<p>Hi, I was wondering what current student's experiences are like with these majors. I can't decide! (I would be interested in more comparative/international politics track of (Poli Sci). PEIS seems like it has more heavy math involved (Math1a recommended??), and Poli Sci is alot of reading and writing. Is this true? What are the major differences between the majors? Which major is "harder", "more prestigious", "useful", etc? Thank you</p>
<p>Ahhh and the thread title should say Poli Sci v. PEIS.</p>
<p>I’m not sure about PEIS but poli sci at Berkeley is pretty strong (I’m in the major btw).
There is a lot of reading but I feel that most of the time, the readings are supplementary to lecture. I usually just skim through them right before discussion section. As for writing, some classes assign more than others-- like for PS 2, there were only two short papers (2-3pgs or 3-5pgs, I forget) while for a seminar, there can be 20 to 30+ page papers. It just depends on the class you take.</p>
<p>I’m not sure about undergrad prestige, but Berkeley’s graduate poli sci program is ranked #2 in the nation. And the high quality of the graduate program affects the undergrad program through the GSIs. All the GSIs I’ve had for poli sci have been brilliant and very helpful (sometimes I learn more from discussion and office hours than I do from lecture lol).</p>