<p>is it true that after transferring to ucla from a ccc, one can not change into the political science major...according to assist.org u can't...but my ccc counselor said a couple of months ago that that statement is only a rumor and not a for sure thing yet</p>
<p>comments/answers!!!</p>
<p>u need to be accepted into polisci to be able to major in it. it wouldnt be fair for someone with a 3.3 who got in for womens studies to simply change to polisci than for a polisci candidate with a 3.7+ to go through all the selectivity.</p>
<p>you planning to go into polisci?</p>
<p>yeah, you get accepted as a pre-political science major. then you have to take a course (i think intro to political theory or something like that) and they see from there.</p>
<p>i'm applying as political science for UCLA and that's what i was told.</p>
<p>so what about someone who wants to change into poli psy after transferring into ucla...some with a gpa between 3.8 to 4.0 region???</p>
<p>it's hard because political science is a impacted major. i dont think it is possible to do so. but if it were, i am sure u have to take the intro to poli theory class and again - they'll see from there.</p>
<p>For all you fine people interested in UCLA Pol. Sci.</p>
<p>First of all, I am amazed how UCLA Pol. Sci. is praised on the net... </p>
<p>As an UCLA grad. Pol. Sci. major, I would highly discourage anyone to pursue UCLA Pol. Sci. unless you are absolutely certain that what you want is a government job for life.</p>
<p>I just finished my BA in Pol. Sci. from UCLA with 3.4 UCLA GPA, I have taken enough classes to actually qualify for triple concentrations if the department policy allows (IR, M & M, and American Politics), but guess what... besides blaming the economy, I right now work in an CPA firm preparing to get my CPA license.</p>
<p>UCLA Pol. Sci. has five fields: Pol. Theory, American Politics, IR (International Relations), Comparative Politics, and Method and Models...</p>
<p>If you are interested in any of the above fields, indeed you won't be disappointed but in time you may realize that there are only a few classes from any of these fields that have any "market value" if at all...</p>
<p>I do recommend UCLA Pol. Sci. for anyone who desires a quality education, but in reality, UCLA Pol. Sci. is not very marketable at all. With UCLA Pol. Sci., your career options are very~~~very~~~~ limited: 1. law school (extremely hard to get competitive GPA for top 14 law schools since its quarter system, you might as well try CAL if you can get in UCLA. In fact, CAL may be easier since you have 4.5 months to finish reading minimum 5-7 books per class in CAL but only 8 weeks in UCLA), 2, government jobs (Foreign Service acceptance rate is less than .01% since each yr there is about 20,000 to 30,000 people competing for 250 openings and you are competing with MA and Ph.D. some were instructors for your classes), 3. you can spend 5 to 7 more yrs to get your Ph.D. and then teach for life </p>
<p>OR else, after you got your BA in Pol. Sci. from UCLA, you need to start all over in a different field such as Accounting, and hope the name of UCLA can get your foot into BIG 4 since no Ivy League grad. would be interested in Accounting field, and State University level usually not as well known as UCLA </p>
<p>Therefore, UCLA Pol Sci. is quality education, but not marketable at all. You will see people from USC half as sharp as you getting starting salary twice more than yours. If you really love UCLA, try Business Economics or Mathematic Econ., but even better, try CAL if you can. However, if your final decision is still UCLA after reading my B.S WELCOME TO UCLA POL.SCI., I admire your courage, and you are welcome to ask me for feedback on Prof. and course planning for the major. (ask me first about instructor if you are planning to take Pol. 30- Politics and Strategy.)</p>
<p>And by the way,
Once you transfer into the pre-Pol. Sci., you don't have to take Pol. Theor (Pol. 10). The department will let you choose one concentration with 4 upper Divs. courses and two other fields with two upper Divs. each field. You pick the lower core course according your interest in the field. Pol. 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50. </p>
<p>see UCLA course@ Schedule</a> of Classes Home Page</p>
<p>Again, thank you all for praising UCLA Pol. Sci., I now feel much better about the low marketability of this major... one more thing... if you pick Pol. Sci. just to avoid math, don't do it. Finish that math class you did not take or at least learn the materials on your own b/c even in Pol. Sci. math is something you can't skip. You may encounter a Pol. theory in Legislative Strategy by Tim Grocegloss as one of the top strategy instructors teaching Pol 171C at UCLA, that his theory was written basically by Calculus...</p>
<p>He is a full blood Stanford creature... quoted from him, "I finish my undergrad. from Stanford in Mathematics, and I also got my Ph. D. in Math from Stanford. I taught at Stanford Business School for a few years, but my heart is in Politics so I am here now teaching you guys at UCLA..." I tried stay away from math for a while, but when I got to his theory... I couldn't really read it till a few math classes later...</p>
