through the third level of a foreign language in high school; select alternate elective if foreign language is waived) VCU equivalent 4 General education
CST 100 Public Speaking (or CST 110 or CST 126) SPCH 121 3 Elective
Laboratory Science Laboratory Science (select 1): BIO 101, CHM 101, GOL 105, PHY 201. VCU equivalent 4 General education
ENG Any 200-level ENG literature course (select 1): ENG 241, 242, 243, 244, 251, 252 ENGL 3 General education
Humanities Humanities elective (select 1): ART 101, 102, HUM 100, MUS 121, PHI 101, REL 231 VCU equivalent 3 General education
Social/Behavioral Science PLS 211 U.S. Government I (or PLS 135) POLI 103 3 Major (Ancillary)
Transfer elective III Select any approved transfer elective VCU equivalent 3 Elective
Laboratory Science Laboratory Science: BIO 101, 102, CHM 101, 102, GOL 105, 106, PHY 201, 202. VCU equivalent 4 General education
Humanities Humanities elective (select 1): ART 101, 102, HUM 100, MUS 121, PHI 101, REL 231 or additional ENG literature class VCU equivalent 3 General education
Social/Behavioral Science PLS 241 International Relations POLI 105 3 Major (Ancillary)
Transfer elective IV Select any approved transfer elective VCU equivalent 3 Elective
Transfer elective V Select any approved transfer elective VCU equivalent 3 Elective
Germanna CC credits transferred to VCU 62
VCU courses
Course Title Credits Requirements
POLI 107 Political Theory 3 Major
POLI 109 Comparative Politics 3 Major
POLI 320 Research Methods in Political Science 3 Major
POLI 490 Senior Seminar 3 Major
POLI Select four concentration electives from approved lists (see VCU advisor) 12 Major
POLI Select two upper-level Political Science elective (see VCU advisor) 6 Major
Upper-level electives (300- or 400-level courses): consider a minor or a second major Note: Students must complete a minimum of 45 upper-level credits to graduate from VCU. 21 Elective
Open electives 7 Elective
Credits completed at VCU 58
Bachelor's degree total 120