Of the ten courses required for the Political Science major, three must be introductory courses at the 1000-level, or selected 3000-level courses, in three of the four subfields. These courses are designed to provide an introduction to the main subject matter and major theories of each subfield. They also serve to familiarize students with the analytic approaches that political scientists use. Any student taking a fourth introductory course may use that towards their elective requirement. 

IMPORTANT NOTE: As of Summer 2025, Barnard Poli Sci majors taking introductory courses for their major must take courses taught by Barnard faculty to receive intro credit. If you take an introductory course taught at Columbia University, it will count toward your elective requirements, but not your intro requirements.

The subfields are:

• Political Theory (PT): the study of the conceptual foundations of political systems and behavior. Corresponding introductory course: POLS-BC1110, Intro to Political Theory
• American Government and Politics (AP): the study of all aspects of the American political system, including its development, institutions, procedures, and actors. Corresponding introductory course: POLS-BC1210, Intro to American Politics
• Comparative Politics (CP): the study of the political systems of other countries and regions, including the use of comparisons across cases in order to gain a broader and deeper understanding of events, institutions, and processes. Corresponding introductory course: POLS-BC1510, Intro to Comparative Politics
• International Relations (IR): the study of all aspects of the international political system, including its development, institutions, procedures, and actors: POLS-BC1610, Intro to International Relations

Any of the introductory courses at the 1,000-level are recommended for first-year students.

Advanced Placement Credit:

A student granted Advanced Placement (AP) credit by the College in either American Politics or Comparative Politics with an exam score of 5 will have fulfilled the prerequisite for courses that require the prior completion of POLS BC1210 or BC1510, respectively. If the student wants to take the introductory American Politics or Comparative Politics course, she may do so, but she then will forfeit her corresponding AP credit.

AP credit does not count toward the number of courses required for the major or minor, in other words, the student still needs to complete the ten courses for the major or the five for the minor. Majors who wish to use their AP credit in American Politics or Comparative Politics do not need to take POLS-BC1210 or POLS-BC1510 to take upper-level CP or AP classes. They may then use any 3000-level lecture course (not a colloquium or seminar course) offered at either Barnard or Columbia in the corresponding subfield, as a substitute for the intro course requirement in that subfield or as an additional elective course.

Approved Introductory Course Substitutes

Majors may substitute any of these selected 3000-level political science lecture courses for the required 1000-level course in the same subfield, in the subfields of Comparative Politics, International Relations, and Political Theory. No substitutes are allowed for the American Politics subfield introductory course (BC 1210). No petitions for alternative courses to those listed below will be considered.

Comparative Politics:

1. POLS-BC3401: Democracy and Dictatorship in Europe 
2. POLS-BC3620: Introduction to Contemporary Chinese Politics 
3. POLS-BC3560: The Politics of Urban Development in Latin America 
4. POLS-BC3427: Politics of South Asia (offered Fall 2024)

International Relations:

1. POLS-UN3625: Rising Great Powers in International Relations
2. POLS-UN3604: War and Peace in Africa
3. POLS-BC3605: Global Politics of Climate Change

Political Theory:

1. POLS-UN3100: Justice
2. POLS-UN3190: Republicanism

In addition to the three introductory courses and the two colloquia, political science majors choose five electives, normally at the 3000- or 4000-level. These courses are designed to deepen and expand students’ knowledge base and encourage them to apply social scientific reasoning and theories to the analysis of a broad range of political issues and problems. Any POLS class taken at Barnard or Columbia counts, as well as any class we have cross-listed to our department; you can see all of those courses here. 

What fulfills the Five-Course Electives requirement:

1. All courses offered at Barnard or Columbia in political science with a POLS prefix satisfy elective course requirements, including introductory courses, lecture courses, colloquia and cross-listed courses. 
2. The Independent Study Option POLS BC3799. Students who wish to do an independent study project (ISP) should first speak to a political science faculty member willing to sponsor it and consult with this instructor as to workload and points of credit. The student must then apply to the Committee on Programs and Academic Standing (CPAS), which must approve all Independent Study requests. Once the request is granted, the Registrar creates a section and assigns a call number, and the student is notified of the call number so she can enter the course on her program. (Each instructor has a separate section and call number. Each instructor is limited to sponsoring one independent study per semester.) Independent study counts as a course for the purpose of the political science requirements, provided the project is approved for 3 or 4 points of credit. A project taken for 1 or 2 points does not count as a course toward the major, the minor, or the concentration requirement. A student may use no more than one instance of POLS BC3799 towards her major requirements. This course is typically used for seniors who wish to conduct advanced independent research (for instance, to further explore topics they studied in their capstone projects). It cannot be used to get academic credit for an internship or a job experience. 
3. With pre-approval, first from the individual Major Advisor and then from the Associate Chair of the department, student may substitute a course in another department for one of the five elective courses. This course cannot be an introductory course and it must have significant political science content (use the Course Approval Request Form and include a brief email from your adviser recording their approval and briefly stating their rationale for approval). Approval after the fact will not be granted.
4. Seven of the ten courses for the major, including the two capstone colloquia, must be taken from courses offered at Barnard or Columbia with the POLS prefix (see #1 for specifics). Within the three-course limit of courses taken elsewhere, the following caps traditionally apply: three transfer courses; two Reid Hall courses; two study-abroad courses from one semester away or three study-abroad courses from a full year away; one summer session course. With the exception of transfer courses, these courses need pre-approval from the department. All of these courses, including transfer courses, also require approval after completion from the department to count toward the major, minor or concentration. Please use the Course Approval Form. 

What does not fulfill the Five-Course Electives requirement:

• The Independent Study Option POLS BC3799 does not satisfy the course requirement if the project is for 1 or 2 points.
• College-granted AP credit for American Politics or Comparative Politics does not count as major course credit. (See Advanced Placement Credit.)
• Courses taken at other colleges, in summer sessions, or abroad, which are not equivalent in rigor and workload to Barnard courses, as determined by the department, will not count toward the major, minor or concentration requirements.

Please email polisci@barnard.edu if you have any questions.

Every Barnard Political Science major must take two capstone colloquia. 

The colloquium format involves weekly discussion of readings and development of research skills culminating in the completion of a final research produce. A colloquium, as with any course used for the major or minor requirement, cannot be taken Pass/D/Fail. 

Colloquia can only be taken in your last two semesters at Barnard. Please make certain that, before enrolling, you will have successfully completed the pre-requisite for the colloquium you'd like to take, or have received special permission from the instructor for that requirement to be waived.

Columbia seminars do not fulfill the colloquium requirement for Barnard political science majors.

Colloquium Enrollment Process

Please note that as of March 2025, applications are no longer required for colloquia. Instead, please adhere to the following procedure:

1) Examine the course descriptions and syllabi below to determine which colloquium you would like to take. Included are syllabi for each course, either from the last time the course was taught, or from the approval process when the course was proposed. These syllabi may not reflect the most up to date assignments, readings, and due dates.

2) During your regular registration period, add yourself to the waitlist for your preferred colloquium. Colloquium courses are still waitlist only, to ensure that only Barnard Poli Sci students can register for them. You will need to use one of your waitlist spaces to enroll in the course. The Professor of the course will add you to the roster as soon as possible.

3) Please refrain from enrolling in more than one colloquium in order to allow all students who need to enroll an opportunity to do so.

Spring 2026 Colloquium Offerings