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Transfer Course Criteria for

Political Science


Along with the general selection criteria, every major has required and recommended coursework for transfer students to have completed in order to be considered competitive during the selection process.

Required Courses

Before applying to a major, you should successfully complete or be in the process of completing the required courses to maximize (but not guarantee) your chance of selection. You must complete these units by the spring of the term before your intended fall enrollment to receive consideration during the selection process.

Desired Courses

Because Cal Poly is highly impacted and selection to all majors is very competitive, desired courses should also be successfully completed or in progress when you apply for admission.

Evaluating Your Courses

All the courses listed are Cal Poly Courses. You can use www.assist.org to identify the course equivalencies between Cal Poly and the California Community Colleges. Be sure to use the corresponding academic year in which you completed the course. If you are out-of-state or a transfer student from another four-year institution, you may have to compare your catalog course descriptions with Cal Poly’s catalog to identify the equivalent courses. Cal Poly is unable to evaluate transcripts for you prior to selection.

Course Listings

Fall 2024

Required Courses

English Language Communication and Critical Thinking

  • Oral Communication
  • Written Communication/English Composition
  • Critical Thinking

Political Science

  • POLS 112/American and California Government
    or a fully completed American Institutions requirement, one of the two American Institutions courses must be Political Science. Students completing American Institutions from an out of state institution will have partial POLS 112 credit. The California history requirement can be completed by enrolling in POLS 111, California Constitution and Government (1 unit) at Cal Poly.

Major Related (Select two of the following three courses)

  • POLS 225/Introduction to International Relations ​​​​
  • POLS 229/Introduction to Comparative Politics
  • POLS 230/Basic Concepts of Political Thought

Desired Courses

Arts, Literature, Philosophy and Foreign Languages

  • Any CSU GE Area C course


Literature/Philosophy course strongly encouraged as preparation for the analytical reading that typifies upper-division major and GE courses in the College of Liberal Arts.

Statistics

  • STAT 217/Introduction to Statistical Concepts and Methods
    or STAT 218/Applied Statistics for the Life Sciences
    or STAT 251/Statistical Inference for Management I

History

  • HIST 110/Western Civilization: Ancient to Renaissance
    or HIST 111/Western Civilization: Reformation to Present
    or HIST 222/World History 1000-1800
    or HIST 223/World History, 1800 to Present
    or GEOG 150/Introduction to Cultural Geography
    or ANT 201/Cultural Anthropology
    or SOC 110/Comparative Societies


Major Related

Select one course not taken from required Major Related above: 

  • POLS 225/Introduction to International Relations
  • POLS 229/Introduction to Comparative Politics
  • POLS 230 Basic Concepts of Political Thought
Fall 2025

Required Courses

English Language Communication and Critical Thinking

  • Oral Communication
  • Written Communication/English Composition
  • Critical Thinking

Political Science

  • POLS 112/American and California Government
    or a fully completed American Institutions requirement, one of the two American Institutions courses must be Political Science. Students completing American Institutions from an out of state institution will have partial POLS 112 credit. The California history requirement can be completed by enrolling in POLS 111, California Constitution and Government (1 unit) at Cal Poly.

Major Related (Select two of the following three courses)

  • POLS 225/Introduction to International Relations ​​​​
  • POLS 229/Introduction to Comparative Politics
  • POLS 230/Basic Concepts of Political Thought

Desired Courses

Arts, Literature, Philosophy and Foreign Languages

  • Any CSU GE Area C course

Literature/Philosophy course strongly encouraged as preparation for the analytical reading that typifies upper-division major and GE courses in the College of Liberal Arts.

Statistics

  • STAT 217/Introduction to Statistical Concepts and Methods
    or STAT 218/Applied Statistics for the Life Sciences
    or STAT 251/Statistical Inference for Management I

History

  • HIST 110/Western Civilization: Ancient to Renaissance
    or HIST 111/Western Civilization: Reformation to Present
    or HIST 222/World History 1000-1800
    or HIST 223/World History, 1800 to Present
    or GEOG 150/Introduction to Cultural Geography
    or ANT 201/Cultural Anthropology
    or SOC 110/Comparative Societies


Major Related
(One course not selected from required Major Related above) 

  • POLS 225/Introduction to International Relations
  • POLS 229/Introduction to Comparative Politics
  • POLS 230 Basic Concepts of Political Thought

All information is subject to change without prior notice.