Minor

Declaring the Minor

Students are encouraged to declare the minor by Autumn quarter of senior year.

1. Complete a declaration form.
2. Make an appointment to meet with adavido [at] stanford.edu (Alexandra Davidovich), the Undergraduate Student Services Officer, and bring your completed declaration form to the meeting, or email Alex at adavido [at] stanford.edu (adavido[at]stanford[dot]edu) and attach the form.
3. Once your form is approved, declare in Axess.

Minor Requirements

Students minoring in Political Science must complete a minimum of 30 units.

• 5 units in the introductory course, POLISCI 1 The Science of Politics, preferably taken in freshman or sophomore year.
• 20 units in a track of your choice. All courses completed toward the track must be Political Science courses and 100-level or above.
  • Data Science
  • Elections, Representation, and Governance
  • International Relations
  • Justice and Law
  • Political Economy and Development
• 5 units of additional Political Science coursework, which may include no more than 5 units of coursework from outside the Political Science Department (pre-approved or petitioned courses).

Additional Requirements and Policies

• All courses applied toward the minor must be completed for a letter grade of 'C' or higher.
  • Courses with a grade of 'CR' (credit) in Winter quarter 2020, 'S' (satisfactory) in Spring 2020, and 'CR' (credit) in Academic Year 2020-2021 may be counted towards satisfaction of undergraduate degree requirements that otherwise require a letter grade.
• Stanford Introductory Seminar courses cannot be applied toward the minor.
• Students may not double count any courses between their major and the Political Science minor aside from POLISCI 1 The Science of Politics.

Counting non-Political Science Courses Toward the Minor

• Students may count up to 5 units of coursework from outside the Political Science Department toward the Additional Coursework requirement only. Pre-approved non-Political Science courses are listed on the Pre-Approved Courses page and can be applied directly to the minor. Courses from outside of the department that have not been pre-approved can be petitioned toward the minor using a petition form. Course petitions are reviewed and, if appropriate, approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Petitions must be submitted to adavido [at] stanford.edu (Alexandra Davidovich), the Undergraduate Student Services Officer, within one quarter of course completion or within one quarter of declaring the minor. 
• BOSP and SIW courses are non-Political Science courses and count toward the 5-unit limit listed above. Some have been pre-approved while others require a petition.
• Directed readings with a Political Science faculty member and Oxford tutorials require a petition.

Transfer Work

A maximum of 10 units of work completed outside Stanford may be given Political Science credit toward the minor for transfer students. All such cases must be individually reviewed and approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

Questions?

For questions regarding the minor, make an appointment to meet with adavido [at] stanford.edu (Alexandra Davidovich), the Undergraduate Student Services Officer, or email him at adavido [at] stanford.edu (adavido[at]stanford[dot]edu). Our Political Science peer advisors are also excellent resources. Visit this page to find their contact information!