Course Approval
The process for having an "external" course approved for use towards the major is two or three steps:
- Obtain preapproval from the Registrar and the department before taking the class (not applicable for transfer credits / courses that have already been taken).
- Submit a Course Approval Request to the Associate Chair (Professor Xiaobo Lu, xl29@columbia.edu) over email once you have completed the class, making sure to include the syllabus and reading list for the course along with any other helpful supporting information.
- Once you have received approval from the Associate Chair, forward the form and approval to polisci@barnard.edu and submit a degree audit change request in Slate to update your degree audit.
1. Obtaining Preapproval
Obtaining preapproval is not necessary in all cases. If you have already taken the course in question, skip to the full approval process.
Preapproval is tentative, and any course given preapproval will not be considered fully approved until the full course approval form has been submitted.
Here are some examples of situations in which preapproval is relevant:
- Study Abroad: if you are planning to study abroad, you will need to submit this Slate form for preapproval. Note that if you are studying abroad for one semester, you can use up to two courses towards your major. If you are studying abroad for two semesters, you can use up to three.
- Summer Courses: if you are planning to take a summer course, you will need to submit this Slate form for preapproval.
2. Official Course Approval
Once you have taken an external course, you can submit the course approval form to Associate Chair Professor Xiaobo Lu) and the Department Administrator via e-mail (xlu29@columbia.edu + polisci@barnard.edu). Make sure to include the course syllabus and any separate reading list; other supplemental material will be helpful as well (course description, completed assignments, etc). A Course Approval Request must be completed and approved in order for any Political Science course not listed in the Barnard Course Catalogue to be credited toward the courses required for the Barnard Political Science major.
Please know that this procedure is separate from what the Registrar requires for course credit toward degree requirements. A course may be credited toward the 120 points required for graduation, but will not be counted as satisfying major requirements unless this form has been completed and approved.
If your request is approved, submit the signed form to Taylor Doran, the Department Administrator, at polisci@barnard.edu. If you obtained approval over email, please forward that approval as well as the filled out form.
NOTE: do not submit this form if you are attempting to get permission to use a POLS elective towards your intro requirement. We have a set list of approved intro substitutions, and it is unlikely that classes will be added to the list. If you feel you have a very strong case that a certain elective should count as an intro substitute, please contact polisci@barnard.edu.
3. Degree Audit Update
Once you have obtained full approval from the Associate Chair and filed your form with the department, all you need to do is make sure your degree audit reflects that approval! You can do that by submitting this form in Slate.