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2024-2025

Political Science, Bachelor of Arts

VCU

Community college:
Any AA, AA&S, AS or AFA degree (Virginia Community College System)
Virginia Community College System
Associate degree

Associate of Arts, Associate of Arts & Sciences, Associate of Science, or Associate of Fine Arts

Completing the associate degree will waive VCU's general education requirements.

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
2024-2025

Political Science, Bachelor of Arts

Virginia Community College System (Any AA, AA&S, AS or AFA degree)

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
  • Schedule an appointment with your community college advisor to map out your associate degree course plan.
  • Complete your math and english requirements in your first year.
  • Be prepared for academic challenges and utilize tutoring resources to get ahead.
  • Explore community college financial aid resources and submit the FAFSA on time.
  • Explore the different concentrations of the political science major.
  • Enroll in a SDV student success course.
  • Attend diversity-focused events on your community college campus and in your community (e.g., international festival).
  • Identify a mentor in a diversity organization.
  • Make friends with people with diverse perspectives and join a cultural or identity-related student organization.
  • Create a weekly and monthly budget.
  • Prepare for a career after college by creating a brand for yourself.
  • Develop personal and career goals and create SMART steps for 2-3 "dream jobs."
  • Practice independent living skills such as money and time management, self-care, and personal responsibility.
Experience Year 2
  • Apply to VCU.
  • Visit the VCU campus and attend a transfer admission session.
  • Research housing options for next year.
  • 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.
  • Check out the VCU Office of Multicultural Student Affairs (OMSA) and follow @vcuomsa.
  • Consider learning a foreign language to open doors to international organizations and future study.
  • Learn about short-term, semester and year-long study abroad options.
  • Attend VCU cultural events, including the monthly Global Café, VCU Diversity Scholars in Research week, or department-related events.
  • Consider who you would like to have serve as professional and academic references for future letters of recommendation.
  • Using LinkedIn, connect to at least 10 people. Check out the VCU alumni page in My Network.
  • 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.
  • Explore the types of aid available at VCU.

Explore
MAXIMIZE COURSE AND DEGREE PLANNING
  • Schedule an appointment with your community college advisor to map out your associate degree course plan.
  • Complete your math and english requirements in your first year.
  • Be prepared for academic challenges and utilize tutoring resources to get ahead.
  • Explore community college financial aid resources and submit the FAFSA on time.
  • Explore the different concentrations of the political science major.
  • Enroll in a SDV student success course.
GET CONNECTED WITH YOUR COMMUNITY
DEVELOP CULTURAL AGILITY
  • Attend diversity-focused events on your community college campus and in your community (e.g., international festival).
  • Identify a mentor in a diversity organization.
  • Make friends with people with diverse perspectives and join a cultural or identity-related student organization.
EXPLORE CAREERS AND DEVELOP ESSENTIAL SKILLS
PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER COLLEGE
  • Create a weekly and monthly budget.
  • Prepare for a career after college by creating a brand for yourself.
  • Develop personal and career goals and create SMART steps for 2-3 "dream jobs."
  • Practice independent living skills such as money and time management, self-care, and personal responsibility.

Experience
MAXIMIZE COURSE AND DEGREE PLANNING
GET CONNECTED WITH YOUR COMMUNITY
  • Apply to VCU.
  • Visit the VCU campus and attend a transfer admission session.
  • Research housing options for next year.
  • 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.
DEVELOP CULTURAL AGILITY
  • Check out the VCU Office of Multicultural Student Affairs (OMSA) and follow @vcuomsa.
  • Consider learning a foreign language to open doors to international organizations and future study.
  • Learn about short-term, semester and year-long study abroad options.
  • Attend VCU cultural events, including the monthly Global Café, VCU Diversity Scholars in Research week, or department-related events.
EXPLORE CAREERS AND DEVELOP ESSENTIAL SKILLS
PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER COLLEGE
  • Consider who you would like to have serve as professional and academic references for future letters of recommendation.
  • Using LinkedIn, connect to at least 10 people. Check out the VCU alumni page in My Network.
  • 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.
  • Explore the types of aid available at VCU.
Recommended courses
Major map compass icon
2024-2025

