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Students must take a minimum of 6 within the Political Science department at Amherst College, at least one from each of the four levels (but no more than two 100 level courses will be counted toward the major). Courses taken outside Amherst College may be counted towards your Political Science major requirements with approval. Please read below for more details.
- Students who are enrolling in elective courses taught abroad for one semester may count two elective political science courses toward the major; they may count three political science elective courses if they are abroad for one year. Students should work with their political science advisor to determine which political science courses would satisfy our major requirements. These courses should not be redundant with other courses already taken and must be documented in Workday. If you know your study abroad institution sent your transcript to Amherst College and your courses are not documented in Workday, please contact the Registrar's office at registrar@amherst.edu.
- Students may take up to two courses in political science from Smith, Hampshire, Mt. Holyoke, and the University of Massachusetts. Such courses must 1) be taught by someone with a degree in political science or have substantial political content; and 2) not be redundant with other courses already taken. Your political science advisor will decide which 5 College courses will be given credit toward the major.
- For transfer students, the Department will accept up to three courses for the major from the school from which they transferred. We may waive the introductory course requirement if the transfer student has had an equivalent course.
- For students coming to the College with a BA we will accept 4 courses and waive the introductory course requirement.
Decisions Regarding Credit or Requests to Vary the Requirements for Completion of the Major: Decisions regarding credit or requests to vary the requirements for completion of the major shall be made by the Department Chair.