<p>Why did you think USC kids were making twice as much? Is their department more connected/better? Do they benefit from all the Trojan connections?</p>
<p>USC = university of spoiled children. </p>
<p>USC is a private, so of course they are going to have a stronger alumni base.</p>
<p>Everyone knows USC has really strong alumni connections- my question was whether it was this, the strength of the department or some other factor that contributed to the salary differences roarWu says he's seen. USC might be full of spolied children but if the salary differences really are that significantly different it might be worth two years of higher tuition. I've never heard too much about the salary differences between USC and UCLA so I'm just curious.</p>
<p>connels, i think the argument was this</p>
<p>"USC has a strong alumni base which allows you to receive connections into higher salary jobs after you graduate."</p>
<p>...hence roarWu makes the argument that you'll be seeing people from USC half as smart as you get higher paying jobs which is a sign that the department isnt better, but rather the connections are. </p>
<p>and anchor, i saw your comment before you deleted it. ill admit, i should have put my biases aside and not make the USC comment. but regardless of so, i still think you are out of hand to label one major to be useless compared to the others. yes, roarWu does make a logical point after his own experience - that political science at UCLA isn't the best for finding a job after. but there are definitely alot of people who go through the PS program at UCLA and find a path afterwards. it doesnt matter where you go for undergraduate, it's what you do with it. like roarWu, some people go to a different field of study after undergrad in poli sci. but the same is true for every major. </p>
<p>graduate is what matters and roarWu does make the point that it'll be hard to get into a good graduate school. his first stance is that "since UCLA is on a quarter system, it's hard to get a good grade as opposed to a semester system." of course, i think this is a personal dilemma as opposed to a general statement. i, for one, felt that i like quarter systems better because you dont have to take the same subject for a long time. rather, you can get it done quickly. does that mean i am learning more? it depends. in semester classes, they spend 3 weeks on one topic that i got by the end of the first week. no need for reinforcement. but then again, this is a personal argument. maybe for others, semester is better.</p>
<p>another thing is that i think it's weak to assume that just because something is hard, you shouldnt go through with it. i love taking challenges and that's part of life; u have to take challenges to get to places. so roarWu, i respect your advice (im even pm-ing you for more info about poli sci at ucla), but i feel like im ready to take up the challenge at UCLA and design my own path from there and i know i speak on behalf of a minority who believes the same.</p>
<p>As a transfer student, you need about 3.9 GPA including your two Cal. classes in order to have a good chance to get into UCLA Econ. You will have absolutely no chance switch to Econ. major once you been accepted into UCLA... so make sure you apply for Econ. Dep. As for IR, I highly doubt UCLA gonna make Pol. Sci. one of the main majors you cannot switch into once in the system... at least it wasn't like that six months ago. So worry about IR later, Pol. Sci. is one of the most popular major in UCLA, but that's b/c too many of them aiming for Law schools, but only so few of them get what they want, and Pol. Sci. really aren't that marketable, such major is only for personal interest.</p>
<p>Unless you are Engineering major, when you apply for UCLA, Economics is the major you should apply for, once you got into the school, the department will let you pick the concentration you are interested.</p>
<p>I would highly recommend Math Econ. b/c even buz econ. may sounds pretty interested, it may not be enough when you compete with grads. from Hass and Ivy for banking/finance jobs. </p>
<p>Go to Hass in Cal if you can, if you really love UCLA, then Math Econ. is what you should study b/c that's one of the most (if not only) marketable program they have in UCLA. If you do buz econ.... well, the most you will get may be probably some offices in LA but not likely for you to get in SF or NY offices, at least not until two to three yrs industry exp. or when you get your MBA from Hass or Ivy...</p>
<p>the name of UCLA is really made for Hollywood industry, I mean CIA, FBI, FS, and military would love UCLA grad., but unless you are certain Film production or govt job is what you want, don't go UCLA...</p>
<p>On the other hand, if you are aiming for those colder industries or fields that most Ivy's not even interested such as Logistics or Accounting, then yeah UCLA is a fun school to attend for great exp. I did not go to CAL b/c I hated the envirnment there, yet now is too late for me... As for the rest of you, CAL is more marketable and much easier to get A's than UCLA...</p>
