Semester 1fall
Building the department map…
Building the department map…
Department paths
Courses with no prerequisites inside the department that unlock the most downstream work.
The shortest canonical route from each entry point to a gateway course.
Generated from University of Pennsylvania’s catalog, prerequisite, and concentration data. Spotted an error? Departments can adjust labels, ordering, and notes without a code change, so contact us.
A suggested order for the 14 courses on the map, built from prerequisite chains and how often each course has run in fall and spring across the last 12 regular terms. It is not the department’s plan, and it is not a promise a course will run. Confirm against the department’s own advising material.
Semester 1fall
Semester 2spring
Semester 3fall
Each of these unlocks the largest share of downstream work on this map. Courses from other departments can appear here when they genuinely gate PSCI coursework.
Intro tiers at the top, advanced work below; arrows point from a prerequisite to the course it unlocks. Courses from other departments appear where they gate PSCI work. Click any course to see what it requires and unlocks without leaving this page; hovering lights up its neighbors. The lists on this page carry the same courses in text form.
Showing the 14 PSCI and feeder courses that have prerequisite links. 332 more PSCI courses have no recorded prerequisites. They are listed under Tracks below, not drawn as loose dots here.
The concentrations and majors that build on PSCI, and how their requirements are structured. Expand a program to see which courses satisfy each group, then plan it in the Planner.
Major Requirements2 required · verify with the official sheet
Core Courses; Breadth Requirements; Students are required to take at least 2 courses in each of 3 substantive areas: the criminal justice system, systems of stratification, and social problems and policy.; 1. The Criminal Justice System (2 CU); 2. Systems of Stratification (2 CU - Must be in different areas. For example, if you take one course under "Race and Ethnicity," the other must be under "I
Major Requirementsall required
Core Requirement; Select 1 course unit from the following:; Subfield Requirement; Select two courses in two of the three subfields:; American Politics: PSCI course with attribute APSA; Comparative Politics: PSCI course with attribute APSC; Political Theory: PSCI course with attribute APST
Choose 1choose 1
1 course from1 required
Major Requirementsall required
Core Requirement; Select 1 of the following:; Subfield Requirement; Select 3 PSCI courses from three different subfields:; American Politics: PSCI course with Attribute APSA; Comparative Politics: PSCI course with Attribute APSC; International Relations: PSCI Course with Attribute APSI; Political Theory: PSCI Course with Attribute APST; PSCI or Major Related Electives; Select 7 course units in PSC
1 course from1 required
Major Requirementsall required
Core Requirement; Select 1 course unit of the following:; Subfield Requirement; Select 1 PSCI course in three of the four subfields:; American Politics: PSCI course with Attribute APSA; Comparative Politics: PSCI course with Attribute APSC; International Relations: PSCI course with Attribute APSI; Political Theory: PSCI course with Attribute APST; PSCI or Major Related Electives; Select 7 course u
Choose 1choose 1
1 course from1 required
Major Requirementsall required
Core Requirement; Select 2 course units in the following:; Subfield Requirement; Select 1 course in three of the four subfields:; American Politics: PSCI course with Attribute APSA; Comparative Politics: PSCI course with Attribute APSC; International Relations: PSCI course with Attribute APSI; Political Theory: PSCI course with Attribute APST; PSCI or Major Related Electives; Select 7 course units
Choose 1choose 1
1 course from1 required
Major Requirementsall required
Core Requirement; Select 2 course units in the following:; Subfield Requirement; Select 1 PSCI course in three of the four subfields:; American Politics: PSCI course with Attribute APSA; Comparative Politics: PSCI course with Attribute APSC; International Relations: PSCI course with Attribute APSI; Political Theory: PSCI course with Attribute APST; PSCI or Major Related Electives; Select 7 course
Choose 1choose 1
1 course from1 required
Major Requirementsall required
Core Requirement; Select 1 course unit of the following:; Subfield Requirement; Select 1 PSCI course in three of the four subfields:; American Politics: PSCI course with Attribute APSA; Comparative Politics: PSCI course with Attribute APSC; International Relations: PSCI course with Attribute APSI; Political Theory: PSCI course with Attribute APST; PSCI or Major Related Electives; Select 7 course u
1 course from1 required
Major Requirementsall required
Core Requirement; Select 1 course unit of the following:; Subfield Requirement; Select 1 PSCI course in three of the four subfields:; American Politics: PSCI course with Attribute APSA; Comparative Politics: PSCI course with Attribute APSC; International Relations: PSCI course with Attribute APSI; Political Theory: PSCI course with Attribute APST; PSCI or Major Related Electives; Select 7 course u
Choose 1choose 1
1 course from1 required
Required Courses1 required
French Language Group2 required · verify with the official sheet
Required Courses; Electives; At least 1 c.u. in Advanced Language, French and Francophone history and culture survey courses, or French and Francophone literature and film survey courses.; Advanced Language; History and Culture Surveys; Literature and Film Surveys; FREN 1234-1239; French Seminars 3000 Level or Higher; Additional Electives
Major Requirementsall required
Theory and Method; Theory:; Method:; International History:; Select 2 course units of International History courses: Attribute AIRH; International Political Economy:; Select 1 course unit of Elective in International Political Economy: Attribute AIRP; International Electives; Select 1 course unit of an Elective in International Security/Foreign Policy: Attribute AIRS; Select 5 course units of Elec
1 course from1 required
Upper-level clusters, grouped by the gateway that opens them.
The deepest prerequisite chains in PSCI. These are the routes that take the most semesters to climb.
2 courses deep, ending at PSCI 1202
2 courses deep, ending at PSCI 3803
2 courses deep, ending at PSCI 4102
2 courses deep, ending at PSCI 4450
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PSCI or Major Related Electives1 required · verify with the official sheet
Select 7 course units in PSCI or Major Related Electives; Political Economy Concentration; 5 course units from the major must have the Political Economy attribute (APSE) chosen in consulation with the major advisor, including PSCI 0100 or 0101 as one of the two Core courses and PSCI 1402 as the IR Subfield course. 3 of the 5 concentration courses must be PSCI courses.
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Italian Language Group2 required · verify with the official sheet
Required Courses; Electives; Advanced Language; Best Sellers/3000-level seminars taught in Italian; Additional Electives
German Language Group2 required · verify with the official sheet
Required Courses; Electives; At least 2 c.u. of electives must be courses taught in German in the department at the 2000-level or higher; Taught in German; Taught in English or other Language
1 course from1 required
Additional Electiveschoose 1
Additional courses taught in Italian at the 1000-level or higher; Courses taught in Italian at approved study abroad programs; Independent Study; Honors Research Project; First-Year Seminars; Coursework in another foreign language relevant to the student's interests.
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All PSCI courses in the Penn catalog
Grade medians are for verified students. Sign in with your school email to see them.
Use your school emailNo section schedule with instructor names for PSCI yet.
No clubs or organizations on record under PSCI yet.
This shows once five students share their club memberships.
PSCI does not run a page here yet. When it does, its events show up here and on the Penn campus feed.