New undergraduate students
Welcome to the Department of Political Science! Here is a quick guide to for planning your first year.
Orientation
We recommend you attend a Touchstone Orientation session as soon as possible. You'll get lots of important information about the faculty of Arts and Science and the university.
Register for courses
Course registration for current students opens in March, for new incoming students it opens in April. It is important that students register for the full academic year as soon as possible. Please consult your Student Centre to determine your enrolment date.
A full-time course load is 12 to 15 credits per term.
Selecting your first-year courses
The Major in Political Science is made up of 42 credits.
There are four courses that are mandatory:
- POLI 203 – Introduction to Comparative Politics
- POLI 204 – Introduction to Canadian Politics
- POLI 205 – Introduction to International Relations
- POLI 206 – Introduction to Western Political Theory
There are five topic areas (groups) in the Political Science:
- Group 1 - International Politics (Prerequisite is POLI 205)
- Group 2 - Comparative Politics (Prerequisite is POLI 203)
- Group 3 - Canadian and Quebec Politics (Prerequisite is POLI 204)
- Group 4 – Public Policy and Administration (Prerequisite depends on the course topic)
- Group 5 – Political Theory (Prerequisite is POLI 206)
For the first year you should take a combination of the mandatory courses and elective courses. A full-time courseload is 12 to 15 credits per term. You can choose to focus your elective courses using a minor or an elective group, however, it is not mandatory, you can simply decide to do elective courses to pursue your interests.
Download your degree requirements (PDF)
Academic advising
You may book an advising session any time you have questions about your program of study and course registration.
- Appointments are 20 minutes
- Appointments may be in person or online
If you have to cancel, please cancel at least 48 hours in advance to allow other students to take advantage of that advising time.
To cancel your appointment:
- Open your Booking confirmation email
- Click the Reschedule button
- Follow the instructions to cancel or reschedule the appointment.
If you encounter any problems while making a booking, please contact politicalscience.advising@concordia.ca for assistance.
Grading system
Our department uses a single grading system in order to convert percentages to letter grades. Listed below are the guidelines for grading utilized by the Department of Political Science.
| Number grade | Letter grade | Grade points | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90-100 |
A+ | 4.30 |
Outstanding |
| 85-89 % | A | 4.00 |
Outstanding |
| 80-84 % |
A- |
3.70 | Outstanding |
| 77-79 % |
B+ | 3.30 |
Very good |
| 73-76 % | B | 3.00 |
Very good |
| 70-72 % |
B- | 2.70 |
Very good |
| 67-69 % | C+ | 2.30 | Satisfactory |
| 63-66 % | C | 2.00 | Satisfactory |
| 60-62 % | C- |
1.70 | Satisfactory |
| 57-59 % | D+ | 1.30 | Marginal pass |
| 53-56 % |
D | 1.00 |
Marginal pass |
| 50-52 % | D- | 0.70 |
Marginal pass |
| 0 % | FNS |
0.00 |
Failure |
| 0 % | NR | 0.00 | Grade Not Reported |
An "F" corresponds to less than 50.
Passing courses required to fulfill curriculum requirements is not sufficient to graduate as there is also an academic performance requirement (Grade Point Average) in most degree programs. See the pertinent information in Section 31 of the Faculty of Arts and Science in the Undergraduate Calendar for complete details.
Note: Final grades are subject to Department and Faculty approval.