<p>USC is a good school in general, it has Accounting and Taxation as majors and finance as specialization for Business Admin., plus USC strong network</p>
<p>= higher starting salary and access to top firms.</p>
<p>USC path: after your first top firm job the options are Ivy MBA or promotion and salary jump when taking offers by other top firms.</p>
<p>USC is by far one of the most marketable schools in LA, but it really depends on what you are aiming for. I went to UCLA for IR b/c FS was what I had in mind at the time. I would have gone to USC if job security was what I had in mind instead.</p>
<p>No matter UCLA, CAL, or USC, the point is to get into top firm once you get that degree. Pol.Sci., Math Econ., or Buz Econ. don't matter that much either as long as you can get into top firm and then Ivy MBA and $200,000+/yr salary before you turn 40. OR else top 14 Law schools land on six figure starting salary become a partner in ten yrs and make $200,000...</p>
<p>It depends on what you are aiming for and the lifestyle you desire. I don't mean to put down the quality education of UCLA Pol. Sci., heck, after all that's where I'm from... I can perform political economics analysis that most UCLA econ. students can't, but I understand at least half of what they study in their major. </p>
<p>Were the buz. econ. guys able to predict that it would take two rounds of voting before the House could pass the 700 bn bailout?<br>
I don't think the Math Econ. kids have any clue of what legislative procedure is all about, but I do understand the heavy burden on tax payers shoulder from the 700 bn debt. Indeed the Econ. guys can probably perform an analysis on how the world economy may be affected according to the change of oil price. But do they understand how the U.S. can utilize political device to pressure OPEC on oil production?</p>
<p>Again, UCLA Pol. Sci. is quality education but not very marketable b/c all the top executives in top iBanks, Hedge Funds, and Corporate America are Ivy grad., </p>
<p>Have you notice there is quite a few VP in CitiBank who studied Public Policy in Harvard for undergrad.?</p>
<p>In fact, if you have the time and energy, do double major Econ. and IR may be the best combination if you are not a BioTech person. Read up the profiles of top executives in the firms that you want to get in after the degree then you can probably have a more clear view.</p>
<p>PoliScie at UCLA is just now going into the impacted level. Impacted does not mean IMPOSSIBLE to declare after being accepted into another major- it means highly unlikely, BUT because Poli Sci just now is going into the impacted major list, most students will still have some leeway into changing over into it if they have good reason.</p>
<p>Do not expect to get accepted into Basket weaving and then just filling out a little form to change to PS- you will probably have to bother a lot of people and pull a lot of strings to make that change, but non the less- all is possible. Brown nose the counselors and everyone else.</p>
<p>so, it's not impossible right, to switch over to poli sci, right???</p>
<p>what are some of the difficulties on will encounter (as a transfer student with a major other than poli sci)???</p>
<p>suggestions/comments???</p>
<p>No one can answer that yet as poli scie is just NOW going to be impacted, starting from your entering class.</p>
<p>Trust me. It is very easy to switch over from any major to political science. I was a religious studies major who switched over to Philosophy then to Poli Sci (American Politics). All you have to do is go to go over to Bunche hall where the Poli Sci Counselors are and tell them your interested in switching. They won't even ask why. They'll explain to you the various courses you have to take and after you complete them they'll declare you. Very simple, very straight forward shouldn't be something to stress over. The real stress comes in when you graduate w/ a Poly Sci degree without any clue on what to do w/ you life. But its ok, cause stuff like that happens. Just gotta keep moving, pray, and be kind to people = key to life! and all will be cool. </p>
<p>Poly Sci (American Politics), UCLA, 2008</p>
<p>i c...dannylee451, it is such a relief to here this from you</p>
<p>so, basically, are you implying that the whole process of switching to poli sci, or declaring a double major in poli sci, is not a difficult process? and it does not matter from which school (eng school, which is outside of college of letter and sciences) you are trying to do this from?</p>
<p>your response will be greatly appreciated, and if desired please feel free to elaborate</p>
<p>UCLA</a> Undergrad Admissions: Transfer Major Prep - Political Science</p>
<p>whatever, just read what it says in light-blue print, thats where i got my info</p>
<p>krnnoodles, thanks for posting the link and referring to the find points</p>
<p>dannylee451, if you are out there, back up what you had stated, because the link shows that basically nobody can change into poli sci after transferring in as another major</p>
<p>anyone else who has some info in terms of this issue, don't hesitate to post...provide links/sources/examples of how people have tried and succeeded and failing to do this</p>
<p>thx</p>