Political Science, Bachelor of Arts

Virginia Community College System (Any AA, AA&S, AS or AFA degree)

Virginia Community College System courses
Course Title Equivalent course Credits Requirements
SDV 100 or 101 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
ENG 112 College Composition II UNIV 200 3 General education
MTH Any approved MTH course (MTH 154 or MTH 155 recommended) MATH 3 General education
Humanities/Fine Arts Select one of the following (UCGS Block II): ART 100, ART 101, ART 102, CST 130, CST 151, MUS 121, MUS 221, MUS 222, MUS 226, HUM 201, HUM 202, HUM 210, HUM 216, HUM 220, HUM 256, HUM 259, PHI 100, PHI 111, PHI 220, REL 100, REL 230, REL 237, REL 240. VCU equivalent 3 General education
Humanities/Fine Arts/Literature Select one of the following (UCGS Block II): ART 100, ART 101, ART 102, CST 130, CST 151, MUS 121, MUS 221, MUS 222, MUS 226, HUM 201, HUM 202, HUM 210, HUM 216, HUM 220, HUM 256, HUM 259, PHI 100, PHI 111, PHI 220, REL 100, REL 230, REL 237, REL 240, ENG 225, ENG 245, ENG 246, ENG 250, ENG 255, ENG 258, ENG 275 (the course must come from a different group than the previous requirement). VCU equivalent 3 General education
Lab science Select one of the following (UCGS Block IV): BIO 101, BIO 102, BIO 106, CHM 101, CHM 111, CHM 112, ENV 121, ENV 122, GOL 105, GOL 106, GOL 110, PHY 100, PHY 201, PHY 202, PHY 241, PHY 242. VCU equivalent 4 General education
History Select one of the following (UCGS Block VI): HIS 101, HIS 102, HIS 111, HIS 112, HIS 121, HIS 122. HIST 3 General education
World Language or ASL World Language I or ASL 101 or elective ((students are eligible for a waiver of VCU's language requirement if they successfully completed through the third level of a foreign language in high school). VCU equivalent 3 General education
World Language or ASL World Language II or ASL 102 or elective ((students are eligible for a waiver of VCU's language requirement if they successfully completed through the third level of a foreign language in high school). VCU equivalent 3 General education
PLS 135 U.S. Government and Politics POLI 103 3 Major (Ancillary)
PLS 241 Introduction to International Relations POLI 105 3 Major (Ancillary)
PLS 140 Introduction to Comparative Politics POLI 109 3 Major
PLS 200 Introduction to Political Theory POLI 107 3 Major
Complete requirements for associate degree VCU equivalents 19 Elective
Community college credits transferred to VCU 60
VCU courses
Course Title Credits Requirements
POLI 320 Research Methods in Political Science 3 Major
POLI 490 Senior Seminar 3 Major
Concentration requirements (see VCU advisor for course options) 12 Major
POLI electives 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. 36 Elective
REAL The REAL requirement may be satisfied by successfully completing a 300-level (or higher) course that has received a REAL attribute of Level 2, 3 or 4 or through an approved “REAL” co-curricular experience that has received a REAL attribute of Level 3 or 4. See VCU advisor for options. 0 Major
Credits completed at VCU 60
Minimum credits required for bachelor's degree 60
The accelerated B.A. and M.P.A. program allows qualified students to earn both the B.A. in Political Science and the Master of Public Administration in a minimum of five years by completing approved graduate courses during the senior year of their undergraduate program. Minimum qualifications for entrance to this accelerated program include completion of 90 undergraduate credit hours including a minimum of nine credit hours in political science courses; an overall GPA of 3.0; and a GPA of 3.3 in political science course work.